The Canadian International Council (CIC) National Capital Branch in partnership with Knowledge Mobilization & Partnerships, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada invite you to a virtual event on November 17.

Building on the success of the International Metropolis 2019 conference, Dr. Kari Pries, Dr. Craig Damian Smith and Mr. Enrico del Castello will help us better understand the emerging challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic with a particular focus on migration issues in the Global South.

Speaker Bios:

Craig Damian Smith is a Senior Research Associate at the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration at Ryerson University, and a Research Affiliate at the Centre for Refugee Studies at York University. He earned his PhD in Political Science from the University of Toronto. His research examines the international politics of irregular migration, global migration governance, and refugee integration. His work is based on long-term, qualitative research with migrants, policymakers and civil society groups. His recently-completed SSHRC Insight Development Grant project, entitled “Understanding Emergent Irregular Migration Systems to Canada”, explores the rapid development and expansion of irregular migration routes to Canada after the Spring of 2017. His current projects include an investigation into Canada’s engagement with displacement crises in Latin America, and a SSHRC-funded project examining the impacts of legal aid on access to justice for refugee claimants in Canada. Learn more at www.craigdamiansmith.com.

Dr. Kari Pries advises clients on Latin American political, operational, and security risks. Specializing in complex security environments, she has briefed widely on the subject as well as published related research academically and in thematic magazines. Before joining IHS Markit, Dr. Pries held positions as project coordinator in El Salvador with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and as a commerce officer with the Canadian civil service in Ottawa. She also has taught in the Department of Geography at Carleton University. She was awarded a Ph.D. in Politics by the University of Glasgow, Scotland, where she focused on multilateral security policy negotiations. She speaks French and Spanish.

Enrico del Castello will moderate this event. He is the Director of the Knowledge Mobilization and Partnerships division with Research and Evaluation, a Branch within the department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Most recently in this role, he spearheaded the planning and execution of the International Metropolis Conference 2019, which was lauded for both its scale and success, drawing in 1400 delegates from over 60 countries around the globe. Prior to this he has planned and organized several international conferences including two G8 Experts roundtables on integration. With over 28 years of experience in the public service, Mr. del Castello has held various senior positions such as Director of International Relations with Canada Customs and Revenue, representing Canada in various parts of the World, Director of Research and Outreach in the Diversity Management Branch of the Public Service Commission of Canada, Senior Media Relations Officer in the Department of the Secretary of State of Canada, serving as the Canadian delegate to the UN General Assembly in New York, and has been a member of several academic research boards. Mr. del Castello holds a Masters in Political Science (Canadian Studies Immigration and Multiculturalism) from Carleton University as well as a Post Graduate Degree in Public International Administration from The University of Quebec and completed PhD work. He is fluent in English, French, Spanish and Italian.

Elizabeth Kingston will introduce this panel. She is the President of the CIC National Capital Branch. She had a career of 35 years with the Parliament of Canada as a Procedural Clerk and is now retired. She has held numerous positions including Clerk of the Standing Committees on Finance, Public Accounts, Aboriginal Af-fairs, Industry as well as the Special Joint Committee on the Meech Lake Accord. She has also served as Executive Secretary to the Canada – United States Inter-parliamentary Group, the Canada-China and Canada-Japan Parliamentary Associations, the Canada-United Kingdom Parliamentary Association and the Canadian Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. Elizabeth also served as Executive Secretary to the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP), which serves to strengthen the participation of women in politics, government and society. Elizabeth served as both a short term and long term observer for the presidential, then parliamentary elections in Ukraine in the spring and summer of 2019. Elizabeth recently returned from Guyana and Ukraine as an election observer for their elections in January and November 2020. Elizabeth holds a Master’s degree in French Literature and is presently working on a Master’s degree in Theology.

EVENT FORMAT:
Webinar – MS Teams

TO CONNECT TO THE EVENT (on November 17):
Join the event here
Ask a question here

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This event is part of a series of discussions dedicated to the theme of engaging Canadians on the future of international development after COVID-19, in partnership with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).