Events

2024

CSA: The Aqualunar Challenge

• When: 7 March 2024
• Organizer: Foresight Canada
• Institution: Canadian Space Agency (CSA)
• Speakers: Chris Patterson, Engineer, Food Production Team, Lunar Exploration Program, CSA; Meg MacDonald, Challenge Prize Fellow, Strategic Planning, Engagement and Innovation, CSA; Francis Vaillancourt, Global Product Manager of Services, Veolia
• Moderator: Anisa Maruschak, Program Manager, Innovation Challenges, Foresight
• Topic: Provide information on current terrestrial water purification technologies, and on the lunar environment conditions to support innovators in understanding how terrestrial water purification technologies could be adapted for use on the lunar surface.
• Attended: J. Ramos

TCS: Japanese Online Marketplaces / Vendre vos produits sur les places de marché électroniques japonaises

• When: 26 February 2024
• Organizer: Canadian Trade Commissioner Service (TCS) / Service des délégués commerciaux
• Institution: Embassy of Canada to Japan in Tokyo (ECJ) / Ambassade du Canada au Japon à Tokyo
• Opening Remarks: Erin Davidge, Senior Trade Commissioner, Embassy of Canada to Japan
• Presenters: Haruka Takahashi, Assistant Manager, Rakuten Group Inc.; Yoshiharu Morishima, Senior Manager, LY Corporation (Yahoo! Shopping); Eiji Kanazawa, General Manager and Head of Business Development, Giftmall Inc.
• Moderators: Ryoko Uchida, Trade Commissioner, ECJ; Lucia Vancura, Director, Global Markets, Meros Consulting
• Attended: Ramos & Fortier and various Canadian companies

Higher Ground: How Business Can Do The Right Thing In A Turbulent World

• When: 20 February 2024
• Organizer: Harvard Business Review (HBR) – Press
• Institution: Harvard Business Publishing, an affiliate of Harvard Business School
• Speaker: Alison Taylor, Author; Ethics Professor, NYU Stern
• Moderator: Sally Ashworth, Associate Director, Media and Communications, HBR
• Topic: Environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG); corporate social responsibility (CSR); Should companies take a stance on every environmental, social, etc. issue and make it known publicly? Is that even possible? What should they do instead?
• Attended: J. Ramos

CSA: The Aqualunar Challenge

• When: 15 February 2024
• Organizer: Foresight Canada
• Institution: Canadian Space Agency (CSA)
• Speakers: Meg MacDonald, CSA; Lily Porter, CSA
• Moderator: Anisa Maruschak, Program Manager, Innovation Challenges, Foresight
• Topic: With humankind returning to the Moon later this decade, purifying the water that exists in lunar regolith (soil) is critical to enabling more ambitious space missions. Using lunar water – as drinking water, to grow food, to create oxygen and to split into hydrogen and oxygen for rocket fuel – is a key enabler for supporting future deep space exploration.
• Attended: J. Ramos

Mainstreaming Biodiversity into Renewable Power Infrastructure

• When: 30 January 2024
• Organizer: OECD Environment Directorate
• Institution: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) / L’Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques (OCDE)
• Speakers: Mona Khalil, PhD, Energy and Wildlife Research Program for the Ecosystems Mission Area, U.S. Geological Survey; Floor Kleemans, Beleidsadviseur Natuur, Ministerie van Landbouw, Natuur en Voedselkwaliteit, Nederland; Edward Perry, MPhil, Analyst, Climate, Biodiversity and Water, OECD
• Moderator: Kumi Kitamori, Deputy Director, OECD
• Topic: How does renewable power infrastructure impact biodiversity? How can countries plan a power sector transition that aligns with both climate and biodiversity goals? What policy instruments can guide the renewable power industry to mitigate adverse impacts and seek positive outcomes for biodiversity?
• Attended: J. Ramos

EU Green Deal Projects

• When: 30 January 2024
• Organizer: European Commission
• Institution: European Union
• Presenters: ZeroW, Pioneers Ports, ENOUGH, NeoGIANT, Ricardo plc, et al.
• Moderator: Beatriz Mayor, Principal Consultant, Environmental policy and science-based assessments, Ricardo plc
• Topic: Success stories and peer-to-peer opportunities
• Attended: J. Ramos

The Nexus Between Climate Change, Human Rights and Peace

• When: 24 January 2024
• Organizer: School of Security Studies, KCL
• Institution: King’s College London (KCL)
• Speaker: Prof. Ian Fry, first Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change, United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner (2022-2023); Professor, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University; Pacific Regional Representative to the United Nations, International Council of Environmental Law; Member, IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law
• Moderator: Dr Maria Varaki, Lecturer in International Law, KCL; Co-Director, War Crimes Research Group
• Attended: J. Ramos

