Munk School of Global Affairs &amp; Public Policy

Convocation 2024

Faculty of Law

Global

Honorary Degree

As a legal scholar, Harold Hongju Koh’s contributions in international and human rights law have helped transform the conduct of international relations.

As a practising lawyer, he has both served under four presidents in the U.S. government – and litigated against it. And as a professor at Yale University, he draws on his knowledge and experience to teach and mentor the next generation of lawyers.

Today, for his deep commitment to the public interest and his vigorous advocacy for the rule of law and human rights, Koh will receive a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, from the ��߲ݴ�ý.

Born in Cambridge, Mass., in 1954 to Korean parents, one of six children, Koh attended Harvard University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in government in 1975. He studied at the University of Oxford, then returned to Harvard for law school, completing his degree in 1980.

During the first Reagan administration, he worked as an attorney adviser to the Office of Legal Counsel in the U.S. Department of Justice. (He would later serve in various roles under presidents Clinton, Obama and Biden). In 1985, he joined the faculty at Yale Law School, and almost two decades later became its dean.

In the classroom, Koh is known for his energetic and passionate presence. A journalist who had taken one of his classes described him in a 2009 Forbes profile as “a giant of a teacher,” while a group of Yale law students once called him “one of the brightest legal minds of his generation.”

Dr. J. Robert S. Prichard hoods Harold Hongju Koh (photo by Lisa Sakulensky)

As a legal adviser to government, Koh has not been shy to speak his mind. A paper he wrote in 1990 challenged the contention, held by the President George H.W. Bush, that as commander-in-chief, he could lead the U.S. into the Gulf War on his own authority. Koh argued that the U.S. Constitution required the president to consult with Congress beforehand.

Described as a rare scholar-practitioner, Koh has been especially active in human rights. In the early 1990s he led a group of Yale students in a successful suit against the U.S. government to free Haitian refugees who had qualified for political asylum in the U.S. but had been detained indefinitely at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

In a speech in Chicago in 2008, he called the U.S.’s diminished reputation as a global human rights leader “one of the most serious problems we as Americans face today,” citing as the cause a “series of unnecessary, self-inflicted wounds,” such as the abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and permitting the torture of detainees. “In just a few short years we seem to have gone from what was a zero-tolerance policy toward torture to what now seems to be a zero-accountability policy,” he said.

As a solution, he recommended that the government recommit to telling the truth and to ending any human rights violated caused or supported by the U.S.. He also urged greater support for the UN and international law, including the International Criminal Court. He concluded by asking audience members to join him in working to “make America America again.”

On the National Public Radio program This I Believe, Koh credited his parents for spurring his interest in human rights, noting that they had grown up in Korea under Japanese rule, forbidden to speak Korean or even use their Korean names. Koh’s father had been a diplomat, and after South Korea’s 1961 military coup, was granted asylum in the U.S., where he took a teaching position at Yale.

“My father savoured freedom like he savoured fresh air,” Koh said. During his own career, Koh traveled to many different countries. “Everywhere I went,” he said, “Haiti, Indonesia, China, Sierre Leone, Kosovo – I saw in the eyes of thousands the same fire for freedom I had first seen in my father’s eyes.”

In his address today at Convocation Hall, which included graduating students from the Faculty of Law and the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, he called on them to “understand the difference between a government of laws and a government of individuals,” and urged them to stand for something. “If you find the principle that you will sacrifice for –that you are ready to fight and die for – it will become your calling, and why people remember you.”

Koh has received more than 30 awards for his human rights work. He has been a visiting professor at many universities, including twice at U of T’s Faculty of Law. He has argued frequently before U.S. and international tribunals, including most recently as Counsel for Ukraine against Russia before the International Court of Justice. For his work, Koh has received lifetime achievement awards from Columbia and Duke Law Schools and the ABA International Law Section. The recipient of 18 honorary degrees, he is also the author of nine books and more than 200 articles.

