Letter from the Acting Executive Director

August 2011

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

It is with a tinge of sadness that my time as Acting Director of the Jeanne Sauvé and Sauvé Scholars Foundations has ended. However, I’m also left with immense gratitude for the richly rewarding experience of having gotten to know 14 outstanding young leaders, as well as the opportunity to participate in the fantastic work performed by the selfless Directors of the Sauvé Foundation Board.

With those thoughts and feelings in mind, I offer this brief tour of some of the highlights of the 2010-2011 Sauvé Scholars Program.

As always, the Program had diverse components, including the many activities organized at Sauvé House, conferences, events and lectures in Montreal and some trips beyond our island city, along with numerous Scholar initiatives. As these are too many to describe in detail, I offer highlights only.

THE FIRST WEEKS
For seven in-coming Scholars, there was the inspiring Civicus World Assembly, where they met several Sauvé Alumni including Janet Jobson and Mirwais Nahzat. Soon after, the entire cohort was introduced to the joys of a hiking, canoeing, and climbing trip to Mont-Tremblant. Also in early September, Lilit and Rouzbeh were invited to attend the Governor General’s Women’s Conference "Together for Women's Security" hosted by Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada. Both Lilit and Rouzbeh focus on women’s issues in their home countries- Armenia and Iran respectively.

“TEA TALKS”
The popular  “Tea Talks", generally held every second Tuesday, introduced the Scholars to a range of fascinating people of many professions and passions, including Sauvé Program alumni Guillaume Lavoie, Liam McHugh-Russell and Amnon Shefler; as well as Len Blum, always a favorite with Scholars; Jonathan Kay, author, columnist and founding member of the National Post editorial board; Jean François Sauvé and Désirée McGraw;  former McGill Chancellor Gretta Chambers; David Creighton (CEO, Cordiant Capital); Management guru Professor Henry Mintzberg; Professor Karl Moore, author and Co-Director of the Advanced Leadership Program; Dr. Kirsten Johnson, international expert in humanitarian relief and development; Holly Dressel, Adjunct Professor, McGill School of Environment, mentor to Andrew Sniderman, and  best known for her collaborations with celebrated environmentalist David Suzuki on film and radio programs and books; and Alexandre Trudeau , journalist and documentary filmmaker.

MORE “TEA TALKS” ORGANIZED BY THE SCHOLARS:
Marie Wilson of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission; Éloge Butera, former Scholar, human rights activist, and survivor of the genocide against Tutsis in Rwanda ; Professor Rex Brynen, whose research focuses on peace-building and conflict, particularly in the Middle East; and Christian Novak, who spoke to the Scholars on Micro-Finance Institutions, a topic of particular interest to many.

JEANNE SAUVÉ DISTINGUISHED SPEAKER SERIES
Rahul Singh, Founder and Executive Director of the David McAntony Gibson Foundation/ Global Medic, spoke on Growing Global Medic: Lessons for Young Leaders, sharing lessons learned from the Global Medic success story.
Imre Szeman, Sauvé Foundation Visiting Fellow, Canada Research Chair in Cultural Studies and Professor of English, Film Studies, and Sociology at the University of Alberta, gave a provocatively titled talk on Why We Don't Need Creativity.

IN-HOUSE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SERIES
The Program includes professional development workshops designed to assist the Scholars by supplementing their academic courses and individual project development with tips on how to enhance their professional and leadership skills. This year’s series included:
Presence and Presentation – October 15  (Ion Valaskakis)
Running an effective meeting – October 26 (Liam McHugh Russell)
Personal Branding – Best practices – November 5  (Ion Valaskakis)
Relationship Awareness: Knowing Myself, Interacting with Others (Lilit)
Team Building (Kathleen Wright)
Media Training (Ion Valaskakis)
Simple Rules for Success and Making Magnificent Mistakes (Ion Valaskakis)

The Scholars were also privileged to have a private workshop at Sauvé House with Dr. Henry Mintzberg, internationally renowned academic and author on business and management, and currently the Cleghorn Professor of Management Studies at McGill University. Kyle Hill describes this unique experience. 
All Scholars followed the Course on Leadership taught by Professor Karl Moore at the Desautels Faculty of Management , and in February, the Globe & Mail published an Op Ed piece co-written by Kyle and Professor Moore, calling for the creation of a network of Canadian expatriates to advance Canada's economic interests abroad.
Starting in November, the non-Canadian Scholars, organized by Damilola, enjoyed weekly French lessons assuring that they would venture east of Crescent Street.

