mpac2021

Life lessons learned from role-playing games- Or how I discovered Flowgame!

by Mathilda Wehling I love role-playing games. For a few months, I played a red-headed character named Freija in the pen-and-paper[1] Call of Cthulhu, and I loved playing K in Numenera, another pen-and-paper. As K, I could lit my skin on fire— pretty cool, huh? In a world that was so different from mine, IContinue reading “Life lessons learned from role-playing games- Or how I discovered Flowgame!”

Gender equality standards in music

By Jesse Matas Over the past decade there has been a movement towards gender equality in music. Recently, standards and official organizations have started to appear. What began as an idea that “we need to see more women on stage” has now started taking official shape. Organizations like #bookmorewomen [1], Keychange [2], and databases likeContinue reading ” Gender equality standards in music”

Community Radio:Donations

Last fall, I spent 3 weeks north of Wakefield, Québec assembling a very interesting cabin for an architect from Ottawa. Every morning we would wake up at 5:30 and drive 40 minutes on dark, windy, bumpy gravel roads through Québec’s hills to the job site. We would work a 12-hour day without breaks and thenContinue reading “Community Radio:Donations”

Arab Spring countries and speech freedom repression pandemic

This is not the COVID-19 tracking map. This is the Global Press Freedom map by the Freedom House. The deterioration of speech freedom is not less contagious than the COVID-19 pandemic. The Arab spring is a term used to refer to the wave of the revolution sparked in 2011 against dictatorship regimes in the Middle East and Africa. CountriesContinue reading “Arab Spring countries and speech freedom repression pandemic”

From awareness raising to peer pressure: How I decided to register as a potential bone marrow donor

Each week, Peace and Conflict Studies students in the Building Civil Society course are asked to reflect on a key issue discussed in class. What I have found fascinating are the powerful and inspiring stories of why we are part of the MPACS community. This week we are continuing to learn stories of students reflecting onContinue reading “From awareness raising to peer pressure: How I decided to register as a potential bone marrow donor”

The AIDS Committee Of Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo & Area

Each week, Peace and Conflict Studies students in the Building Civil Society course are asked to reflect on a key issue discussed in class. What I have found fascinating are the powerful and inspiring stories of why we are part of the MPACS community. This week, students reflected on civil society organization whose fundraising campaignContinue reading “The AIDS Committee Of Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo & Area”

Reflection Journal:Peace Education in Primary and Secondary Schools

“Those who love peace must learn to organize as effectively as those who love war.”- Martin Luther King Jr Reflection on the Ugandan Experience What would Ugandan lives be like collectively if peace education was infused into our education curriculum from pre-school to secondary schools? What it would be like if we made humans, girls,Continue reading “Reflection Journal:Peace Education in Primary and Secondary Schools”

Anti-racism includes unlearning the histories of the land

It is somewhat ironic that the Land Back Camp underway at Victoria Park is just a short walk from the Schneider Haus on Queen Street. The Land Back Camp is where a group of local Indigenous activists began occupying a small area of the park on National Indigenous Peoples Day (June 21). They are claimingContinue reading “Anti-racism includes unlearning the histories of the land”

Remembering the past, dishonoring the present

June 4th marks the thirty-one-year anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre— one of the most horrendous acts of an authoritarian government in contemporary history. On June 4, 1989, university students and young adults stood together in Tiananmen Square in Beijing and across China to demonstrate for greater state accountability, constitutional reform, freedom, and democracy. InContinue reading “Remembering the past, dishonoring the present”

Part II Q&A: On Language, Power, Privilege, and Peacebuilding

This is Part II of the interview I conducted with Dr. Jennifer Ball, continuing the conversation on her experience studying women at the grassroots level in Uganda who are contributing to peacebuilding in ways that are not often recognized by peace researchers and practitioners at national and global levels. In this interview, Dr. Ball reflectsContinue reading “Part II Q&A: On Language, Power, Privilege, and Peacebuilding”