Investment in advanced talent key to Canada’s success in the knowledge economy: U of T study

Christopher.Sorensen — Wed, 15 May 2024 15:47:19 +0000

Investment in advanced talent key to Canada’s success in the knowledge economy: U of T study

Christopher.Sorensen Wed, 05/15/2024 - 11:47

Cutline

(photo by Xavier Lorenzo/Getty Images)

Adina Bresge

Topic

Breaking Research

Career Development

Government

Graduate Students

School of Graduate Studies

Research & Innovation

Subheadline

Career Outcomes study finds that while U of T continues to be Canada’s leading generator of academic talent, an increasing number of PhD graduates are finding success in the private sector

PhD graduates are experiencing growing demand for their knowledge and skills across multiple sectors – further evidence that strategic investments in advanced talent support Canada’s global competitiveness.

A new Career Outcomes study, led by the ��߲ݴ�ý’s School of Graduate Studies, finds that while U of T continues to be Canada’s leading generator of academic talent, an increasing number of PhD graduates are also finding success in the private sector.

Employers now recognize that universities are both generating new discoveries and training the industry leaders they need, says Joshua Barker, vice-provost, graduate research and education and dean of the School of Graduate Studies.

“What we’re seeing is that U of T is playing a role in bringing advanced researchers, with their specialized knowledge and skills, into the workforce,” says Barker, who recently joined academic, industry, government and other leaders to discuss the study at an event hosted by the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy and U of T’s Government Relations Office – part of the New Frontiers for Policymakers policy discussion series.

“The more pathways there are to move back and forth between university, industry and non-profit, the better it is for a robust, resilient and competitive economy.”

The Career Outcomes study shows that professional paths for U of T’s PhD graduates are expanding, based on a survey of publicly available data on roughly 16,000 alumni over the past two decades.

While the post-secondary sector remains the primary employer for PhD graduates, the study shows a nearly 10-per-cent rise in private sector employment for PhD grads when comparing the 2000-2015 and 2016-2021 cohorts – from 19 per cent to 27 per cent.

The top industries hiring PhD graduates include life sciences, engineering, trades and transportation and health and information technology.

PhD graduates in the physical sciences, meanwhile, were the most likely to find employment in the private sector, amounting to nearly 43 per cent of all alumni as of 2022. Major employers included Google, Intel and Royal Bank of Canada.

At present, only about one per cent of Canadians have a PhD degree. But this number may rise following the federal government’s recent commitment to invest $825 million over the next five years to increase the value and number of scholarships for master’s students, PhD students and post-doctoral fellows.

“The recent investment that the federal government made has a huge impact for us, and I think it will help accelerate some of the trends that we’re seeing,” says Barker, adding that sustained support is necessary to develop the pipeline of advanced research talent to fuel Canada’s innovation ecosystem.

From left to right: Darius Ornston, associate professor at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy and interim director of research; Ann Meyer, director, bioInnovation Scientist Program at adMare Academy, adMare BioInnovations; Rafal Janik, COO, Xanadu, Joshua Barker, dean of the School of Graduate Studies and vice-provost, graduate research and education (photo by Simona Chiose)

That includes startups such as Toronto-based Xanadu, founded by former U of T post-doc Christian Weedbrook, which is working to build the world’s first photonic-based, fault-tolerant quantum computer.

“We still have a long way to go from a research perspective,” says Rafal Janik, Xanadu’s chief operating officer, who attended the New Frontiers event and talked about why the company recruits PhD graduates. “I think our entire team has post-graduate degrees. I think everybody has some connection to U of T from that space as well.”

The study also finds a notable uptick in private sector employment among PhD graduates in the life sciences, with nine per cent more graduates from 2016-2021 in industry jobs compared to the previous cohort.

The non-profit adMare BioInnovations is playing a role in moving PhD graduates’ research out of the lab so it can be turned into new treatments and therapies.

"The adMare Academy offers programming that enables PhD graduates and others to see the commercial potential in their research and to understand what it takes to translate that research into commercially viable therapeutics,” says Ann Meyer, director of adMare’s BioInnovation Scientist Program.

It’s not only STEM fields where PhD grads are finding private sector employment.

