IYPC 2023 Keynote Speakers
We are immensely grateful to be joined by our keynote speakers at IYPC 2023. Learn more about our speakers on this page and be sure to attend their talks!
Olivia Sun
oliSUNvia (Olivia Sun) is a Canadian commentary YouTuber who creates video essays about topics she finds interesting, relevant, or controversial. As a philosophy specialist at the University of Toronto, she uses her educational interests to delve into a variety of topics, such as the self-fetishization of East Asians, mental health, body neutrality, and romantic love. She hopes to explore these issues in a way that connects with younger generations and internet culture at large. Her law school ambitions are fueled by a desire to help others enact potential reforms to the justice system.
On March 12th, 2023, Olivia will be presenting a talk to answer the question: ‘Can Lovers be Friends?’ Attend the event to learn about Plato’s views on relationships (both platonic and romantic), and modern-day applications of his thought.
Professor Melissa Frankel
Melissa Frankel is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Professor Frankel's main area of research is in the history of philosophy, with a special focus on 17th and 18th-century philosophy. She is also engaged with feminist philosophy, the philosophy of religion, the history of analytic philosophy, and the philosophy of perception.
On Saturday, March 11th at 2:00 PM EST, Professor Frankel's Seminar will feature a workshop on ‘The Problem of Evil’; is a benevolent God compatible with the existence of evil in the world?
Kimberly Yang
As an avid jazz enthusiast and philosophy fanatic, Kimberly Yang is an undergraduate student at McGill University studying Joint Honours Philosophy and East Asian Studies. Over the years, Kimberly has been heavily involved in numerous initiatives, ranging from leading the Markham Teen Arts Council, speaking internationally for the Detroit Institute of Arts, developing United Nations Association in Canada’s first ever digital equity programme, overseeing the McGill Philosophy Students’ Association, organizing TEDx talks, and much more.
Presently, much of Kimberly’s passions lie in connecting philosophical theories with East Asian religions, phenomenology, diplomatic policy-making, and unlearning frameworks. She’s a deep-thinker, a shaker-upper, and hopes to use her experiences in philosophy and beyond to make even the most minuscule, yet positive change for those around her.
Kimberly will present a talk on an introduction to phenomenology on March 11th at 12:30 PM EST. Learn more about the relevance of phenomenology by attending her talk!