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Newsletter - June 2016

May 25, 2016

Source: MIGS

Upcoming Events

May 27, 2016
MIGS’ Non-Resident Journalism Fellow Michael Petrou, Frank Chalk and Elizabeth Bloodgood (Political Science, Concordia) will examine “Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria: Lessons Learned for Mass Atrocity Prevention” in a panel discussion taking place at 1:30 pm in the MIGS Conference Room, Suite FB-804, 1250 Guy St. Seating is limited. (Free) registration is required.

May 30, 2016
A special event highlighting the plight of Syrian civilians will be held at the Parliament of Canada, Ottawa from 5:30-7:00 pm in Room 362, East Block. This event is organized by MIGS, the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Prevention of Genocide and other Crimes against Humanity, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. On display will be “Caesar’s Photos: Inside Syria’s Secret Prisons,” an exhibit made up of photos of detainees from Syrian Regime prisons.

The photos will be shown earlier in the day at Ottawa University’s Human Rights Research and Education Centre beginning at 11:00 am. An evening reception will take place from 7:30-9:00 pm as well.

June 3, 2016
Marie Lamensch will chair a session on « Murs, société civile et agentivité » at the Colloque « Frontières, murs et violence : fortification des frontières, coûts et alternatives » organized by the Chaire Raoul Dandurand

June 8, 2016
Frank Chalk and other featured speakers will explore the timely issue of radicalization of youth, and the crucial role education plays in preventing extremism and genocide in “Awakening Humanity: preventing radicalization through education.” The event is hosted by The Foundation for the Compulsory Study of Genocide in Schools, and is sponsored by Olymbec. Partners include MIGS, Mike Flinker, the Armenian National Committee of Quebec, McGill University, PAGE Rwanda, and The Suburban Newspaper.
For more information and to register, please visit the event website.

June 9, 2016
Marie Lamensch give a talk at the Conference on "Sécurité démographique et crises migratoires" organized by the Collège des Forces armées canadiennes in Toronto.

June 9-12, 2016
Kyle Matthews and MIGS fellow Diego Osorio will attend the 4^th Global Diplomacy Lab in Berlin, Germany. The theme for the event is mass atrocity prevention and global justice.

June 13-15, 2016
Kyle Matthews and Marie Lamensch will participate in this year’s Global Media Forum in Bonn, Germany. They will be speaking alongside Vivek Venkatesh, associate professor of education at Concordia University, and Cathleen Berger, leader of the Global Partners Digital Cyber Capacity Building programme, on a panel titled“The digital security-rights nexus - The delicate balance between privacy and human security.”

Past Event

April 27, 2016
Kyle Matthews attended the Forum de mobilisation des connaissances en affaires internationales put on by CERIUM and Monde68 at Collège Jean Brébeuf of Université de Montréal, where he participated in a panel on the “Impact des études internationales dans l’élaboration des politiques.” The forum brought together researchers, diplomats, journalists and policy makers who share the desire to increase the impact of research in international studies in the media and social, political, and economic spheres.

May 4-6, 2016
MIGS helped to organize the conference, Avoiding Catastrophe: Linking Armed Conflict, Harm to Ecosystems, and Threats to Public Health, in partnership with Concordia University’s Loyola Sustainability Research Centre. Frank Chalk participated in a roundtable on “Future Streams of Research,” and Kyle Matthews participated in a roundtable on “Humanitarian Actions amidst Structural Challenges.” The conference was made possible through partnerships with EcoHealth Alliance, FutureEarth, and the Human Security Institute and was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada

May 8, 2016
MIGS co-organized and participated in Montreal’s second annual March for Humanity and the Prevention of Genocide alongside the Alliance for Genocide Awareness and Remembrance and the City of Montreal. The March, which raises awareness about crimes against humanity to prevent future mass atrocity crimes, attracted nearly 2,000 participants from many ethnic backgrounds and was widely covered in the media by La Journal de Montréal, La Presse canadienne, Journal Métro, Montreal Gazette, TVA Nouvelles, Presse Gauche, CNW Telbec, and The Armenian Weekly. CBC News filmed individual interviews with Armenian genocide survivors at the march, and Global News broadcast a video segment. Notable speakers at the event included Christine St. Pierre and Melanie Joly, among others.

May 9, 2016
In advance of the 4^th Global Diplomacy Lab in June 2016, Kyle Matthews and Martin Mennecke, Associate Professor of International Law at the University of Southern Denmark, participated in a webinar titled “Global Governance and the Responsibility to Protect.”

May 16, 2016
MIGS hosted the official launch of the SOMEONE (SOcial Media EducatiON Every day) Project Initiative, an online educational portal to curb hate speech and prevent radicalization. The group of researchers who developed the website is headed by Vivek Venkatesh, associate professor of education at Concordia University. The launch was covered in the media by the Montreal Gazette, La Presse+, andLe Journal de Montreal.

May 17, 2016
The Montreal Press Club, MIGS and the Canadian International Council organized a special event with the Honourable Bill Graham, Canada’s former minister of foreign affairs and minister of defence.

May 19, 2016
MIGS livestreamed “Partners in Prevention: A Global Forum on Ending Genocide,” an event hosted by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum at the Simons Center in Washington, DC.

In the Media

April 29, 2016
MIGS signed a letter from more than 80 international and Syrian NGOs and faith groups to President Obama and President Putin, “Hope is crumbling on your watch, save Syria’s ceasefire,” urging that the American and Russian leaders use their personal diplomatic engagement to save what remains of theCessation of Hostilities (CoH) agreement.

May 7, 2016
MIGS’ fellow Michael Petrou published an article in the National Post titled “History of violence: Aleppo has been fought over for millennia and citizens are no closer to escaping war.”

May 13, 2016
Kyle Matthews was quoted in a La Presse article on the Kenyan government’s potential plan to close the world’s largest refugee camp, located in Dabaab: “Nairobi veut expulser 344 000 réfugiés.”

May 18, 2016
Kyle Matthews and Chantalle Gonzalez published an op-ed for The Christian Science Monitor titled “The case for launching a digital invasion against ISIS.”

Announcements

Marie Lamensch has been selected as a mentor in the McGill Women in Leadership Mentorship Program, an organization and forum which encourages the exchange of experiences and advice between women professionals and students. Marie has also recently joined the board of the Canadian International Council and the Foreign Affairs Editor at The Mantle.

Kyle Matthews joined the advisory council for transatlantic co-operation for atrocity prevention of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.