The study shows that nine per cent of humanities graduates worked in the private sector in 2022, with many in this group exploring fields outside academia including media and publishing (15 per cent), arts and culture (35 per cent), education (10 per cent) and banking and finance (seven per cent).

At the same time, the post-secondary employment pattern for social sciences graduates remains steady. More than half are in tenure-track roles at Canadian universities, and a fifth are in teaching-focused positions at universities and colleges.

Overall, 47 per cent of all PhD graduates over the study period were employed in the post-secondary sector.

With about 1,000 PhD graduates a year, U of T trains one in seven of Canada’s doctorate holders and plays a pivotal role in advancing the exchange of ideas that drives Canada’s prosperity and progress.

“U of T is continually replenishing and rejuvenating the workforce across higher education,” Barker says. “These institutions, in turn, train the next generation of undergrad and graduate students who will go out and work across the economy.”

Jordan Jacobs on AI’s ‘profound’ implications, responsible development – and why he backed Cohere

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 22:39:50 +0000

Jordan Jacobs on AI’s ‘profound’ implications, responsible development – and why he backed Cohere

Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 04/04/2024 - 18:39

Cutline

(photo courtesy of Cohere)

Adina Bresge

Topic

Alumni

Artificial Intelligence

Computer Science

Entrepreneurship

Faculty of Arts & Science Staff

Startups

Vector Institute

Subheadline

The managing partner of Radical Ventures, a venture capital firm, will be at U of T's Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy to discuss artificial intelligence during the Future of Money conference

A key figure in Canada’s burgeoning artificial intelligence scene, Jordan Jacobs boasts a track record of backing ventures at the vanguard of AI development – and the ��߲ݴ�ý often plays a prominent role.

Jacobs and U of T alumnus Tomi Poutanen have co-founded some of the most influential entities in Canada’s AI ecosystem, including Layer 6, which was acquired by TD Bank Group in 2018; the Vector Institute, a world-renowned AI research hub that counts U of T among its early partners; and venture capital firm Radical Ventures, where Jacobs currently serves as managing partner.

He’s also a founding investor and board director of Cohere, a leading developer of enterprise-focused AI technologies founded by former U of T computer science students Aidan Gomez, Nick Frosst and Ivan Zhang – and backed by AI luminaries University Professor Emeritus Geoffrey Hinton and Professor Raquel Urtasun.

Now, Jacobs is sharing his insights at the Future of Money conference, co-produced by Cohere and U of T’s Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, where he’ll take part in an AI-focused fireside chat alongside Cohere chief product officer and U of T alumnus Jaron Waldman.

U of T News caught up with Jacobs ahead of the event to discuss how companies like Cohere are tapping into the deep pool of talent at U of T and beyond to forge AI-powered solutions to the world’s most pressing problems.

We’ve seen some incredible advancements in AI over the last year or so and heard some alarming warnings about the risks it could pose. What’s your take on how AI is evolving?

Over the next decade, virtually every bit of software will be replaced by artificial intelligence or embedded with it. The implications for our world and the global economy are profound.

Traditional software is hard-coded and static. Once shipped and deployed, it never improves until the next version is shipped and replaces it. Soon, all software will be powered by AI that learns and improves, often in real-time. Built around learning algorithms that adapt to new situations, AI software is more efficient and effective. This is particularly true for generative AI, which can create new data or software code on its own, without the need for human input.

This coming software replacement cycle will have an extraordinary impact on our economy. In addition, AI will help unlock new discoveries across science. These are Industrial Revolution-sized opportunities – happening simultaneously and enabled by one technology.

One of my personal motivations for starting Radical was to invest in companies that would help solve the biggest challenges facing humanity. When we were thinking of selling our AI company, Layer 6, to focus on building the leading AI investment firm, I said to my Radical co-founder and ��߲ݴ�ý alum, Tomi Poutanen: “AI will help cure cancers. Let’s help cure cancer.”

How would you describe venture capital’s role when it comes to responsible AI development?

