The CIC National Capital Branch invites you to a virtual event on June 23, exclusive to CIC members

Reviewing some of the bona fide sources it becomes evident that human civilization has suffered from several deadly pandemics that often changed the course of events and our way of life on this planet. Since 19 December 2019, when the Novel Coronavirus emerged in Wuhan, Hubei Province of China and it spread internationally, millions of people around the globe have been affected directly or indirectly by the COVID-19 pandemic. The impacts of this global pandemic are measured in terms of unavailability of robust health care systems, lack of clear leadership for multilateral approaches to stop deadly conflicts, and to curb the outbreak and its widespread socio-economic and political disruptions and impacts. In light of these consequences, some observers believe that the sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 has unveiled many shortcomings of our current way of life on this planet. Over-population, unequal distribution of wealth, greed and resentment, conflicts, consumerism, flawed economic development models that fail to factor-in the social costs of economic activities, and climate change are some of the stark flaws of our Post-WWII civilization.

To address these issues in the context of post-pandemic era, the CIC National Capital Branch is pleased to invite you to a virtual event that will feature Mr. Robert Malley, President and CEO, Crisis Group in conversation with the Mr. Michael Levitt, Chair of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, Parliament of Canada, and Ms. Colleen Duggan, Program Leader of the Governance and Justice Program at the International Development Research Centre. Allan Thompson, a renowned Canadian journalist and scholar will be moderating this event.

Format: Virtual event

Registration:

While there is no fee to attend this event, you must be a CIC member to participate. Although we encourage individuals affiliated with IDRC and Crisis Group to sign up for CIC membership, registration is also open to individuals from these organizations (please use your organizational email to register).

To register: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_51W7z0-TSk2p5S8NzeY1hQ

If you are not a member and wish to join or renew your membership in the CIC you can do so here: https://thecic.org/become-a-member/

Bios of Speakers:

Robert Malley, President and CEO of Crisis Group in Washington D.C. Prior to rejoining Crisis Group, first as Vice President for Policy and since January 2018 as President & CEO, Robert Malley served in the Obama administration as Special Assistant to the President, Senior Adviser to the President for the Counter-ISIL Campaign, and White House Coordinator for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf region. He also served as Special Assistant to President Clinton for Arab-Israeli affairs and Director for Near East and South Asian affairs at the National Security Council. Before joining the Obama administration, he was Program Director for Middle East and North Africa at Crisis Group, leading the organization’s research, analysis, policy prescription and advocacy in and about the region.

Michael Levitt, Chair of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, Parliament of Canada. Michael Levitt is the Member of Parliament for the riding of York Centre in Toronto. He was first elected in 2015, and re-elected in 2019. A first-generation Canadian, Michael immigrated to Canada from Scotland with his mother at age thirteen. He received a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from McGill University, and earned a master’s degree in Science and Technology Studies from the University of Edinburgh. In parliament, Michael serves as Chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, and is a member of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics. He previously served as Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on International Human Rights. Michael is also the Chair of the Canada-Israel Interparliamentary Group, an executive member of the Canada-United Kingdom Interparliamentary Association and Canada-Italy Interparliamentary Group, and serves as part of the Raoul Wallenberg Parliamentary Caucus on Human Rights. Before his election, Michael worked as a partner and Vice President of Business Development for the Benjamin Group. He is a founding member of the Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee, a multi-partisan organization dedicated to activating the grassroots Jewish community in the political process, and has been an active volunteer with numerous non-profits and charities. Michael has served as a board member of the Koffler Centre for the Arts, Mount Sinai Hospital and other organizations.

Colleen Duggan, Program Leader of the Governance and Justice Program, International Development Research Centre (IDRC). She has recently returned to IDRC, after successfully completing a two-year assignment as the Deputy-Director of Management with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights’ largest global field operation in Bogota, Colombia. She has 25 years of expertise with international organizations in strategic programming, planning, evaluation and donor relationship management in the areas of human rights and the rule of law in conflict-affected countries. Before joining IDRC, she worked for more than a decade with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and with the United Nations Development Programme in Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador, and New York. She holds a Master’s degree in international human rights and humanitarian law from the University of Essex (UK) and a graduate degree in international development and economic cooperation from the University of Ottawa (Canada).

Allan Thompson (moderator), Associate Professor, Carleton University’s School of Journalism and Communication, and on July 1 will take over as the head of Carleton’s journalism program. He joined the faculty at Carleton in 2003 after spending 17 years as a reporter with the Toronto Star, where he worked for a decade as a Parliament Hill correspondent, reporting on foreign affairs, defence and immigration issues. During that time, reporting assignments took him to such places as Rwanda, Zaire, Somalia, Sierra Leone and Russia. In early 2006 he launched the Rwanda Initiative, a five-year partnership between Carleton’s journalism school and its counterpart in Rwanda. He is the editor of a collection of papers called The Media and the Rwanda Genocide published in 2007 as well as last year’s Media and Mass Atrocity: the Rwanda Genocide and Beyond. He has led various training programs for journalists in such places as Rwanda, Kenya and East Timor. He is also the co-author of The Canadian Reporter, the standard journalism text for Canadian journalism students and the founding director of Carleton’s Centre for Media and Transitional Societies (CMTS). While on a leave of absence from Carleton, he was the Liberal Party of Canada candidate in the Ontario riding of Huron-Bruce in 2015 and 2019.