The 2014 Jeanne Sauvé annual Address, given by Céline Galipeau of Radio-Canada was followed by a panel discussion on the theme Democracy in the Balance: Journalism in Canada and around the World. The panelists, who were joined by Mme Galipeau, are all Jeanne Sauvé Fellows, alumni of the Foundation’s Scholars Program. They contributed personal perspectives as journalists and young leaders in ‘media-challenged’ regions such as Afghanistan and Uganda.

Gerald Bareebe is the Ugandan investigative journalist whose reporting dominated local and international media throughout the country’s 2011 presidential election. His work has been featured on the African Centre for Media Excellency, Aljazeera, the Basel Institute on Governance (Switzerland), the Daily Monitor, the East African, the Institute for Media and Global Governance (Switzerland), the National Post (Canada), Voice of America, and the World Bank Institute. He is currently a Trudeau Scholar and Massey Fellow at the University of Toronto, where he is completing his doctorate building directly on his work as a Sauvé Scholar: “The State of Democracy in Uganda: Charting a Path from Strongman Politics to Strong Institutions”.

Adam Daifallah is a former member of the National Post editorial board and was Washington, D.C. correspondent of The New York Sun, where he covered the lead-up to and war in Iraq. He is co-author of two books on conservative politics in Canada and is a frequent commentator on public affairs in newspapers, on radio and on television. Adam is a co-founder and partner of the public affairs firm HATLEY Strategy Advisors.

Dawa is Bhutan Broadcasting Service’s award-winning broadcaster and anchor who has had the unique opportunity of hosting the Presidential debates for two consecutive parliamentary elections in Bhutan. He was recently elected President of the Journalists Association of Bhutan. In 2010 he received an award for Best Programme of the Year on Governance.

Mirwais Nahzat is a regular media commentator and has contributed advice to several Canadian documentaries, such as Good Morning Kandahar; Portraits of New Canadians; and Between Hope and Fear. An international development consultant with over 12 years of experience in managing international programs, Mirwais currently serves as the Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement at Kardan University, Afghanistan’s first and leading private university.

Jonathan Sas is currently Director of Policy and Research at the Broadbent Institute. Former Editor-in-Chief of The Mark News; Media criticism contributor to The Tyee; Director of Research at the Broadbent Institute, he helped found and now contributes to the Institute’s progressive online news source: Press Progress.

Thank you by Mame Diarra Bousso Ndiaye

Social entrepreneur, activist for women’s empowerment and youth participation, Mame Diarra Bousso Ndiaye is passionate about social justice and cultural diversity. Mame is the Founding Executive Director, of Solidarité Active in Sénégal. After her year as a Sauvé Scholar, she started the “Second Chance Academy” and the Solidarity Guarantee Fund that were her Sauvé projects; also, inspired by her research on social economy and social enterprise, she has launched a Social Shop that helps to sell products from program participants. Mame was honored to be a Mandela Washington Fellow, to receive a Public Leadership Certificate from Tulane University and to receive public recognition from President Obama when he singled her out in his speech to the Town Hall meeting of July 28th with the 500 Young African Mandela Washington fellows of 2014. “I believe in Mame Bousso Ndiaye. So in Senegal, she’s taking a stand against the human trafficking that condemns too many women and girls to forced labor and sexual slavery. She runs an academy that gives them education and skills to find a job and start new lives. And so, we are so proud of you. Thank you for the good work that you’re doing. We want to help you help these young women and girls to the kind of future of dignity that we want for every woman all across the continent and all around the world.”

Sauvé Encore!

This occasion was a particularly important one for the Jeanne Sauvé Foundation as it coincided with the inaugural Sauvé Encore! Program, a key component of our new alumni-focused engagement that is essential to realizing Jeanne Sauvé’s original vision of “creating a network of future leaders”. This first iteration has brought together 10 Sauvé Fellows – representing 10 nationalities and 7 different cohorts of the Sauvé Scholars Program –for an intensive 4-days of further professional development, leadership discussions, and related programming.