Dr. Roberta Bondar

Fearful of change, many people will not move outside of their place of comfort, for a new idea or sudden immersion in a novel environment can be disorienting and distressful. One of Dr. Bondar’s tasks on her space mission was to examine how the human nervous system adapts to the sudden exposure to the low gravity of spaceflight, experienced while floating around the Earth. One can think differently with the benefits that it will generate, such as creativity and better physical and mental health. Dr. Bondar, a neurologist, integrates her perspective gleaned from space with her Earth exploration, through her still and video imagery, to stimulate others to think differently, to embrace any evolving context and a new way forward.

Confidence in an idea begins with insight and energy, both needed to imagine a future gained through wisdom. The power within an individual to envision a future is nascent, untapped in many individuals, with lives that may feel unfulfilled without adequate support systems. Through five pearls of wisdom, Dr. Bondar shares valuable insights into her ongoing life of exceptional achievement, focusing on her leadership, volunteerism and environmental outreach through the lenses of scientist, neurologist, astronaut, photographer, explorer, educator and writer. She polishes each pearl with humour and imagery, through visual storytelling.

A life without risk is most uninteresting and most unusual. As risk is individually defined, communicating the story around the risk is what many find is most interesting: context, the idea, the emotion, what is at stake in that moment, and what we can learn from either taking a risk or what the risk might be of walking away from it. It is also a moment of self-discovery. For Dr. Bondar, passion and resilience underlie her decisions around how she processes the risks that she faces. From her childhood, the excitement of sharing translates into creative communication, complete with the risks entailed in pivoting from one passion to another when the future suddenly shifts.

Life has a backstory. For all of us. The good news is that for most of us, we are still evolving, still capable of taking our life to another level. Dr. Bondar’s basic seven-point plan is a logical life-long approach to personal and professional growth that allows us to lead through change. From Earth to space and back to the natural world of our planet, she embodies what it means to revise and rethink, to change and to grow, to make a difference, to face the dark and to find the light. The path forward is not a straight line and the more the curves, the greater the resilience. Through her talk, we will gain insight into how diversity of knowledge, skill and experience can change the direction of our own history and ultimately who we can become.

The natural world of Earth remains one of mystery and reflection, peace and learning, one where we can focus on another lifeform that can draw us outside of our stress into a world of curiosity and creativity. For example, birds give us the opportunity to enhance our skills of observation and patience. They give us a direction to explore, as we follow their travel across habitats and into ecosystems, and to make new discoveries within nature to improve the quality of human life. Dr. Bondar also discusses what can negatively affect life in the natural world, such as climate change and human activity, and their potential and real impacts on human health.

Often asked what advice she would give to young women, Dr. Bondar never hesitates to advocate for diversity of learning, life experience and support systems. Yes, she had role models in her formative years, including her parents, one or two relatives, and a few exceptional teachers, both male and female. She knows the value of a safe place in which to grow and express oneself without intimidation, such as the safety net of girls-only organizations, to learn that one has a unique voice, to have encouragement, support and knowledge. Dr. Bondar continues to value the curiosity that her parents encouraged in their two daughters, and the confidence that they deserved equal rights with young boys, at a time when society was not ready for such enlightenment, or unfortunately, even today, when the needle has not moved sufficiently, some seven decades later. In her keynote, Dr. Bondar uses her wit and humor to poke at some of the rules and human behaviours that cast giant, synthetic cobwebs across the horizon of her life. Well-grounded in STEAM, she discusses how she sharpens every tool in her personal and professional kits to cut though the webbed surround with her knowledge base, creativity and problem-solving.