Getting to Just: Energy Transition and Its Impact on the Job Landscape and Labor Rights

• When: 17 January 2024
• Organizer: Pulitzer Center – International Outreach Organization
• Institution: Pulitzer Center
• Speakers: Sabrina Fernandes, MA, PhD, Sociologist, Political Economist; Pawanjot Kaur, Journalist – Pulitzer Center Grantee; Bagus Santoso, Head of Training and Development, Coalition of Indonesian Labor Unions; Flavia Lopes, Environmental Journalist
• Moderator: Grenti Paramitha, Program Manager, Pulitzer Center
• Topic: Conversation with Pulitzer Center journalists and staff along with researchers and labor experts on the impacts of the “green transition.”
• Attended: J. Ramos

The Macroeconomics of Climate Change

• When: 16 January 2024
• Organizer: IMF – The Middle East Regional Technical Assistance Center (METAC)
• Institution: International Monetary Fund (IMF)
• Supported by: Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Deutschland (Germany); Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research, Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft (Swiss Confederation); Nederland; République française; and the European Union
• Speakers: Hasan Dudu, Economist, IMF Middle East and Central Asia Department; Chen Chen, Senior Economist, IMF Institute for Capacity Development
• Moderator: Holger Floerkemeier, Director, IMF – METAC
• Topic: Effects of climate change on GDP, IMF climate support, inter alia
• Attended: J. Ramos

What does becoming “Nature Positive” mean, and how can it realistically be achieved?

• When: 9 January 2024
• Organizer: Wiley/XTBG: Integrative Conservation
• Company: Wiley Publishing
• Speaker: Professor Dame E.J. Milner-Gulland, Tasso Leventis Professor of Biodiversity; Director of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Conservation Science, University of Oxford; Chair of the UK Government’s Darwin Expert Committee
• Moderator: Professor Ahimsa Campos-Arceiz, Tropical Conservation Ecology, University of Nottingham Malaysia; Principal Investigator of the Management & Ecology of Malaysian Elephants
• Topic: The term ‘nature positive’ is becoming ubiquitous in the discourse around how best to achieve the systemic transformations that are needed to restore nature. But such terms can become so generic that they lead to greenwashing, and soon fall out of favor with both conservationists and wider society.
  Takeaways:
  – ‘Nature positive’ is a widely used term, but poorly defined, often with little real-world impact;
  – Setting SMART outcome targets, quantitative baselines, and robust monitoring of progress can help organizations and governments to work towards genuine ‘nature positivity.’
• Attended: J. Ramos

2023

Reflections from COP28 | 28-For-28 Event Series

• When: 20 December 2023
• Organizer: United Nations – UAE
• Convention: COP28 (Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC / United Nations Climate Change Conference)
• Institution: United Nations
• Speaker: Dr Raidan AlSaqqaf, Resident Economist, United Nations Office in Abu Dhabi
• Topic: Overview of major agreements, policy advancements, critical initiatives, etc.
• Attended: J. Ramos

The Case for Investing in Virtual Spaces

• When: 14 December 2023
• Organizer: Harvard Business Review
• Company: Harvard Business Publishing
• Sponsor: Meta (Meta Platforms, Inc., formerly, Facebook, Inc.)
• Speakers: Deborah Perry Piscione, CEO, Work3 Institute; Josh Drean, Director of AI, Work3 Institute
• Attended: J. Ramos 

Is Conservation Working?

• When: 27 November 2023
• Organizer: Oxford Martin School
• Institution: University of Oxford
• Speaker: Prof. Julia P.G. Jones, Prince Bernhard Chair in International Nature Conservation, Utrecht University; Professor of Conservation Science, Bangor University
• Topic: We are living through a nature crisis. As a result, a wide range of conservation interventions are being implemented with the intention of slowing the loss of biodiversity. But is conservation effective? How do we know?
• Attended: J. Ramos

Environmental and Social Risk and Impact Management in Land Use Finance

• When: 22 November 2023
• Organizer: UN Environment Programme – World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC)
• Institution: United Nations
• Topic: Responding to key environmental and social risks
• Attended: Ramos & Fortier

The Power of Platforms: Shaping Media and Society

• When: 21 November 2023
• Organizer: Oxford Martin School
• Institution: University of Oxford
• Speaker: Prof. Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, Director, Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism and Professor of Political Communication, Oxford
• Moderator: Prof. Philip Howard, Co-Director, Oxford Martin Programme on Misinformation, Science and Media
• Attended: J. Ramos

Responsible Supply Chain Due Diligence for the Apparel Sector / Devoir de diligence applicable aux chaînes d’approvisionnement responsables dans le secteur de l’habillement