Venture capital is an essential driver of economic value and innovation. Only half of one per cent of public companies received venture funding, but VC-backed companies account for 40 per cent of total U.S. market capitalization. VC plays a disproportionate role in the economy, especially when it comes to the development of new technologies such as AI. OpenAI, Cohere and the startups behind the large language models that helped bring AI to the mainstream over the past year received multiple rounds of funding from venture capital firms. Google and Meta – whose industrial labs created some of the biggest AI breakthroughs of the last decade – were, at one time, fuelled by venture capital.

At Radical, we are committed to developing AI technologies and applications that improve the future for all, and we believe that the venture capital industry – the underwriters of tomorrow’s innovations – must approach investments in AI with a sense of shared responsibility. Last year, in partnership with the Vector Institute, we launched the Responsible AI for Startups (RAIS) framework – an open-source resource for investors evaluating investments in AI technologies. RAIS is a practical tool to help VCs assess early-stage AI companies and technologies across responsibility and safety considerations.

Let's talk about Cohere, a startup that has numerous U of T ties and several high-profile backers, including yourself. How is it different from other companies developing large language models?

Cohere is one of a cohort of companies, including OpenAI and Google DeepMind, that is developing the world’s most sophisticated large language models. Unlike most competitors in the space, Cohere’s focus is offering a cloud-agnostic, privacy-preserving solution for enterprise customers, which include Oracle and McKinsey.

Cohere’s founders are three Canadian entrepreneurs [and former U of T computer science students]: Aidan Gomez, the company’s CEO and one of the authors of the groundbreaking transformers paper that ushered in the era of modern generative AI; Nick Frosst, protege of deep learning pioneer and [University Professor Emeritus] Geoffrey Hinton, and their classmate Ivan Zhang. Today, the team includes many of the inventors of some of the most widely used modern AI techniques.

How would you describe Cohere's growth to date — and where do you see it heading in the future?

Radical was deeply engaged with Cohere prior to company incorporation and invested the very first cheque into the company in 2019. Since then, Cohere has developed world-class language models that compete directly with the best models in the world, grown the team to more than 200 people across offices in Toronto, San Francisco, New York City and London, and signed many global enterprises as customers. It is now one of the most valuable AI companies in the world. Given the technical complexities of working with cutting-edge AI models, there are few companies that have the experience and expertise to push the field forward while also delivering huge value to industry. Cohere leads the pack.

What advice would you give researchers or students who are keen on building a company in the AI space?

Tackle the most important problems. Building a business aimed at making incremental advances on existing technologies may find a market in the near-term. However, in the long run, these businesses are vulnerable to competition or commodification by existing AI solutions. Whether it’s tackling climate change, increasing business productivity or curing cancer, AI is a technology capable of taking on many of the world’s biggest challenges.

It’s also important to remember that we are still in the very early innings of the AI revolution. The field will continue to evolve and change. There’s a very real opportunity right now for young entrepreneurs to shape the future of this important technology.

New Lab for the Study of Global Antisemitism will be a hub for scholarly inquiry and interdisciplinary collaboration

Christopher.Sorensen — Wed, 17 Jan 2024 17:27:17 +0000

New Lab for the Study of Global Antisemitism will be a hub for scholarly inquiry and interdisciplinary collaboration 

Christopher.Sorensen Wed, 01/17/2024 - 12:27

Cutline

(photo by ��߲ݴ�ý)

Topic

Anne Tanenbaum Centre for Jewish Studies

Antisemitism

Trevor Young

A new lab at the ��߲ݴ�ý’s Anne Tanenbaum Centre for Jewish Studies (CJS) will be a hub for scholars from across disciplines to examine the persistence of antisemitism in a global context.  

“Antisemitism has emerged in the global public discourse on a level that has not been seen in generations,” says Anna Shternshis, director of the CJS and the Al and Malka Green Professor of Yiddish Studies in the Faculty of Arts & Science. “By offering a space for convening and intellectual conversation, we hope to generate new insights on antisemitism as a phenomenon, and new responses for tackling its insidious pervasiveness around the world.”

