On November 10, more than 400 Trent students, faculty and staff attended a special presentation by Lieutenant-General (Ret’d) Roméo Dallaire in the Great Hall of Champlain College.

Due to an overwhelming response for free tickets to the event, overflow seating was also made available in the Ceilie where two projectors were setup for a group of approximately 90 people.

During the talk, L.Gen Dallaire spoke about the importance of getting involved, seeing the world and helping work toward a more peaceful global community.

Prior to the lecture, L.Gen Dallaire met with a smaller group of students, faculty and staff for an intimate dinner in Alumni House. Over dinner, guests had the opportunity to ask him questions ranging from his experience in Rwanda to his general thoughts on leadership.

L.Gen (Ret’d) The Honourable Roméo Dallaire is a celebrated Canadian, known not only for his courageous and principled leadership as former head of the UN peacekeeping force in Uganda and Rwanda, but also for his ongoing commitment to promoting a more progressive, integrated and humanitarian concept of conflict resolution and his determination to keep the hard learned lessons of Rwanda from being forgotten. His advisory role to CIDA on the plight of war-affected children around the world and his work in advancing the understanding of matters related to post-traumatic stress are also significant contributions, worthy of recognition. L.Gen Dallaire's book, Shake Hands with the Devil, is an account of his experiences in Rwanda; the book became a bestseller in Canada 2003. In 2005, Trent University presented L.Gen Dallaire with an honorary degree.

L.Gen Dallaire’s visit to Trent was made possible from a provincial government grant sponsored by the University’s iMPACT Leadership Program.