Date & time
Wednesday, October 18, 2023
5:30 p.m. – 7 p.m.
5:30 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Registration is closed
Conferences & lectures
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Henri P. Habib Distinguished Speaker Series on Peace, Conflict and Global Politics
Black Swans, Unicorns and Mirages: Navigating Contemporary Geopolitics
Cost
This event is free
Organization
Contact
Where
Henry F. Hall Building
1455 De Maisonneuve Blvd. W.
Room H-1220
Accessible location
Yes
Join us for a lecture featuring Vikas Swarup, LLD 23, author and retired High Commissioner of India to Canada, who will speak about the current state of global geopolitics, from Brexit and the election of Donald Trump to COVID-19 and the impact of new technologies such as AI.
The talk is part of Concordia’s Henri P. Habib Distinguished Speaker Series on Peace, Conflict and Global Politics.
The Henri P. Habib speaker series features major political figures and was created in honour of Professor Habib who founded the Department of Political Science at Loyola College in 1961.
Swarup is an internationally renowned bestselling author, television host and former member of the Indian Foreign Service.
In a diplomatic career that spanned more than three decades, Swarup served in various capacities in Turkey, the United States, Ethiopia, the United Kingdom, South Africa and Japan. After his role as the Official Spokesperson of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi (2015-2017), he was appointed India’s High Commissioner to Canada (2017-2019). In December 2019 he assumed the post of Secretary (West) in India’s External Affairs Ministry, a position he retired from in June 2021.
Swarup penned his first novel, Q&A, in just two months while posted in London. Q&A came out in 2005 and has since been published in 45 languages and won multiple awards. The film version, Slumdog Millionaire (2008), won seven BAFTAs, four Golden Globes and eight Academy Awards, including Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture. His subsequent books, Six Suspects and The Accidental Apprentice, have been published in all major languages and are also being adapted for the screen.