Shternshis is a distinguished scholar with an international reputation for her expertise in Jewish culture in Russia and the Soviet Union, oral history as well as Yiddish music. Recently awarded a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship for her work on Nazi-occupied Ukraine, she lectures widely around the world and her work has been featured in print media in 45 countries in 22 languages.

The new Lab for the Study of Global Antisemitism will be housed at the CJS, and its inaugural director will be Ron Levi, a professor at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy and the department of sociology who is a Distinguished Professor of Global Justice. Levi’s research focuses on aspirations to law and justice, and on how we address crime, violence and atrocities during turbulent times. This includes a collaborative project studying hate and counter-hate speech that’s funded by the ��߲ݴ�ý-Hebrew University of Jerusalem Research & Innovation Alliance. Levi is director of the Global Justice Lab in the Munk School, which works with justice systems under stress, and a recipient of the Ludwik & Estelle Jus Memorial Human Rights Prize. 

“There is a long history of expertise on issues relating to antisemitism, across fields of study, within and beyond the Anne Tanenbaum Centre for Jewish Studies,” says Levi, “and I am eager to strengthen these connections, to learn from each other, to inquire, and to build our collective understanding of antisemitism and global responses to this challenge.”

The goals for the new lab include bringing together scholars and students whose work connects, directly or indirectly, with the study of antisemitism. Among the lab’s first initiatives will be to convene an international scholarly lecture series on antisemitism across a wide range of fields of study, opening new opportunities for collaboration among researchers worldwide. The lab will develop research, teaching and study partnerships with other centres of knowledge for the study of antisemitism globally.

“The ��߲ݴ�ý is well situated for this scholarship,” says Trevor Young, U of T’s vice-president and provost. “Our academic community has long-standing reach and expertise on the social and cultural issues of societies worldwide. Within the Canadian context, the ��߲ݴ�ý offers the opportunity to study antisemitism as a global and comparative phenomenon, thereby offering a unique academic perspective within the field.” 

Melanie Woodin, dean of the Faculty of Arts & Science, says “it’s imperative that we continue to invest in scholarship in this area, and the connection to racism and exclusion broadly.”

She adds that she is committed to bringing together expertise within the faculty and beyond, and foresees that the lab will also help the faculty grow its research and other scholarly activities in relation to the state of democracy. 

In addition to the expertise within CJS, Woodin sees great opportunities for the lab to pursue academic collaborations – such as with the Systemic Islamophobia Research Lab (SIRL) in the Institute of Islamic Studies and the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, which has an area of focus on the future of democratic societies and is soon to launch a new series of talks on the Middle East conflict. 

“It’s an understatement to say we are seeing a rise in antisemitism and other forms of hate, not just in places of higher learning, but in all facets of society,” says Woodin. “In search of any solutions, we must delve into the complexities before us and openly collaborate to examine how antisemitism continues to permeate the world around us.”

U of T certificate program merges engineering and public policy

Christopher.Sorensen — Wed, 23 Aug 2023 18:21:51 +0000

U of T certificate program merges engineering and public policy

Christopher.Sorensen Wed, 08/23/2023 - 14:21

Cutline

A new certificate program, launching this fall, will enable U of T Engineering students to gain fluency and experience with the design and implementation of public policy, including services such as public transit (photo by surangaw, via Envato Elements)

Tyler Irving

Topic

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Academics

Public Policy

Undergraduate Students

Subheadline

The certificate in public policy and engineering launches this fall and is available to undergraduate engineering students

Beginning this fall, undergraduate engineering students at the ��߲ݴ�ý will be able to augment their degree with a new certificate in public policy and engineering.

The program is the result of a collaboration between the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering and the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy in the Faculty of Arts & Science.

Dionne Aleman (supplied image)

“The idea to create a certificate in public policy actually came from students who were chatting with [U of T Engineering Dean] Chris Yip at the ��߲ݴ�ý Engineering Kompetition in 2022,” says Dionne Aleman, a professor in the department of mechanical and industrial engineering and associate dean of cross-disciplinary programs at U of T Engineering.

