Dalal Al Waheidi discusses what it means to be a global citizen -- including the “why” behind global citizenship and

its significance especially in the current political climate.

Al Waheidi was the 2016 Jack Matthews Fellow at Trent. She is the executive director of We Day Global, where she

is responsible for leading the team that brings the power of We Day to

cities in Canada, the US and the UK. Ms. Al-Waheidi joined Free the

Children in 2002 after graduating from Trent with a degree in International Development Studies, and has held a variety of roles including international project director, chief operations director and executive director.

“Dalal truly embodies the uniquely Canadian values of global

citizenship that Jack Matthews embedded in the institutions he

established,” said Dr. Michael Allcott, director of TIP. “An immigrant

to Canada, her extraordinary leadership and commitment to others is an

example of the strength of the Canadian mosaic—her work so far has

empowered thousands of young Canadians to engage civic discourse and

service, and to begin changing the world for the better.”

Dalal Al Waheidi discusses what it means to be a global citizen -- including the “why” behind global citizenship and

its significance especially in the current political climate.

Al Waheidi was the 2016 Jack Matthews Fellow at Trent. She is the executive director of We Day Global, where she

is responsible for leading the team that brings the power of We Day to

cities in Canada, the US and the UK. Ms. Al-Waheidi joined Free the

Children in 2002 after graduating from Trent with a degree in International Development Studies, and has held a variety of roles including international project director, chief operations director and executive director.

citizenship that Jack Matthews embedded in the institutions he

established,” said Dr. Michael Allcott, director of TIP. “An immigrant

to Canada, her extraordinary leadership and commitment to others is an

example of the strength of the Canadian mosaic—her work so far has

empowered thousands of young Canadians to engage civic discourse and

service, and to begin changing the world for the better.”

2015 Ph.D. grad Andressa Lacerda is in

mid-career stride, despite being only 26. 

She’s a founding partner and the CFO in Noble Inc., a company that will

manufacture and distribute filtration systems to remove nanosilvers from

wastewater as well as introduce pharmaceuticals that will cure cancer and

diseases that are caused by virus’.  Her

partner in this is Adam Noble, a whiz-kid who has set both the Trent community

and world on fire with research that he accomplished in the labs at the

university when he was just a high school student. 

 

Andessa helped mentor Adam into becoming

one of Canada’s “20 Under 20” in 2014. 

Together they have just signed on as cornerstone tenants of Trent

University’s new Research and Innovation Park, with a

$20 million, 50,000-square-foot production facility to be built soon.

 

Andressa’s own research has shed new light

onto neurological disorders – in particular how mutations

of LITAF protein cause the genetic Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. 

 

It’s a fascinating discussion – and one

where another of Andressa’s talents shine: the ability to take complex ideas

and make them relatable to students and laypeople.

Jack Roe has been an on air presence for CBC Radio, 680 NEWS, CKPT (now Energy 99.7) and (back in 1973-5) Trent Radio, where this interview took place. The conversation ranges across his 40+ year career in radio and captures memories from the magical to the manic: from interviews with Chris Hadfield to interviews with a guy who traveled North America blowing himself up at county fairs, from carving out community radio to almost getting arrested in pre-unification Germany.  Roe also gives a glimpse behind the scenes of the one of the most demanding radio studios in Canada, and then offers views on the state of modern radio -- as well as advice for media studies/journalism students on how they can find their own way in the shifting media landscape.It's an honest, intimate, and often humorous conversation that shines the light on an individual who is much more used to shining the light on others.

Our interview with Canada's Ambassador to Iceland, Stewart Wheeler, takes us on a journey from Trent to Bogotá to Afghanistan to Iceland and speaks to the ability to evolve, learn, and communicate.Stewart began his career in the public service in 1993,

working in the Public Information Office at the House of Commons. In

1994, he joined External Affairs and International Trade Canada.He

has served abroad in Washington, D.C., as second secretary, covering

congressional relations and energy trade policy; Bogotá, as political

counsellor; London, as head of the public affairs team at Canada House;

and Kabul, as political program manager at the Canadian embassy in

Afghanistan (2010 to 2011).Stewart has also had a variety of

assignments at headquarters, serving as parliamentary relations officer,

departmental spokesperson in the Press Office, deputy director of

Mexico Relations, deputy director of corporate and internal

communications, and, most recently, director of Cabinet relations.He earned the Minister’s Award for Foreign Policy Excellence as a member of the Kosovo Task Force in 1999.From

1999 to 2004, Mr. Wheeler served as press secretary to the governor

general and in that capacity accompanied the governor general on her

State Visit to Iceland in 2003.He was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002.

Since graduating from Trent University in 1980

with a degree in Cultural Studies, Bill Kimball has been involved in many

aspects of the Peterborough arts community, particularly in the areas of

contemporary dance and theatre.  He has

contributed to the creation of live performance spaces in Peterborough,

beginning with City Stage, a performance space operated by Artspace in the

early 1980’s and continuing to the present with various renovations and

improvements to the Market Hall. In 1994, Bill created a nationally recognized

dance presenting program called Peterborough New Dance, and later expanded the

mandate to theatre and other forms of performance while changing the name to

Public Energy, a name which reflects his desire for the arts to be integrated

into public life as much as possible. Bill is currently the Artistic Producer

at Public Energy.Our interview with Bill covers the "Town and Gown" history of the arts, in particular the impact of Artspace, Peterborough New Dance, Public Energy, and the Electric City Culture Council.