• When: 17 October 2023
• Organizer: Canadian Trade Commissioner Service / Service des délégués commerciaux
• Co-hosted by: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Global Affairs Canada, National Contact Point Canada, and OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises / L’Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques (OCDE), Affaires mondiales Canada, Point de contact national du Canada, Principes directeurs de l’OCDE à l’intention des entreprises multinationales
• Attendees: Ramos & Fortier and Canadian companies in the apparel and footwear sector 

Designing Climate Justice Symposium

• When: 16 October 2023
• Organizers: RSD12 Hub Vancouver (Relating Systems Thinking and Design, Systemic Design Association) and ECUAD
• Where: Emily Carr University of Art + Design (ECUAD), 520 East 1st Avenue, Vancouver, BC
• Co-hosted by: City of Vancouver, Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance, Mitacs, and Real Estate Foundation of BC
• Attended: J. Ramos

Imagining a Better Climate Future

• When: 3 October 2023
• Speaker: Kim Stanley Robinson, author of the book, The Ministry for the Future (one of U.S. President Barack Obama‘s ‘favorite books’ of 2020)
• Moderator: Dorothy Woodend of The Tyee
• Organizer: BC Libraries
• Attended: J. Ramos

2022

Design & Light II: Design, Light, and Technical Textiles Seminar

• When: 27-30 June 2022
• Organizers:
  – Institute for Nanomaterials, Advanced Technologies and Innovation (CxI, TUL)
  – Faculty of Textile Engineering (FT, TUL)
  – Department of Material Engineering (ME, TUL)
  – National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), India
• Institution: Technical University of Liberec (TUL), Czech Republic
• Presenters:
  – Department of Engineering, East Carolina University, USA
  – Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland
  – TriloByte Statistical Software, Czech Republic
  – TUL’s CxI, FT, and ME
  – NIFT
  – Ramos & Fortier
• Topics and Speakers:
  – Engineering Textile Design Generalities, inter alia by Prof. Ing. J.Militký
  – Yarns from a Designer’s Point of View, inter alia by Assoc. Prof. D. Křemenáková
  – Fabrics from a Designer’s Point of View, inter alia by Asst. Prof. M. Venkataraman
  – Quality Improvement and Control in Materials Manufacturing Technology by K. Kupka, PhD & PhD
  – From Textile Terrific to Textile Terrible: Now Towards Transformation, inter alia by A.P. Aneja, PhD
  – Color and Design by A.P. Periyasamy, PhD
  – Use of Lasers and Smart Materials for Design Purposes, inter alia by Ing. Z. Hrubošová
  – Design and Industry 4.0 by J. Ramos, MSc

Nano Trends: Nanotechnology Seminar

• When: 28 February 2022
• Organizers: University of Mauritius, and The Institute for Nanomaterials, Advanced Technologies and Innovation (CxI, TUL)
• Institution: Technical University of Liberec (TUL), Czech Republic
• Presenters:
  – Technische Universität Chemnitz, Germany
  – Brno University of Technology, Czech Republic
  – Sintef, Norway
  – CxI, TUL
  – Ramos & Fortier
• Topics and Speakers:
  – Intro to Nano Fibers by Doc. Ing. S. Petrík
  – Smart Materials by Ing. Z. Hrubošová
  – Bio Materials by H. Křížová, PhD
  – Ceramic Materials by A. Preuss, PhD
  – Nanocomposite Sensors by R. Ramalingame, MSc
  – Aerogel Materials by C. Karl, PhD
  – Photovoltaic Nanostructures by A. Rishko, Bc
  – Fractal Mathematics by V. Kříž
  – Competition in Business by J. Ramos, MSc 

< 2021

Prix International Théophile Legrand de l’Innovation Textile

• When: 18 March 2018
• Organizer: Fondation Théophile Legrand
• Where: Fourmies, France
• Who: v.MFW designer, Zuzana Hrubošová winning 2nd Prize
• Attended: J. Ramos

Colloque “Textile, Cap sur le futur 4”

• When: 15 March 2018
• Organizer: Union des Industries Textiles
• Where: Centre de Conférence, Espace Capital 8, 32 Rue de Monceau, Paris 75008, France
• Attended: J. Ramos

TUL/CxI Textile Innovations at KPU

• When: 27 October 2016
• Where: Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU), Chip and Shannon Wilson School of Design, Richmond, BC, Canada
• Presenter(s): TUL’s Institute for Nanomaterials, Advanced Technologies and Innovation and Ramos & Fortier presented new materials and textile innovations.
• Who: For students of product design

3rd Annual Greater Vancouver Board of Trade Show (GVBOT)

• When: 26 October 2016
• Organizer: Greater Vancouver Board of Trade
• Where: Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, BC Ballroom, 900 W Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada
• Exhibitor(s): Ramos & Fortier with TUL’s Faculty of Textile Engineering, TUL’s Institute for Nanomaterials, Advanced Technologies and Innovation, Scilif s.r.o., and members of GVBOT

Smart Textile and Wearables Innovation Alliance

• When: 30 September 2016
• Organizer: National Research Council Canada
• Where: Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC 
• Presenter(s): Ramos & Fortier presented new materials and textile innovations from TUL’s Faculty of Textile Engineering. Other textile and textile-related companies and organizations from all levels of the supply chain also presented.

