Award Week 2017

The first Global Pluralism Award ceremony took place in November 2017 in Ottawa, Canada. The winners were invited to present their work at the ceremony and other distinguished events. The Board of Directors of the Center, national and international media, as well as distinguished guests were present.

To learn more about the first week of the Global Pluralism Award, read below.

Representatives

The individuals and representatives of the 3 award winners and 7 honorable mentions, respectively, were present during the weeks’ activities.

From left to right:
Daanish Masood (BeAnother Lab), Frédérique Pasturel (ATD Quart Monde), David Lubell (Welcoming America), Virginie Michel (Wapikoni Mobile), Marco Mendoza (Fundación Construir)
Thadeu Luz (Hand Talk), Leyner Palacios AsprillaAlice Wairimu NderituDaniel Webb, Rouba Mhaissen (Sawa for Development and Aid)

Press Conference

The winners participated in a press conference for the 2017 Global Pluralism Award. Check out the live-recording below.

Rapporteur Program Kick-off

The Global Pluralism Award Rapporteurs are youth and students from the region who followed the winners during their stay in Ottawa to produce written and multimedia materials to contribute to the Center’s public communications about the week of the award.

You can follow their work using the hashtag #PluralismAward2017 on Twitter and Facebook.

Award Ceremony

The first Global Pluralism Award ceremony took place in November 2017 in Ottawa, Canada. You can watch the ceremony and photos taken of the reception and the  Global Pluralism Award being conferred.

“The extraordinary people we honour this evening have all demonstrated the same inspiring quality – the ability to respond creatively to the challenges of diversity. At the same time, however, what is also most impressive is the sheer diversity of their own particular stories.” 
– His Highness the Aga Khan at the 2017 Global Pluralism Award ceremony.

Click here to read his full speech.

Pluralism Lens Workshop

The Pluralism Lens is a global framework to help societies re-think how they approach diversity. Grounded in the Centre’s three-year research program, the Lens  offers a new approach to global diversity issues that is positive, holistic, contextual and comparative. The workshop presentation will introduce the Pluralism Lens and educate recipients on how they can incorporate the principles of the Lens into their work.

The Pluralism Lens publication will be launched in 2018. Pluralism Lens workshops will be available to interested organizations thereafter. For further resources please visit pluralism.ca/resources 

Roundtable: Migration, Human Rights, Refugee Settlement and Pluralism

Today we are witnessing unprecedented amounts of human migration worldwide. As societies become increasingly diverse, policy-makers are struggling to come to terms with this new reality and a new international response is needed. How can a pluralism lens inform policies and programs that respect the human rights of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees, and, at the same time, are supported by host societies? What happens if we decide to treat diversity as an asset rather than a hindrance? What mechanisms contribute to creating more inclusive societies for everyone?

Roundtable: Peacebuilding, Reconciliation and Pluralism

Today, pluralism is being challenged on many fronts, with the threat of armed conflict as the most extreme manifestation of pluralism breakdown. Societies’ inability to manage ethnic, cultural and religious diversity is at the source of many contemporary armed conflicts. Once violent conflict begins, accommodating diversity becomes even more challenging – narratives of division become entrenched, and cycles of violence deepen divides along ethnic or religious lines. In light of Canada’s commitment to promoting pluralism, it is vital to consider the challenges faced by societies in and emerging from conflict. Embedding a genuine commitment to valuing diversity is one of the most challenging elements of post-conflict recovery. A failure to embed pluralism in peacebuilding efforts can sow the seeds of renewed conflict.