“We began co-ordinating with the Munk School a few months later and here we are launching the certificate in 2023. It’s a perfect example of how we can create unique educational opportunities to suit our students’ interests – tell us what you want, and we will find a way to make it happen.”

“There are many challenges around the world that cannot be solved without close coordination between engineering and policy makers,” says Daniel Posen, an associate professor in the department of civil and mineral engineering who was part of the team that helped support the new program’s creation.

Daniel Posen (supplied image)

“These challenges exist in a wide range of areas: climate change, energy, the environment, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, space policy, urban design and more. It is hugely beneficial for engineers to bring their technical expertise to the policy space, and for engineers to understand how policy affects their design constraints.”

The new certificate consists of three half-course requirements, which can be completed as part of the elective credits in a student’s program or taken as extra credits.

“Virtually every engineering project is also a public policy project, in that they involve the allocation of public resources and have an impact on public life,” says Alexandra Rahr, assistant professor, teaching stream, and director of undergraduate programs and student experience at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy.

“At the same time, engineers have expertise that make them natural partners when it comes to creating effective public policy. This certificate is designed to give engineering students the fluency they need in the language of policy design and implementation, so that they’re not sitting on the outside, but instead can be active participants in that process.”

The first course provides an introduction to microeconomics, a foundational element of public policy, designed for students with an engineering background. The second course looks at the political and social institutions that are involved in making public policy, from legislators to advocacy groups and professional associations.

The final course acts as a capstone in which students will apply the skills they have developed to analyze case studies of public engineering projects. By looking at both the intended and unintended consequences of policy-making, they can gain insights that inform their own practice.

“We know from experience that a number of engineering graduates already choose to enrol in our master of public policy program, so there is a desire on their part to learn more about these policy frameworks,” says Rahr.

“Ideally, what we hope for graduates of this certificate – whether they go on to work in engineering, or in public policy, or some field that combines the two – is that they become effective and fluent practitioners of policy who are deeply engaged with the public good.”

Once a teenage refugee, new graduate Omer Malikyar is now a powerful voice for the world’s displaced

siddiq22 — Fri, 02 Jun 2023 19:15:03 +0000

Once a teenage refugee, new graduate Omer Malikyar is now a powerful voice for the world’s displaced

siddiq22 Fri, 06/02/2023 - 15:15

Cutline

While on a U of T Summer Abroad program, student Omer Malikyar attended talks on migration and the accommodation of refugees at the European Commission (all photos courtesy Omer Malikyar)

Topic

Political Science

Woodsworth College

Subheadline

After escaping Afghanistan, Malikyar set his sights on a post-secondary education at U of T

��߲ݴ�ý student Omer Malikyar will never take education for granted.

On the road to his graduation with a degree in political science and Canadian studies from the Faculty of Arts & Science, Malikyar has had to summon courage and perseverance that is almost difficult to imagine.

He was born and raised in Ghazni, a trading and transit hub in southeastern Afghanistan. His father, a school principal, has spent the past 25 years operating a school for girls. Under the country’s extremist regime, the students are forbidden from pursuing formal learning past the Grade 6 level.

“Education has always been really important to my family,” Malikyar says. “Back home, we children spent most of our time studying and I did really well. So when I came to Canada, it was always a dream to attend a good school.”

Escaping to the West, while difficult, was an absolute necessity for Malikyar. During his high school years, he was involved in activities that unfortunately caught the eye of Islamic extremists.

“My friends and I created a summer camp where we taught girls and guys about their rights – how women can contribute to society, about gender equality and that sort of thing. It was [considered] scandalous, and we received threats. It became really scary for me after that. We were told that we were promoting Western values in an Islamic country.”

So in 2018, Malikyar made his way to New York state, enrolling in a summer camp for international students. But summer ended quickly.

“By that time, Ghazni had been taken over by the extremists, and all I was hearing was bad news,” he says.

As the Trump administration began enacting stricter policies toward undocumented immigrants, the teenager knew that neither his new home nor his old one would be open to him. He managed to cross into Canada at Roxham Road, a well-known entry point on the Quebec border that was used by many refugees until its closing in March of this year.

