Announcements
- MIGS sends its condolences to the family of former Canadian Member of Parliament Paul Dewar who passed away on 6 February 2019. Paul Dewar worked closely with MIGS over the past decade. Please read our statement on his legacy as a human rights champion.
- Save the Date 2-3 June: MIGS will once again partner with Amnistie Internationale Canada francophone, the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights and the Comité unifié des organisations arméniennes du Québec to convene the #RightsCity initiative. #RightsCity will consist of two events: the Annual March for Humanity and Against Genocide on 2 June and a public conference to be held at Concordia university on 3 June. Speakers to be confirmed shortly.
- Save the Date 5 April: MIGS will organize a day long conference on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights at Concordia University’s new 4TH SPACE. Speakers to be confirmed shortly.
- Save the date: In commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, MIGS will co-organize two activities in collaboration with PAGE Rwanda and other partners. On 7 April, an official ceremony will take place in Montreal at Marché Bonsecours. On 8 April, MIGS is co-organizing a conference at the Parliament of Canada titled “25 years after the last genocide of the 20th century: What have we learned.” More information will follow.
- The Department of Global Affairs Canada’s Canadian Foreign Service Institute has selected MIGS to deliver a one day bilingual training course on digital diplomacy.
- MIGS is happy to welcome two new Youth Fellows, Caroline Feldner and Kelly Bettan
Upcoming Events
March 18-19
- MIGS will be hosting a 2-day event about the fight to implement equitable peace in Colombia. Cinema Politica will screen the 2018 documentary They’re Killing Us, which will be followed by a workshop with frontline human rights defender Héctor Marino Carabalí Charrupi and filmmakers Emily Wright, Tom Laffay, and Daniel Bustos. For those interested in attending please send an email to migs@concordia.ca.
April 3
- MIGS will be hosting the rescheduled event: “Old Hatreds in a New World: A Panel Discussion on Online Antisemitism” with guest speakers Steve McDonald, director of policy and strategic communications for the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), Alyssa Blanc (CIJA) and James Rubec, product manager at Cision Canada. The event will discuss the upsurge of antisemitism in the online sphere. Registration is mandatory, and can be found here.
Recent events
February 7
- MIGS hosted the Canadian International Council for a discussion on “Canada: alone in the world?” with Robert Greenhill, Executive Chairman of the Global Canada Initiative, and Ben Rowswell, president of the CIC and former Canadian ambassador to Venezuela. If you missed the talk, a video is a available on YouTube.
- Kyle Matthews, MIGS Fellow Diego Osorio and Youth Fellow Alexandrine Royer attended the Dutch Foreign Ministry’s Hague Digital Diplomacy Camp in Brussels. Kyle Matthews moderated two sessions, one on Artificial Intelligence and diplomacy, and another on Artificial Intelligence and geopolitics.
February 22
- MIGS hosted a talk with journalist and fellow Michael Petrou about the media strategies of illiberal actors, namely Russia and the Islamic State, their successes, and how liberal or democratic-minded media can counter their influence.
In the media
February 12
- MIGS fellow Andrei Serbin Pont spoke about his research on the Venezuelan refugee crisis on a Global Dispatch podcast, and was quoted in an article for Inter Press Service titled: “International Aid Feeds Hope and Fuels Confrontation in Venezuela”.
February 14
- As part of her weekly column for Forbes Magazine, MIGS Digital Fellow Ewelina Ochab published the following articles titled: “Remembering the 21 Coptic Orthodox Christians murdered by Daesh”, and “Attempts to address the issue of foreign fighters continue”
- MIGS fellow Dr. Joana Cook was quoted in a Huffington Post article titled “5 key questions raised after British ISIS teen bride’s plea to return.” Joana also spoke to the BBC World Service and with BBC Radio4 about what’s next for ISIS wives.
February 18
- MIGS Digital Fellow Humera Khan wrote the following article for Foreign Affairs titled “Why countering extremism fails”.
- Digital Fellow Anne Speckhard wrote an article for Modern Diplomacy titled: “ISIS Smuggler: Sleeper Cells and ‘Undead’ Suicide Bombers Have Infiltrated Europe” and was quoted in an article for Fox News titled: “ISIS wife dilemma: US-born citizens, even terrorists, can't be barred from re-entry, experts say”
February 21
- Marie Lamensch published an article in the HuffPost Quebec on the current uprising in Sudan titled “Les Soudanais dans la mais qui s’en soucie?”
February 22
- Digital Fellow Phil Gurski was quoted in the following article for the Toronto Sun titled: “Mandel: Freed homegrown jihadist remains 'high risk to public safety”.
- Marie Lamensch was quoted in an article in La Presse written by Agnès Gruda titled “Les démons de l'antisémitisme.”
February 24
- Digital Fellow Phil Gurski has a few new blog post including this one titled “Our terrorism laws are in need of review.” Mr. Gurski also has a podcast that you can listen to.
February 27
- Fellow Michael Petrou wrote a piece for OpenCanada about the Venezuelan crisis.
February 28
- Fellow Michael Petrou wrote an op-ed for CBC titled: “It would be immoral for Canada to leave its ISIS members in Syria”.