Senator Roméo Dallaire struggled to find the will to live after witnessing the worst side of humanity during the Rwandan genocide. Learning to take the long-term view is what saved him. In a public lecture at the University of Manitoba, the former commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Rwanda will encourage Canadians to take whatever small steps we can to help humanity progress from conflict to serenity.

When: Friday October 5, 2012, 10:30 a.m. to noon. (Coffee available at 10.00)
Where: Moot Court, Robson Hall, Fort Garry campus, University of Manitoba

Dallaire will be presented with the 2012 Mahatma Gandhi Peace Award of Canada, after which he will speak on lessons learned from the 1994 Rwandan genocide. This will be followed by a panel discussion, with participants: University of Manitoba genocide expert Dr. Andrew Woolford and Dr. Sean Byrne, executive director of the university’s Arthur Mauro Centre for Peace and Justice.

Dallaire’s book Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda was published in 2003. He was appointed to the Canadian Senate in 2005.

The event is co-sponsored by the University of Manitoba’s Centre for Human Rights Research and the Mahatma Gandhi Centre of Canada, whose president, Dr. Krishnamurti Dakshinamurti, is professor emeritus at the University of Manitoba. The peace award recognizes original thinkers and initiators of conflict resolution. The Gandhi Centre is also sponsoring a related dance drama, The Game, by Manohar Performing Arts of Canada on October 6, 2012, at 7:30 p.m. at Pantages Playhouse Theatre.

For more information, contact Dr. Krishnamurti Dakshinamurti, 204-837 3757 or Helen Fallding, manager, Centre for Human Rights Research, fallding@cc.umanitoba.ca or 204-474-6156