Description

The Canadian International Council Toronto Branch invites you to join us for a special event on the future of Syria and Lebanon. Anne Demirjian, Director, Glendon School of Public and International Affairs will speak to our members about the Syrian conflict, the peace process, and transitional justice. Jade Saab, the manager of and a writer for Reformer magazine, will speak about the political situation in Lebanon, Lebanon’s relationship with Syria, and the importance of the Lebanese elections which are taking place on May 6, 2018.

Speakers’ Biography

Anne Demirjian was appointed the Director of Glendon School of Public & International Affairs, York University. From 2014-2015, she was the Director of Political Affairs & Mediation Group at the UN Mission in Somalia (UNSOM). She was responsible for the peace building and state building portfolio, including: military/civilian interface & stabi-lization, political reform, state formation (federal/state), conflict prevention & local rec-onciliation and constitutional review. From 2004-2013, working with the UN Missions in the field, she headed UNDP’s Democratic Governance portfolio in Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Eastern European countries & Central Asia. At UNDP-Iraq (2004-2007), Somalia (2008-2009) and Libya (2011-2012) she was responsible for transitional administration, the constitution drafting process, elections, institutional development and capacity building, public administration reform, local governance and civil society development. In 2010, she was seconded to Haiti to lead the Post Disaster Needs Assessment for the UNDP/World Bank after the earthquake in Haiti. Annie has 20 years of senior management experience, in policy and programming, with the Federal Government of Canada (central agencies/line departments, including at the Security Intelligence & Review Committee (SIRC). For the United Nations and the World Bank she also worked in the following countries: Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia, Palestine Zimbabwe, South Africa and Nigeria.

Jade Saab is a Lebanese/Canadian political writer and theorist. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the American University of Beirut, and a Master of Science from the University of Edinburgh. Jade was born in Montreal but raised in Lebanon where he spent his career consulting with various NGO’s and Multinational organizations. Jade left Lebanon for Scotland in 2014 for his Post-graduate studies. There, he published several articles on the development of illiberal democracy in Europe as it related to the worsening situation in the Middle East and the ‘Refugee crisis’. Jade relocated to Toronto in 2017 where his primary focus has been on writing and managing Reformer, an online magazine covering current affairs, social change, and policy. He is in the process of writing his first book Finding Left, a critical theory book exploring Marxism and Liberalism. He frequently travels between Toronto, Edinburgh, and Beirut and provides a first-hand account of the challenges facing Lebanon.

There is no charge for this event.

Contact Person: Erwin Voloder – toronto@thecic.org