Trent Association for Global Development
Trent Association for Global Development (TAGD) strives to link the experiences of learning about, discussing, debating and acting upon issues relevant to developing countries and Indigenous communities. As a group, we're investigating the connection between learning about global issues and using that knowledge to affect change; through action and education we endeavour to raise awareness of development issues and the existence of alternatives to economic globalization.
Community Movements Conference
TAGD's largest event of the year is an annual conference. Entitled the Community Movements Conference series, the weekend-long event takes place in the Winter term. Among the participants in CMC conference are students, activists, academics from Canada and around the globe. A key objective of the conferences has been to deepen communication and promote solidarity both locally and globally through workshops, dialogue and critical reflections on challenges in international development.
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18th Annual CMC Conference: “Forgotten Conflicts” with a focus on the conflicts in Sudan and Yemen.
The Keynote address was shared between Tawakkol Karman and Ian S. Spears.
Tawakkol Karman is a Yemeni journalist and human rights activist, and the first Arab woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Known as the "Mother of the Revolution," "The Iron Woman," and "The Lady of the Arab Spring," Karman led hundreds of protests against Yemen's dictatorial regime, advocating for democracy and freedom of speech. She founded Women Journalists Without Chains and the Peaceful Revolutionary Youth Council, facing imprisonment and persecution for her active engagement in these causes. She played a pivotal role in pressuring former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who ruled from 1978 to 2012, to relinquish power.
Ian S. Spears is Ian S. Spears is associate professor of political science at the University of Guelph. His research interests focus on the obstacles to the resolution of violent conflict. Ian is the author of Believers, Skeptics and Failure in Conflict Resolution (2019) and Civil War in African States: The Search for Security (2010) and co-editor, with Paul Kingston, of States Within States: Incipient Political Entities in the Post-Cold War Era (2004). He has published book chapters as well as articles in scholarly journals including Global Change, Peace & Security, The Journal of Democracy, Third World Quarterly, Review of African Political Economy, African Security Review, African Conflict and Peacebuilding Review, The International Journal, and Civil Wars.
The remainder of the conference (Saturday and Sunday) included speakers and participants including but not limited to, legal advisors from the Canadian Red Cross, journalists, the Norwegian Refugee Council, and academic experts and professors from York University, the University of Ottawa, Guelph University, and McGill University.