This year, the Rights & Democracy Delegation at the University of Saskatchewan is hosting the 2010 Western Regional Event in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, from Thursday evening, February 18 to Sunday afternoon, February 21, 2010. The theme of this year’s Western Regional Event is “Indigenous Peoples’ Human Rights: Global Perspectives”.

This Regional Event will bring together delegates from universities across the western provinces (B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba) in order to share our knowledge about indigenous peoples’ human rights and to explore ways of promoting indigenous peoples’ rights around the world. Indigenous leaders, academics, students and human rights defenders will join us for workshops, panels, discussions, open space forums, and traditional ceremonies, which will offer a diversity of learning opportunities and approaches.

The Regional Event will begin on Thursday, February 18th with a public forum organized with Rights & Democracy as part of its Cross-Canada Dialogue Series. Entitled “Indigenous Peoples at Risk of Extinction: the Case of Colombia“, the event will feature experts on the topic from Colombia and Canada who will discuss the fragile situation for many indigenous peoples in Colombia and the action that needs to be taken to address this urgent issue.

For more information about the Regional Event, contact: Elana Wright, Rights & Democracy Network Coordinator at ewright@dd-rd.net.

For more information about the Rights & Democracy public forum, visit: http://www.dd-rd.ca/site/events/index.php?date=2010-02-18&lang=en&type=General.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVIp-Gzj86A

University of Saskatchewan Rights & Democracy Delegation
Thursday, April 11, 7 pm
Mendel Art Gallery
950 Spadina Crescent East
Saskatoon, SK
What exactly is Canada’s relationship with Afghanistan and its peoples?

The focus of this forum is to try to move beyond the political discourse of whether Canada should/should not continue the war in Afghanistan. Rather, we hope to explore some of the interconnections and interrelationships between Canadians and Afghans on a more micro level. We feel this is an important perspective to have because as Canadians begin to engage in a discussion about Afghanistan, it becomes clear how much we don’t know about what’s going on in Afghanistan and about Afghanistan itself. In turn, we’re hoping this forum can help raise awareness about Afghanistan and the lives of Canadians and Afghans who are intimately connected to Afghanistan.

Featuring the following panelists:

Johann Reimer is a member of the delegation and a student at the University of Saskatchewan who served in Afghanistan from Jan 06-Nov 06 with multinational brigade headquarters stationed in Kandahar.

Ron Wheeler is an Associate Professor of Political Studies at theUniversity of Saskatchewan,where he teaches the subjects of international terrorism, conflict, ethics, and human rights as well as American foreign policy.Wheeler’s expertise on the situation in Afghanistan stem not only from his academic background but his experience in Afghanistan as well.

Fraiba Jalal left Afghanistan in 1992 when she was 9 years old. She lived in neighbouring Pakistan but continued to visit her homeland where relatives and friends lived under the brutal Taliban regime. She was sponsored to come to Canada by her older sister Shaqiba who arrived just before her. Fraiba has been a student at the U of S since January, 2007 where she studies commerce.