Forced Migration and Canada’s Hospitality

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the first Vietnamese refugees in Canada and as part of Peace Days, the 7th Vietnamese Cultural Weeks are presenting an exceptional event under the honorary chairmanship of Brian Bronfman, co-founder and president of the Peace Network for Social Harmony. This afternoon of reflection and sharing will unfold in two parts:
1- Round table: forced migration and Canadian hospitality (1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.)
Moderated by Anna Krol, philosopher, ethicist, and executive director of the Peace Network for Social Harmony, this meeting will bring together four renowned guests:
– Christopher Goscha, historian, specialist in colonial and postcolonial Vietnam, professor in the Department of History at the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM) since 2005, and author of numerous books over the past three decades;
– Phi Vân Nguyen, historian, specialist in migration and waves of exodus, researcher and professor of history at the University of Saint Boniface;
– Patrice Brodeur, researcher and thinker committed to issues of dialogue and hospitality. He is an associate professor at the Institute of Religious Studies in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at the University of Montreal. He is also an advisor to the International Center for Dialogue in Vienna, Austria;
– Neal Santamaria, Quebec Regional Director, Canadian Race Relations Foundation.
Together, they will explore the origins of migration, the journeys of Vietnamese refugees, and the lessons we can learn from them today, in order to reflect on our collective responsibilities and imagine ways of living together in peace and harmony.
2- Literary roundtable: what war leaves behind in us (3:30 to 4:30 p.m.)
Hosted by Rodney Saint-Éloi, writer, publisher, founder of the publishing house Mémoire d'encrier, and keeper of memories.
This literary roundtable will bring together three local authors:
– David Homel, Le vide sous mes pas, an autobiographical account of personal and civic memories;
– Bertrand Gervais, La dernière guerre, a poetic meditation on the real and imaginary traces of war;
– Caroline Vu, Boulevard Catinat, a novel nourished by inherited and reinvented memory.
These are three unique perspectives.
Lived memory, imagined memory, and inherited memory come together to affirm that literature is a place of transmission, dialogue, and reconciliation with the past.
This workshop aims to equip peace organizations that wish to establish or develop partnerships with businesses and philanthropic organizations based on trust, ethics, transparency, and sustainability. To ensure a diverse range of perspectives, benefactor organizations are also invited to this workshop. Establishing partnerships between peace organizations and businesses and philanthropic organizations can cause friction. Ultimately, this can limit the organizations' ability to achieve their mission and reach a broader audience. Philanthropy based on trust and rooted in data sharing can reduce this friction.
Program:
A 20-minute presentation of the new Montreal Pride Financial Partner Analysis Framework and Inventory, along with concrete examples, will be followed by a discussion period with participants on the challenges and opportunities related to their own ambitions or partnership-building initiatives.