By Regan Simpson – Contributor

On Friday, Feb. 2, a group of high-profile diplomats, academics, government officials, and members of the armed forces convened in Cleghorn in discussions about how Canada can optimally engage in global peace and security efforts. Bishop’s politics and international studies Prof. Sarah-Myriam Martin-Brûlé organized the conference, titled “Canada’s Fight for Purpose: The Challenges of Talking and Walking our Way to Peace” within the Network for Strategic Analysis. The conference brought leaders together across disciplines, even including a panel of Bishop’s alumni. The conference was also made possible by the Fonds de recherche du Québec.

Bishop’s students Camilla Rizzi and Laurie Van Herck opened with a land acknowledgement. The first panel was about local perceptions of peace in Canada and abroad. First to speak were Fulbright Scholar-in-residence at American University and the University of Maryland Prof. Fifi Edu-Afful; lecturer and consultant Simon Delorme-Chalifoux; and Prof. Yvan Yenda Ilunga, who is currently teaching the course Politics of Africa at the Bishop’s this winter. The panellists stressed the importance of meaningfully including local perceptions when trying to build peace. The panellists made note that these local perspectives were legitimate and necessary. Understanding peace without local consultations can negate the effectiveness of peacebuilding in regions where locals’ ‘peace’ can mean security of well-being, food on the table, or even peace of mind when walking outside. Students Irma Susset and Sasha Kardos-Machado moderated the panel.

Following a short coffee break, chairs Christina Lépine and Regan Simpson introduced the next set of panellists who shared perspectives on Canada’s role in disaster prevention and humanitarian responses. Bishop’s graduates made up this four-person panel, each having completed their undergraduate degree in the department of politics and international studies within the last fifteen years. Junru Bian delved into the racialization of expertise and professional standards in the humanitarian workplace. Kai Schaefer shared his work combating the flow of conflict diamonds with the Canadian Kimberley Process Office. Marie-Pier Allard-Caron, a Queen’s PhD Candidate, discussed her research on the mental health of peace officers and pre-deployment training. Lastly, Alexandra Vargas shared perspectives from her work with Global Affairs Canada on consulting with locals and the challenges directing funding to local organizations.

After lunch, conference attendees reconvened in Cleghorn for a fireside chat between ambassador Sébastien Carrière, the chief of protocol of Canada, and Prof. Vincent Pouliot from McGill University. Prof. Pouliot raised three challenges of diplomacy for Canada: consistency of its international practices; complexity of how academics and government workers view diplomacy; and diversity in the forms of agency or self-governance possible. This discussion was
chaired by students Irmah Alao and Angus Whyte. 

The final panel of the day brought together PhD candidate Pauline Baudu from the Université du Québec à Montréal; post-doctoral fellow Nicolas Hubert also at the Université du Québec à Montréal; and Colonel Marie-Christine Harvey, a Canadian Armed Forces-Canadian Defence and Security Network  Fellow. This group focused on Canada’s readiness for climate change and its nexus with peace, security and diplomacy. Students Mikael-Benedict Worku and Gabrielle Liu moderated the panel.

The day concluded with a keynote conversation led by Graeme Simpson, who is the principal representative of Interpeace in New York, the former civilian advisor to the Minister of Safety and Security in the first Mandela cabinet and an adjunct lecturer in law at the Columbia School of Law in New York City. As the independent lead author on the UN Security Council-mandated “Progress Study” on youth, peace and security, Simpson highlighted the fact that youth do not know how powerful they are. He challenged all attendees to recognize the fact that youth are not the leaders of tomorrow; they’re the leaders of right now. This conversation about youth empowerment was held in collaboration with Quebec Model United Nations, set to carry out at Bishop’s the next day. 

Honours student and panel moderator Sasha Kardos-Machado shared that the conference “was a day full of insightful presentations and discussions”. “We were so lucky,” she said,  “to have such outstanding and distinguished panellists come to our campus to share their expertise on such relevant and engaging topics”.