Finally, after an arduous and solitary journey to Toronto, Malikyar set his sights on post-secondary study.

“I found out about U of T and really wanted to study here. I went to UTSC and took a campus tour – I wished I could enroll, but it wasn’t that easy because I didn’t have the requirements.”

Malikyar was frustrated – he had been an excellent student at home, and had already completed a year at Kabul University, one of the most prestigious in the country. But he did what he had to, returning to high school and completing his Grade 12 year. After entering Woodsworth College through the Diploma to Degree program, he was finally able to realize his dream: enrolling at U of T.

With his educational path set, he next turned his energies toward helping others.

As a volunteer with Children Without Borders, he has helped children in Afghanistan receive educational opportunities. With the Afghan Youth Development and Engagement Initiative, he currently mentors young refugees as they navigate new lives in Canada.

And while at U of T, Malikyar managed to realize yet another ambition.

“I wanted to re-establish the Afghan Students Association at the ��߲ݴ�ý, and I was so happy that we were able to create it as a charter student club this year,” he says with pride.

Omer Malikyar is set to graduate from the Faculty of Arts & Science this month and will begin graduate studies at the Munk School in the fall

This spring, the club convened students from a variety of different cultures to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of Ramadan.

“Most of the students in our club were born and raised in Toronto,” Malikyar says. “It’s been really great to share my experience with them, and to learn from them as well.”

In addition to his activities at U of T, Malikyar has taken advantage of travel opportunities to further his interests in refugee issues and the politics of forced migration. He took part in the U of T Summer Abroad program in Germany, taking extra time to meet and speak with Afghan refugees in Europe; he also attended talks at the European Union commission in Brussels to learn about that organization’s approach to migration and refugee accommodation.

For his academic and extracurricular efforts, Malikyar was recently selected as a McCall MacBain Regional Award recipient. He also received the Master of Global Affairs Fellowship Award from the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, where he will be pursuing graduate studies in the fall.

“My goal is to work with an organization such as the United Nations, or with the government of Canada,” he says.

His internship last year with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, where he raised funds for refugees from Ukraine and Afghanistan, was a stepping stone to building such a career.

But although Malikyar’s future in Canada is secure, he will always have an eye on those seeking escape from his home country, as well as those languishing in refugee camps in Iran or Pakistan. He notes that even before the extremists’ return to power in 2021, they retained a stranglehold on activities in the cities and towns outside Kabul.

Right now, there is no end in sight – in particular, Malikyar underscores the plight of women and girls in Afghanistan today.

“Girls cannot go to secondary school. They don’t have any rights,” he says. “They cannot walk outside without male company.”

Prior to the regime’s ban on higher education for girls, his sister studied math at university in Ghazni.

“She is still teaching,” he says. “But I’m really concerned about what would happen to her if they banned all school for women and girls.”

Education is a basic human right, but in many places it is one that is far from guaranteed. Omer Malikyar’s long and difficult journey to convocation is a powerful reminder that learning is a precious resource – and one well worth fighting for.

Twin activists and filmmakers – soon to be ��߲ݴ�ý grads – champion education for girls

Christopher.Sorensen — Tue, 30 May 2023 17:07:53 +0000

Twin activists and filmmakers – soon to be ��߲ݴ�ý grads – champion education for girls

Christopher.Sorensen Tue, 05/30/2023 - 13:07

Cutline

Nivaal, left, and Maryam Rehman, right, speak at the U of T Sustainability Film Festival, which they organized (photo by Nicole In)

Mariam Matti

Topic

Convocation 2023

Diversity and Inclusion

Global

New College

Sustainability

Women and Gender Studies

Subheadline

Nivaal and Maryam Rehman founded a non-profit dedicated to gender equality, climate justice and inclusivity

Nivaal and Maryam Rehman were just eight years old when they began spreading awareness about the importance of education to girls in their home village near Lahore, Pakistan.

“We were speaking to them about their dreams and aspirations, and we found out that they were going to quit school when they reached Grade 5,” says Nivaal.

“That’s when our activism journey began.”

