Advisory Council

Mohammad Al Zaibak

Debra Grobstein Campbell

The Honourable Baljit S Chadha PC

Charles S Coffey OC

Blake C Goldring MSM

Susie Kololian

Margaret O MacMillan OC

Don Morrison

Gordon M Nixon CM OOnt

Raheel Raza

Edward Safarian CM

Yuen Pau Woo

Board of Directors

Helena Gottschling

Vahan Kololian (Chairman)

James P Muldoon Jr (Vice Chaiman)

Edward Safarian

Dundee Staunton

Staff

John Monahan

Wendy Sung-Aad

Lorenzo Vargas

Donate now at wwwmosaicinstituteca

THEMOSAICINSTITUTE

2 Bloor Street West Suite 3400

Toronto ON M4W 3E2

Tel 416-644-6000

Email infomosaicinstituteca

Website wwwmosaicinstituteca

Twitter MosaicInstitute

Facebook The Mosaic Institute

The Mosaic Institute is a registered Canadian charitable

organization (85627-9617 RR0001)

Watercolor by Fatima Fasih of 2011 Nobel Peace

Prize Laureate Leymah Gbowee sold at the 2014

Citizen Summit and generously donated back to

the Mosaic Institute Proceeds of all paintings

sold at the 2014 Citizen Summit went towards

the International Campaign to Stop Gender

Based Violence as part of ldquoUofMosaicrdquo studentsrsquo

ldquo90-Day Challenge Against Gender-Based Vio-

lence in Conflictrdquo

UofMosaic Students Launch the 90-Day Challenge

Against Gender-Based Violence in Conflict

The Mosaic Dispatch

WINTER 2015 W I N T E R 2 0 1 5

On February 14th ldquoUofMosaicrdquo students held their first awareness-raising action as part of their ldquo90-Day Challenge Against Gender-Based Violence in Conflictrdquo On that day to highlight the fact that gender-based violence knows no national borders they stood in solidarity with missing and murdered indigenous women and girls in Canada at the 10th Annual Strawberry Ceremony for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women The students did so because they believe that any efforts to raise awareness about the issue of gender-based violence internationally must include a critical reflection of the way in which this issue manifests itself in Canada

The 90-Day Challenge is the community service project of the ldquoUofMosaicrdquo programrsquos 2014 Citizen Summit on Women and Armed Conflict In addition to maintaining an active social media presence the 90-Day Challenge students are holding events to raise awareness about gender-based violence in armed conflicts around the world and will be fundraising to support the work of the Stephen Lewis Foundation to combat sexual violence and HIVAIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa The 90-Day Challenge students are also actively working on their campuses to collect pledges in support of the International Campaign to Stop Rape and Gender Violence in Conflict For more information please visit wwwfacebookcomagainstgenderviolence

Canadarsquos Roma

Diaspora Promoting

Human Rights

2

Mosaicrsquos Executive

Director Speaks on

Diasporasrsquo Role in

International

Development

3

Peace Talks I

Somalia and Rwanda

4

Peace Talks II Sri

Lanka and South

Sudan

5

Mosaic Recognizes

Outstanding

Volunteers

6

May 12 2015

Peace Patron Dinner

7

Inside this issue

Join the conversation On Twitter

MosaicInstitute

Harnessing Canadarsquos

Diversity for Peace at

Home and Abroad

UofMosaic students at the 10th annual Strawberry Ceremony for Missing and Murdered Indigenous

Women on February 14 2015

P a g e 2

WINTER 2015

On March 5th the Mosaic Institute hosted a film screening and public discussion in collaboration with SFUs Centre for Dialogue and the Canadian Romani Alliance in Vancou-ver The event entitled ldquoRoma Voices A Film Screening of Suspino A Cry for Romardquo fea-tured Julia Lovell and Gina Csanyi-Robah co-founders of the Canadian Romani Alliance as speakers Julia and Gina focused their presentations on the efforts of Canadas Roma com-munity to advocate for the rights of other Roma who are victims of persecution all around the world Ms Csanyi-Robah is no stranger to the Mosaic Institutersquos work having served as Program Manager of the Institutes award-winning ldquoNext Generationrdquo program in high schools for the past several years The event brought together both students and community members Attendees with no direct connection to Roma communities expressed appreciation for the event For them it was a rare opportunity to learn more about the struggles of a community that is often over-looked in conversations about human rights and peace building ldquoRoma Voices A Film Screening of Suspino A Cry for Romardquo was presented as part of the Mosaic Institutersquos ldquoUofMosaicrdquo program its campus-based peace building initiative for uni-versity students ldquoUofMosaicrdquo programming is delivered at Ryerson University York Univer-sity the University of Toronto Concordia University McGill University and Simon Fraser University ldquoUofMosaicrdquo is made possible by the generous support of BMO Financial Group