Módny Návrhár 2016

• When: 10 September 2016
• Organizers: Trenčianska univerzita Alexandra Dubčeka (tnUAD) and DIZAJN n.o.
• Where: Ružomberok, Slovakia
• Note: Invitation to see collections by tnUAD and TUL students

Design & Light Workshop

• When: 29 August – 2 September 2016
• Organizers: Department of Material Engineering (ME, TUL) and Faculty of Textile Engineering (FT, TUL)
• Institution: Technical University of Liberec (TUL), Studentská 1402/2, 461 17 Liberec 1, Czech Republic
• Topics and Speakers:
  – Material Engineering by Prof. Ing. J. Militký
  – Textile Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry by Prof. J. Wiener
  – Heat Transfer: Clothing by Assoc. Prof. A. Havelka
  – Special Metrology, inter alia by Assoc. Prof. D. Křemenáková
  – Textile Structural Composites, inter alia by Assoc. Prof. R. Mishra
  – Applied Optics: Development and Instrument Design, inter alia by Assoc. Prof. M. Vik
  – Functional Dyes, Microscopy, inter alia by Assoc. Prof. M. Viková
  – Development of Textile Structures, inter alia by V. Tunáková, PhD
  – 3D Structure in Fashion and Textile Design by Ing. Z. Hrubošová
  – Business Strategy and Leadership by J. Ramos, MSc 

City of Vancouver Meeting

• When: 5 August 2016
• Meeting: with City Councillor and Chair Planning and Environment, Andrea Reimer
• Where: Vancouver City Hall, 453 West 12th Avenue, 3/F, Vancouver, BC
• Agenda: Discuss the company’s idea on how to tackle the textile waste issue in the City. This is in support of the City’s Greenest City Action Plan initiative.

Interior Design Show West / IDSwest 2013

• When: 19 September 2013
• Organizer: Informa Canada
• Where: Vancouver Convention Centre, Vancouver, BC
• Presenters: Ramos & Fortier/v.MFW et al.

Seminar (Part of MFW-13): Entrepreneurship and Finance; Menswear Forecast 2014-2015 for North America; Men’s Fitness; etc.

• When: 8 August 2013
• Organizer: Ramos & Fortier
• Where: Hotel Le Soleil, 567 Hornby St, Vancouver, BC
• Attendees: Buyers, designers, small business owners, students, etc.

Breakfast Television

• When: 7 August 2013
• Where: Citytv Studios, Rogers Communications, Vancouver, BC
• Host: TV presenter, Riaz Meghji
• Presenters: Vancouver Men’s Fashion Week / Ramos & Fortier

KPU Fashion Design Students’ Presentation

• When: 17 April 2013
• Where: Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU), Richmond, BC
• Who: Graduating students’ presentation
• Attended: J. Ramos

London Collections: Men, Autumn/Winter 2013

• When: 7 – 9 January 2013
• Organizer: British Fashion Council
• Where: London, England, UK
• Note: Invitation to various shows and exhibits. Company wishes to support emerging British designers

Seminar (Part of MFW-12): Intro to Trademarks; Menswear Forecast 2013-2014 for North America; Movement and Strength; etc.

• When: 9 August 2012
• Organizer: Ramos & Fortier
• Where: ING Direct Canada, 466 Howe St, Vancouver, BC
• Attendees: Buyers, designers, small business owners, students, etc.

BCreative Conference 2012

• When: 10 – 12 May 2012
• Organizer: Simon Fraser University (SFU)
• Sponsors: Consulat général de France à Vancouver, Centre for Digital Media, Arts Connect, VancouverIsAwesome.com, SFU CCSP, et al.
• Where: SFU, Vancouver, BC
• Presenter: J. Ramos presented and spoke about v.MFW projects, achievements, and goals.

Seminar (Part of MFW-11): Entrepreneurship and Small Business Tips; Menswear Forecast for North America; etc.

• When: 30 September 2011
• Organizer: Ramos & Fortier
• Where: ING Direct Canada, 466 Howe St, Vancouver, BC
• Attendees: Buyers, designers, small business owners, students, etc.

Breakfast Television

• When: 20 September 2011
• Where: Citytv Studios, Rogers Communications, Vancouver, BC
• Host: TV presenter, Riaz Meghji
• Presenters: Vancouver Men’s Fashion Week / Ramos & Fortier