Two child minding services will be available at Congress 2015 to serve children of different ages. Both services are bilingual and will operate from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm on each day of Congress (May 30 to June 5). Children must be pre-registered before May 14, find more information and register here.

Following the announcement of the finalists for the 2015 Canada Prizes, this year's winning books in English and French in each of the humanities and social sciences categories will be announced on April 22. The Awards Ceremony will be held on April 29 at the Bram & Bluma Appel Salon of the Toronto Reference Library, in partnership with York University and the Toronto Public Library. The event will be emceed by former CBC correspondent Brian Stewart and will feature a keynote address by internationally celebrated storyteller M.G. Vassanji. Register for this event here. 

In her March 18 contribution to a Globe Debate discussion series on institutions, Federation Past-President Antonia Maioni urges universities to continue to prepare graduates for the complexities of the 21st century by investing in "high quality university teaching" alongside world-class research. Federation President Stephen Toope's op-ed about the unfeasibility of a postinstitutional society kicked off the Globe Debate discussion a week earlier. 

An article by Federation Past-President Antonia Maioni to The Conversation magazine will help shape the debate about the fate of Australia's long-form census. Maioni explains the impact of the census' elimination on Canadian research, policy and society. Read the article in The Conversation here. 

The Federation invites you to join us on Parliament Hill on April 28 for a Big Thinking discussion with economist Marjorie Griffin Cohen, titled "Austerity for prosperity? How women and men are faring in the Canadian economy." Find more information and register here.

Researchers Michael Geist, Ron Deibert and Gerald McMaster discussed three game-changing Ontario discoveries that have impacted Canada and the world at an April 1 Big Thinking panel that was held at the Ontario and Canada Research Chairs Symposium, an event organized by the Council of Ontario Universities and the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences. Watch the Big Thinking video here.

The March 26 panel brought together Dr. Daniel Scott, a social scientist, and Dr. Ronald Stewart, a scientist, to jointly address how the effects of extreme weather can be mitigated for communities and the economy. The discussion was co-sponsored with the Partnership Group for Science and Engineering (PAGSE). Watch the full panel and listen to the professors' interview on CBC Ottawa Morning here.

The Top 25 Storytellers in SSHRC's annual contest were announced on April 1. The Top 25 will be invited to Congress 2015, where they will participate in an exclusive research communications master class and deliver their presentations before a live audience at the Storytellers Showcase. A team of judges including Federation President Stephen Toope will select the Final 5 Storytellers.