That journey included founding the MNR Foundation in 2016 – a non-profit dedicated to gender equality, climate justice and inclusivity through storytelling and advocacy – and conducting workshops on gender-based violence prevention and environmental stewardship and sustainability.

The twins have also worked with global advocacy organizations, interviewed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, and have directed and produced for Dream Big, Princess, a collaboration between Disney and the UN Girl Up Campaign.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Maryam & Nivaal • Activism | Storytelling | Travel 🇵🇰🇨🇦 (@theworldwithmnr)

Now, the Rehmans are both set to graduate from the ��߲ݴ�ý – with the same degree: a double major in peace, conflict and justice and international relations and a minor in women and gender studies from the Faculty of Arts & Science.

After they cross the stage at Convocation Hall on June 15, with their parents in the crowd, the sisters will start preparing for a move to England, where they are both set to attend Oxford University for a master’s degree in historical studies.

“We came into university thinking we’d be done school after four years, but I want to continue learning,” says Maryam. “If anything, we’ve been taught is that there’s so much more to learn. So, it’s really encouraged us to keep going.”

They say their time at U of T has strengthened their knowledge of global issues and that their education has informed their advocacy work.

One course stood out.

“It was through critical equity and solidarity studies that we not only were able to critique what we were learning in our program, but also our own knowledge about the world,” says Nivaal.

They credit Assistant Professor Stanley Doyle Wood, who teaches critical studies in equity and solidarity at New College, for facilitating a supportive and fun learning environment.

“He’s super inspiring to us,” says Nivaal. “[The class] helped us enhance our activism so we weren’t reinforcing systems of oppression.”

Maryam, left, and Nivaal, right, run a workshop for school children in their home village in Pakistan (supplied)

Growing up, Maryam and Nivaal say their parents were honest with them about the problems they’d see in the world. When they’d ask about homelessness or poverty in their village, their parents wouldn’t try to hide what was going on.

“We were given the opportunity to learn about issues,” says Maryam. “Our parents encouraged us and said, ‘If girls’ education is something you’re concerned about, what are you going to do about it?’”

After moving to Canada at age five, the sisters would travel home regularly to see their extended family. On their first trip back, they learned about a school which had been built on land donated by their grandmother.

“There was a school for boys, but she wanted to have the same opportunities given to the girls there,” says Nivaal. “We were so inspired by her work and wanted to ensure that those girls continue their education.”

That’s when they discovered that girls in the village often quit school in fifth grade so they could work to support their families. In an effort to break the cycle, Maryam and Nivaal began to host workshops and seminars in their family home to inform the girls about the value of education. They worked alongside teachers to advocate waiving of school fees on behalf of families who could not afford to pay. They collected stationery and books to donate to the school.

Nivaal, left, and Maryam, right, speak about education access at the UN General Assembly (supplied)

“We were kids at the time, too, so we were just trying to find different ways to support [these girls],” says Nivaal. “Very simply, we wanted them to continue schooling beyond Grade 5.”

They say some of the girls they’ve helped have gone on to study in high school – and that the school’s teaching staff grew to four teachers, from one previously, as more students stayed on.

“We pushed for an understanding that [education] is what’s going to break the cycle of poverty,” Maryam says.

“It makes people aware about how they can make their personal circumstances better and how they can make things better for their communities.

“It’s a solution to so many other problems.”

Watch an interview with Nivaal and Maryam Rehman on CTV

‘An exchange of knowledge where everyone has something to offer’: U of T celebrates great teaching

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 01 Dec 2022 17:03:24 +0000

‘An exchange of knowledge where everyone has something to offer’: U of T celebrates great teaching

Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 12/01/2022 - 12:03

Cutline

From left to right: Keith Adamson, Danielle Bentley, Jacqueline Smith, Suzanne Wood with daughter Sophia Goppe, Cheryl Regehr, Obidimma Ezezika, Jill Carter and Sherry Fukuzawa (all photos by Polina Teif)

Christina Lam

Topic

Excellence in Teaching Awards

Cheryl Regehr

Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work