Céline Galipeau, the first woman to anchor Radio Canada’s flagship news program Téléjournal delivered an eloquent talk entitled Democracy in the Balance: Journalism in Canada and around the World (video) on November 7th 2014.

Mme Galipeau is recognized internationally for her work as a foreign correspondent reporting on wars in Chechnya, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan. She spoke of the dangers to the men and women who pursue this profession today. Evoking the recent beheadings of journalists by ISIS, she reminded her audience that the aim is to eliminate them because “without witnesses, there is no testimony – and there is no democracy.”

Following the Address, Mme Galipeau joined the panel of Sauvé Fellows for a probing discussion of a number of points raised in her talk.

For photos of the 2014 JSA, click here.

On 5 December 2013, the Jeanne Sauvé Foundation hosted the 2013 Jeanne Sauvé Address, Faith and Freedom: Promoting Religious Diversity and Gender Equality in Canada, delivered by Dr. Sheema Khan.

Her eloquent Address challenged the audience – and all Canadians – to embrace an inclusive approach to religious and cultural diversity.

Dr. Khan holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Physics from Harvard, and is the author of Of Hockey and Hijab: Reflections of a Canadian Muslim Woman. She co-founded the Toronto-based think tank The Tessellate Institute and, more recently, The Family Honour Project in London (Ontario), which is devoted to eliminating honour-based violence in Canada and abroad. She is a Globe & Mail columnist writing on such topics as Reconciling Muslim practices with Western principles, and from 2000 to 2005, she served as chair of the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations, a grassroots advocacy group.

About the panel discussion

Dr. Khan’s Address was followed by a lively panel discussion with Sauvé Fellows, moderated by Dr. Khalid Mustafa Medani, professor of political science at McGill University and a former Sauvé academic mentor. The discussion reflected on human and women’s rights globally as well as within the Muslim world.

About the Panelists

Saman Ahsan (2003-04 Sauvé Fellow) is the Executive Director of Girls Action Foundation, a Montreal-based charity working across Canada to build girls’ and young women’s skills and confidence and inspire action to change the world. Born and raised in Pakistan, Saman’s extensive work experience includes Manager of the Council of 100 Leaders: West-Islamic World Dialogue at the World Economic Forum, Coordinator of the Women, Youth and Environment Section of the Family Planning Association of Pakistan, and National Coordinator of UNICEF’s  Girl Child Project Pakistan. She was a Fellow with the World Economic Forum Global Leadership Program, through whom she obtained a Masters in Global Leadership in 2008.

Mirwais Nahzat (2009-10 Sauvé Fellow) is a public speaker, media commentator and international development consultant with over 12 years of experience in managing international programs. He currently works as a Kabul-based Consultant with Kardan University, where he oversees the business development, international relations and public engagement portfolios. Mirwais is also the founder of the Centre for Afghanistan Progress (CAP) and is the recipient of numerous awards in Canada as well as in his native Afghanistan.

Sadia Rafiquddin (2011-12 Sauvé Fellow) is a Toronto-based photojournalist, public speaker and consultant for GrantBook, a social enterprise business. She uses multimedia storytelling to advocate for evidence-based policymaking at a local and international level. Born in Sargodha, Pakistan, the legacy of her parents’ move to Canada as refugees in 1990 has from a young age motivated her to pursue a life devoted to social justice. In recognition of this commitment, the Women’s Executive Network featured Sadia (then 22 years old) as one of Canada’s 100 Most Powerful Women. Sadia has received numerous other awards and honours for her social justice work.

For photos of the 2013 JSA, click here.

On 29 November, the Jeanne Sauvé Foundation hosted the 2012 Jeanne Sauvé Address, Truth and Reconciliation in Canada: Lessons Learned from Canada’s Residential Schools Experience, delivered by Commissioner Marie Wilson.

Her very moving Address challenged the audience – and all Canadians – to engage in solidarity with survivors of Canada’s residential schools system and to support justice and healing.

Commissioner Wilson’s talk was followed by a panel discussion among four Sauvé Fellows: Éloge Butera (2009-2010), Najme Kishani Farahani (2012-13), Tairah Firdous (2012-13) and Jonathan Sas (2012-13), and facilitated by Sauvé Program Director Simone Hanchet. Drawing on their backgrounds and experiences as advocates of social justice in their respective communities, their discussion explored several themes, including awareness about the residential schools system both in Canada and internationally, education as a tool for oppression or empowerment, the power of trauma to carry forward through generations, the nature of individual and collective resilience, the relationship between truth and healing, and ways forward.

The Sauvé Foundation is proud to support the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which will be holding hearings in Quebec as of early 2013, culminating in a National Event from April 24 to 28 in Montreal.

Le Devoir reporter Caroline Montpetit met with Commissioner Wilson prior to the Address to discuss the role of the Commission in Quebec. You may read her report of that conversation here. (article reserved for subscribers)

Sauvé Fellow Jonathan Sas also filed this excellent report with Rabble.ca, covering both the event itself and his own in-depth conversation with Dr. Wilson.

On  17 November 2011, an outstanding Canadian journalist and humanitarian delivered the 2011 Jeanne Sauvé Address. Sally Armstrong spoke passionately on The New Revolutionaries: Achieving ‘the Equality Effect’ for Women and Girls Around the World. 

The event was held in the newly restored l’Ermitage of Collège de Montréal and was presided over  by Mme Diane de Mailly Nesle Sauvé and Board member, Nancy Wright, who has known the Montreal-born Ms Armstrong for many years. As promised in the invitation to attend the Address, Ms. Armstrong took “us around the globe, where localized acts of female emancipation are improving the prospects for humanity at large”.

The acclaimed human rights activist, journalist and award-winning author, who spoke without a text,  recounted her experiences covering stories about women and girls in conflict zones from Bosnia and Somalia to the Middle East, Rwanda, Congo and Afghanistan. The very engaged audience peppered her with questions at the end of her talk and crowded around her during the reception that followed. 

On February 18 2010, Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada delivered the Inaugural Jeanne Sauvé Address in front of more than 300 guests gathered at McGill University’s Moyse Hall or attending via live webcast. Leaders of all ages listened to a truly inspiring speech that was followed by a panel comprised of the following Young Leaders:

• Gabriel Bran Lopez, Sauvé Fellow and Founding Executive Director, Youth Fusion
• Ėloge Butera, Sauvé Fellow, McGill Law Student and human rights advocate
• Ilona Dougherty, Executive Director, Apathy is Boring
• Janet Jobson, Sauvé Fellow, South African Rhodes Scholar, social activist and youth engagement specialist
• Mirwais Nahzat, Sauvé Fellow and Founder of Centre for Afghanistan Progress

Please find below the complete information about this historic event:

• Mme Jean’s Speech: Youth Engagement in the 21st Century:  Inspiring Change in an Era of Globalization
• The McGill Reporter: Governor General delivers the Jeanne Sauvé Inaugural Address
• La Presse: Michaëlle Jean de passage à McGill
• Canadian Press: Michaelle Jean delivers speech criticizing rampant materialism

Photos: Her Excellency at Sauvé House (slideshow) & Her Excellency at Moyse Hall (McGill University) (slideshow)