Canadarsquos Roma Diaspora and the Promotion

of Human Rights

Gina Csanyi-

Robah Co-Founder

of the Canadian

Romani Alliance at

Vancouverrsquos

Simon Fraser

University on

March 5 discussing

human rights

issues faced by

Romani people in

Canada and

abroad

P a g e 7

THE MOSAIC INSTITUTErsquoS

PEACE PATRON DINNER

May 12 2015 mdash Toronto Board of Trade

Presenting Patrons Media Sponsor

Honorary Dinner Co-Chairs

Sheldon Levy President Ryerson University

Mamdouh Shoukri President York University

Dinner Host MC

Anne-Marie Mediwake

Ambassadors

AGF Management Limited

Richard and Donna Ivey

Walt and Katie Macnee

Gordon and Janet Nixon

Benefactors

Mohammad and Najla Al Zaibak

Baker McKenzie LLP

Cassels Brock amp Blackwell LLP

Baljit and Roshi Chadha

Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP

Rudi and Jennifer Fronk

Pierre Gagnon

Gowlings LLP

Bill and Sue Kidd

Carolyn Keystone and Jim Meekison

Bruce H Mitchell

Nadir and Shabin Mohamed

Reeta Roy and James P Muldoon Jr

Norton Rose Fullbright LLP

Select Food Products Limited

Gary and Donna Slaight

Dundee and Patch Staunton

TD Private Giving

Mosaic Recognizes Outstanding Volunteers

At the Mosaic Institute our volunteers are integral to realizing our mission to harness Canadarsquos diversity for peace at home and abroad In the case of our ldquoUofMosaicrdquo program for university students we provide student volunteers with the necessary leadership and professional skills to help facilitate constructive dialogue and build bridges of understanding across community divides both on campus and in their everyday lives On December 18th the ldquoUoMosaicrdquo presented Areeb Qureshi and Shifa Tauqir (pictured below) with Outstanding Volunteer Service Awards Areeb a Seneca College student is a member of the Mosaic Institutersquos Student Advisory Committee Shifa a student at the University of Toronto is both a member of the Student Advisory Committee and the President of the ldquoUofMosaicrdquo chapter at the University of Toronto As volunteers Areeb and Shifa dedicated countless hours to the delivery of the ldquoIn the Aftermath of Warrdquo discussion series and the 2014 Citizen Summit on Women amp Armed Conflict They were also active participants in our Peace Professionalsrsquo Development Program during the summer of 2014 as well as in a number of other ldquoUofMosaicrdquo projects Both Areeb and Shifa are remarkable emerging student and community leaders whose commitment to the advancement of peace at home and abroad is an inspiration to all of us at the Mosaic Institute

Shifa and Areeb were honored at a small ceremony to celebrate them and all the other members of the Student Advisory Committee who had successfully completed our inaugural Peace Professionalsrsquo Development Program Our congratulations and thanks to Shifa Areeb and all other members of our Student Advisory Committee for the rich contributions they make to

P a g e 6

Some of Mosaicrsquos

dedicated volun-

teers Back row

from left to right

Darine Augusta

Abdi Alawia Ra-

jeeka and Samir

Front row from

left to right

Areeb Senka

Ravi and Mariam

Areeb Qureshi and Shifa Tauqir

recipients of Outstanding Volunteer Ser-

vice Awards from the Mosaic Institute

P a g e 3

Mosaic Co-Presents ldquoWhatrsquos Canadian about International

Development An Election Year Conversationrdquo at Simon Fraser

University

On February 5th Mosaicrsquos Executive Director John Monahan participated in ldquoWhatrsquos Canadian About Interna-

tional Development An Election Year Conversationrdquo an event co-hosted by the Mosaic Institute as part of

Canadarsquos 25th International Development Week The discussion held at Simon Fraser Universityrsquos Harbour

Centre was the result of a partnership involving the British Columbia Council for International Cooperation

SFU International SFUrsquos School of Communication and the Mosaic Institutersquos ldquoUofMosaicrdquo Program

Johnrsquos presentation examined current and prospective efforts to systematically engage Canadarsquos diaspora

communities from the Global South with the aim of informing and enhancing Canadian contributions to

international development Other speakers included Paul Meyer Fellow in International Security at SFUrsquos

Centre for Dialogue who spoke on Canadarsquos security agenda and international development Paul Gilly Pub-

lic Health Consultant and Adjunct Professor at UBCrsquos School of Population and Public Heath who discussed

