AHRC :: Atlantic Human Rights Centre

Events at the Atlantic Human Rights Centre

Dr. Bernie Vigod Memorial Lecture Series in Human Rights

The 2011 Dr. Bernie Vigod Memorial Lecture in Human Rights will be jointly sponsored by the St. Thomas University History Department and the Atlantic Human Rights Center, taking place on October 3, 7:00-9:00 PM, at the Ted Daigle Auditorium. This year's distinguished speaker will be Dr. Edward Kissi.

Dr. Kissi is an associate professor of history at the Department of Africana Studies at the University of South Florida. A historian of comparative genocide, he is published widely in the leading genocide journals and Africanist journals. His well-received book, Revolution and Genocide in Ethiopia and Cambodia, was published in 2006 by Lexington Books.

His lecture is titled: “Beyond the Holocaust: A Comparative Interpretation of Genocide and Mass Murder in Cambodia, Rwanda, and Darfur.”

Dr. Bernie Vigod was a lifelong advocate of human rights. An outstanding teacher and scholar, he was a professor of History at the University of New Brunswick as well as Associate Dean of University's School of Graduate Studies at the time of his death in 1988. Dr. Vigod served the cause of human rights with distinction. He spoke and published extensively on human rights issues. Dr. Vigod also acted as an advisor to public officials on human rights issues and took a leading role in organizations dedicated to promoting human rights. This lecture series is dedicated to his memory and features distinguished speakers on a wide range of human rights issues. Past Vigod lecturers have included Irwin Cotler (1995), Michelle Falardeau-Ramsay, QC, Chief Commissioner, Canadian Human Rights Commission (1999), and Bruce Phillips, Privacy Commissioner of Canada (1996), Lt. Gen. Romeo Dallaire (2001), Michael Marus (2002), William Schabas (2003), Karen Mock (2004), Senator Jerry Grafstein (2005), Rev. Phillipe LeBlanc, O.P. (2006), Rabbi Abraham Cooper (2007), John Hobbins (2008), Kevin Bales (2009) Alexandre Trudeau (2010).

Dr. Abdul Q. Lodhi Memorial Lecture Series

The 2012 Dr. Abdul Lodhi Lecture in Human Rights is scheduled for March. More details to follow.

Dr. Lodhi was a sterling champion of human rights and social justice. He was a distinguished teacher, scholar and mentor at Saint Thomas University. In addition to teaching and research in which he created strong interests in his students, he earned distinction in being one of the main co-founders of the Atlantic Human Rights Centre as well as its first director, the designer of St. Thomas University's certificate programme in Criminology and Social Justice and the recipient of the annual New Brunswick Human Rights Commission Human Rights Award in 1989. His vision of peace and understanding among peoples, underscoring the celebration of their similarities through respect and acceptance lives on. The Dr. Abdul Qaiyum Lodhi Memorial Lecture and workshop series seek to fulfill his vision of working towards racial tolerance and understanding. Distinguished speakers have included John Edwards, Commissioner of Corrections (1996), The Honorable Senator Erminie J. Cohen (1997), and Moy Tam, Executive Director, Canadian Race Relations Foundation (2000), Errol Mendes, Director of the University of Ottawa Human Rigthts Centre (2004), Wayne MacKay, Professor of Law at Dalhousie University (2005), Senator Mobina Jaffer (2006), Lt. Gov. Mayann Francis (2007), Dr. Ayman AI-Yassini (2008).

Conferences and Workshops

The Atlantic Human Rights Centre hosts numerous conferences and workshops dealing with a variety of human rights issues. These events bring together academics and activists in human rights from around the world. This provides a valuable exchange of ideas and programmes for action. Past conferences include two colloquia on Human Rights and Information Technology.

Doctoral Fellowships in Human Rights

St. Thomas University is a small, Catholic, liberal arts university where excellence in undergraduate teaching is an institutional priority. The fellowships are non-renewable and made available by the University under the auspices of its Chair of Studies in Canadian Citizenship and Human Rights located in the University's Atlantic Human Rights Centre. For more details, please contact Dr. Michael McGowan, Director of the Atlantic Human Rights Centre.