TRENT Magazine sat down for a one-on-one with the newly minted Minister of Democratic Institutions, Maryam Monsef.  We discuss her first days on Parliament Hill, the life-altering experience of becoming a cabinet member,

and how the position of Minister of Democratic Institutions will help shape future governments of Canada.  Here is an excerpt from that discussion.Look for the full story in the February edition of TRENT Magazine.

A panel discussion featuring: Dalal Al-Waheidi ’98, Anne Larcade '81, Nancy Austin '76 and Rann Sharma '97.The panel, moderated by former Trent president, Bonnie Patterson,

consisted of women from the private and public sectors, not-for-profit

organizations, male-dominated professions, female-dominated professions,

and governmental representation. The panel included Dalal Al-Waheidi

'98, executive director of Global We Day at Free the Children; Anne

Larcade '81, president and CEO of Sequel Hotels and Resorts; Nancy

Austin '76, executive lead on the Ontario Gender Wage Gap Steering

Committee, and Rann Sharma '97, global head people operations and

culture at Free the Children. Admissions from this sold-out event went

to support Trent’s chapter of the World University Service of Canada, a

program that is raising money to fund refugees to study at Trent.

Upon completion of the panel discussion, Lee Hays, director of Alumni

Affairs, announced the formation of the Community for Trent Women

(CTW), a life-long learning and leadership community providing

opportunities for collaboration, mentorship and support to empower women

and support each other to achieve professional goals. 

“This will be an inclusive community representing diverse

perspectives, experiences, and cultures, helping to expand global

awareness,” said Ms. Hays. “The CTW intends to identify and celebrate

remarkable Trent women who are advancing communities around the world

through their local or global efforts.” 

Anyone interested in getting involved, as a founding board member or as a community member can contact [email protected] or [email protected] for more information.

The Ideas That Change the World Fund was established in 2011 upon

the retirement of Alumni Affairs director Tony Storey, in support of an

annual event designated to celebrate the exploration of learning and

innovation.

Alan Martin is the Director of Research for Partnership Africa Canada (PAC)

-- an organization best known for their Nobel Peace Prize-nominated work

to halt the trade in conflict diamonds from Africa. Prior to joining PAC, Alan worked as a researcher to the late Jack Layton. Before that he spent over a decade working as a journalist in Canada, the UK and various countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

He has also taught international journalism as an Adjunct Professor

within Carleton University’s School of Journalism and Communication.

Born and raised in Southern Africa, he holds a Master’s degree in

conflict and development from the School of Oriental and African Studies

at the University of London. During the interview we talk about blood

diamonds, the unexpected results of the recent Federal election, and the

state of responsible journalism today.

Some of Trent University’s brightest alumni came

together October 15 to give a critical appraisal of the state of

Canadian media.  A full house at Bagnani House were treated to “Through A

Canadian Lens, The Current and Future Landscape of Television and

Film.” This insightful event drew Peterborough community members, as

well as Trent faculty, staff, and students to hear about the changing

nature of television broadcasting and film.

The talk featured four notable Trent alumni as part of the Life After

Trent program: Stephen Stohn ’66, President of Epitome Pictures,

multi-award winning executive producer of Degrassi, and top

entertainment lawyer; Bill Corcoran ’70, who has been in the television

and motion picture industry for forty years as director, and an

assistant director and producer who has directed over 300 hours of

television and 30 movies; and Bay Weyman ’76, an award winning Canadian

filmmaker with over 25 years’ experience  writing, producing and

directing documentary films through his company Close Up Films.  Molly

Blyth ’01, who has been a professor at Trent since 1986, moderated the

event.

The panelists were each cautiously optimistic about the future of TV/film in Canada.

Mr. Weyman cited fewer funding options and documentary’s “mutant

younger brother,” reality TV, for a tougher Canadian documentary

landscape.  He tempered this by noting an increase in the number – and

success – of documentary film festivals as well as the success of new

creative approaches to documentaries.

Mr. Corcoran stressed the need for Canadian filmmakers to be strong

storytellers.  He also pointed out that, rather than “broadcasting” –

getting content out to huge numbers all at once – film and television is

now “narrowcasting” – being extremely viewer specific in targeting age,

gender, nationality, interest, and more.  Due to streaming and

video-sharing sites, getting content out has never been easier.  “The

ability to monetize it,” he notes, “is another matter altogether.”

Mr. Stohn addressed the need for a stronger government role when it

comes to operating procedures for streaming channels, such as Netflix –

that the financial gulf between American content providers and the rest

of the world is too great. 

“Politicians have a role to provide structure to an industry that

ranks only behind mining and oil and gas in Canada,” explain Mr. Stohn. 

For Stohn, this issue has not been adequately addressed by the

government or the CRTC. 

At the same time, he says that TV is currently enjoying a creative

Renaissance – that the over 450 new series’ being created this year

alone speak to the ability for quality content to be shared.

The panelist all agreed, if there is one thing that is certain about

Canadian television and film, it is that nothing is certain.