Canadarsquos response to the Ebola epidemic in Western Africa and Shawn Smith Adjunct Professor and Found-

ing Director of RADIUS at SFUrsquos Beedie School of Business who focused on innovative financing mechanisms

to combat underdevelopment

This event was a good opportunity for the ldquoUofMosaicldquo to reinforce its presence at SFU while planning pro-

ceeds for another year of student-led programming to be delivered during the 20152016 academic year

The Mosaic Institutersquos Executive Director John Monahan seated second from right at Simon

Fraser University on February 5

The ldquoUofMosaic Talks Peace In the Aftermath of Warrdquo series concluded on February 24th 2015 with an event on South Sudan held at York University The series led by students from the Mosaic Institutersquos Student Advisory Committee (SAC) was launched on October 1 2014 also at York University The series focused on four countries affected by violent conflictmdashSomalia Rwanda Sri Lanka and South Sudanmdash and explored the ways in which these countriesrsquo respective diasporas in Canada can build alliances to promote peace

P a g e 4

ldquoUofMosaic Talks Peace In the Aftermath of Warrdquo

Discussion Series Concludes

Somalia ldquoBuilding here vs building thererdquo On October 1st 2014 the ldquoUofMosaicrdquo hosted a discussion entitled ldquoBuilding Here vs Building There The Somali Diasporarsquos Double Burdenrdquo The event focused on the Somali communityrsquos efforts to integrate successfully into Canadian society at the same time as its members are actively engaged in helping to re-build the structures and institutions essential to the es-tablishment of sustainable peace and security in Somalia The discussion was co-presented with York Uni-versityrsquos Centre for Human Rights and with the Couchiching Institute of Public Affairs More

than 50 people participated Featured speakers were Faduma Mohamed Co-Founder of Positive Change and Abdi Hersi a graduate student in public policy at the University of Toronto who is also an SAC member Hibaq Gelle community activist and curator of Couchiching Conversations served as the discussionrsquos moderator

Rwanda ldquoForgiveness is personal reconciliation is politicalrdquo

On December 9th 2014 students from the Mosaic Institutersquos Student Advisory Committee hosted a ldquolunch-and-learnrdquo event on reconciliation and for-giveness in Rwanda The event was held at the Mo-saic Institutersquos offices and featured Toronto-based Rwandan genocide survivor and peace advocate Emery Rutagonya as the main speaker

Emery focused the first part of his talk on his own experience surviving the genocide in 1994 and the subsequent slow process of learning to forgive the perpetrators He recounted the brutality horror and profound loss that overtook his home city of

Emery Rutagonya and event attendees on December 9

Event Attendees at York University on October 1

P a g e 5

T h e

M o s a i c

Kigali and claimed the lives of almost everyone he knew He shared that for many years following the genocide he grappled with feelings of guilt and he would often question why he alone survived while most of his family was killed In the second half of his talk Emery addressed the many issues surrounding the question of how to foster systemic reconciliation in Rwanda after the genocide For him true reconciliationmdashwhich has yet to be achievedmdashrequires the political will of all Rwandans including the political elites

On February 11 2015 ldquoUofMosaicrdquo students hosted a lunch-and-learn event entitled ldquoThe 2015 Presidential Election in Sri Lanka Implica-tions for Human Rights rdquo The event was held at Mosaicrsquos offices and featured Dr Amarnath Amarasingam a sociologist as the main speaker Dr Amarasingam began his talk with an over-view of ethnic tensions in Sri Lanka dating back to the 1950rsquos He then provided a summary of the war between the Sri Lankan state and the Tamil Tigers that resulted in the exodus of thousands of Sri Lankans to countries like Can-ada and the UK He described his outlook on Sri Lanka as ldquocautiously optimisticrdquo following the 2015 election of Maithripala Sirisena as President The event was an opportunity for young Canadians with community ties or with an academic interest in Sri Lanka to continue the peace-focused conversa-tions about that island nation that Mosaic has been facilitating since 2009

Sri Lanka ldquoPost-War is not the same as Post-Conflictrdquo

On February 24 2015 UofMosaic stu-dents hosted a public discussion entitled ldquoSouth Sudan Three Years On Current Challenges and Opportunitiesrdquo in part-nership with York Universitys Centre for Human Rights Journalists for Human Rights (JHR) and the South Sudanese Community Peace Building Taskforce (SCPT) The event featured Danny Glenwright Executive Director of JHR and Joseph Madak Wuol Chair of the SCPT as speak-ers Danny spoke about opportunities for improving journalism in South Sudan in order to promote human rights Josephrsquos

presentation shed light on some of the current challenges faced by his native country including low literacy rates armed violence and poor infrastructure The event was attended by both York Univer-sity students and members of the South Sudanese diaspora in the Greater Toronto Area

South Sudan ldquoThere can be no development without peacerdquo

Dr Amarasingam on February 11

Joseph Malak Woul and Danny Glenwright at York University

on February 24