Commemorating 70 years of Canadian Dutch cooperation on peace and security issues, CIC Ottawa is hosting an evening reception and panel discussion in conjunction with the #HackingConflict peace-building event.

Not so long ago, non-violent citizens were lost in the fog of war.  Now, revolutions are tweeted.  Facebook is a battleground.  YouTube bears witness.  In Syria, Ukraine and other zones of conflict young people are harnessing social media, big data and mobile technologies as never before and transforming them into instruments to advocate for peace, document human rights violations, respond to humanitarian and governance challenges, and give voice to the noncombatant majorities.  But can youth and technology disrupt conflict in a meaningful way?  Will the new generation of Digital Natives – those under 25 years of age born into the omnipresent, always on Internet – transform the prospects for peace?

PANEL DISCUSSION

Rafal Rohozinski –  Panel Moderator

Co-founder of the SecDev Foundation, a senior fellow with the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, and CEO of SecDev Group.  He is recognized expert and author on cyber security, information warfare and transnational threats with over 17 years experience in Asia, Africa, and Eurasia.  Rafal is currently advising cyber related programs in Syria, Iraq, and Ukraine.

Renee Black

Founder and Executive Director of PeaceGeeks a non-profit, volunteer organization that supports grassroots non-profit organizations promoting peace, accountability and human rights in obtaining the technology and tools they need to have the greatest possible impact in their communities.  An alumnus of uOttawa, her graduate studies focused on evaluating UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security in both Sierra Leone and East Timor.

Daryl Copeland

Analyst, author, educator and and former diplomat specializing in the relationship between science, technology, diplomacy, and international policy. His latest book is Guerrilla Diplomacy: Rethinking International Relations.  He is presently a Senior Fellow at the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute.

Senator Mobina Jaffer

Represents the province of British Columbia in the Senate of Canada, where she chairs the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights, and sits as a member of the Senate’s Anti-terrorism and Legal and Constitutional Affairs committees. Senator Jaffer served as Canada’s Special Envoy for Peace in Sudan from 2002 to 2006. From 2002 to 2005, she chaired the Canadian Committee on Women, Peace, and Security. An accomplished lawyer who speaks six languages, Senator Jaffer was named among the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in 2003, 2004, and 2005 by the Women’s Executive Network.

Afra Jalabi

Prominent member of the Syrian Non Violence Movement, a member of the Syrian National Council and a member of executive committee of The Day After Project. Before the revolution she was a signatory of the Damascus Declaration, a 2005 statement demanding a multiparty democracy in Syria.  She has appeared frequently on Arab, American, and Canadian media including Al Jazeera, Orient, CBC, BBC, PBS and CTV.

John Packer

Associate Professor of Law and Director of the Human Rights Research and Education Centre at uOttawa.  In 2012-2014, Prof. Packer was a Constitutions and Process Design Expert on the UN’s Standby Team of Mediation Experts, advising in numerous peace processes and political transitions around the world.  He recently returned from Ukraine.

Watch Video

When

Date: Wednesday May 27, 2015

Reception: 5:30 pm to 6:00 pm

Panel: 6:00pm to 8:00pm

Event Location:

Canadian Museum of Nature.

240 McLeod St, Ottawa

Prices:

Admission…………………………….$25.00

(plus tax and administration)

(Members all $2 less)

Young Professionals………………  $20.00

Students……………………………….$15.00

www.opencanada.org