SPECIAL ACTIVITIES AND TRIPS
At what seems to be becoming an annual event, all the Scholars had the opportunity to meet former U.S. President Bill Clinton at the international leadership summit, where he gave an inspiring speech on issues relating to international leadership: how individuals can take steps to create meaningful results in their communities and organizations.
The Scholars attended a luncheon sponsored by McGill University and CORIM (Montreal Council on International Relations) at which the guest speaker was Nobel Peace Prize recipient and founder of the Grameen Bank, Muhammad Yunus. Speaking on “Social Business: The Positive Impact Business Can Have in the World”, the author of Banker to the Poor urged his audience to pick a problem and create a business with the sole intent of solving that problem.
Without doubt, one of the most memorable of the Scholars’ experiences was their tour of the Cirque du Soleil which Amruth describes vividly. 
The Sauvé Scholars' annual trip to Ottawa is always informative. This year, however, it was particularly so: we arrived on Budget Day and witnessed the excitement of a vote of non-confidence that heralded the federal elections of May 2. Andrew gives a first-hand account of the experience. 
In mid-April, the Scholars attended the New School of Athens Conference, The Montreal Dialogues at which eminent Canadian speakers, including two former prime ministers, discussed The Canadian Model: Strategic Lessons for the Post-Crisis World.
The last special event before the end of the Program was the Living Your Legacy: A Youth Summit on Community Engagement  that featured keynote speakers including Dr. David Suzuki, former Governor General of Canada the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, former United Nations Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa Stephen Lewis and co-founder of Free The Children Craig Kielburger.

Scholar-to-Scholar sessions provided space for exchange of knowledge, skills and information among Scholars and created a platform for debates on various topics. Rouzbeh shared a documentary film on women’s issues in Iran; Jessica spoke about aboriginal issues in Canada; Amruth talked about psychology of games and learning. Tasty sessions included Tiramisu making with Lilit and Indian cooking with Anu.

NATIONAL DINNERS
Speaking of tasty, the nine National Dinners, held on Sunday nights, which included food and country information sessions were outstanding. Arcie led a Filipino dance session; Anu performed a dance; the Canadians walked everyone through the difficulty of Quebec’s two referendums; Carlos prepared more kinds of potato than anyone could count.

PARTNERSHIP WITH THE KAHNAWÁ:KE COMMUNITY
In August, to mark the start of another year of the Sauvé partnership with the Kahnawá:ke community, all Scholars participated in a traditional Longhouse Welcome Ceremony. Each brought gifts from their respective countries or regions, and all were offered blessings in return.
I would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude for the support of Kahienes Sky in facilitating this ceremony, and to the Elders:  Freddy Deer, Joe McGregor, Otsitsakaren Patton, and Tahanakarine for their generosity as Ceremonial Leaders.
Following the moving Longhouse Welcome Ceremony in August, in November, nine Scholars participated in a day-long event at the Kahnawake Survival School (KSS), to address Middle School students as part of the KSS Substance Abuse and Restorative Justice Week.
In March, Mohawk Chief Tahanakarine came for a “Tea Talk” and proved to be one of the year’s most engaging guests. Arcie Mallari explains that as a Traditionally Condoled Chief, he sits on the National Council of Chiefs, the body that oversees all of the Mohawk communities, and meets to discuss and decide on National issues. Chief Tahanakarine is also the Director of O’nento:kon Treatment Centre in Kahnawá:ke. He began the session with the Mohawk prayer, during which he gave thanks to all the animals, plants and bird life, thunder, winds and stars that give direction to the people. His talk was about the Mohawk culture and language as well as about current issues and concerns affecting their people.
As a sign of friendship with the Sauvé Scholars Foundation, Chief Tahanakarine gave the Scholars their Five Nations Flag, which we now proudly display at Sauvé House.

HOSPITALITY
Thanks to the initiative of Sauvé Board Member Nancy Wright, each Scholar this year was connected with a host family in Montreal. We are very grateful to all those families who generously welcomed our Scholars and gave them another window on the Montreal community.
In addition to the Welcome and Closing Receptions hosted by the Foundation at Sauvé House, individual Board members invited the Scholars to special events. The Scholars joined Chairman Sonny Gordon for Dim Sum in Montreal’s Chinatown prior to attending a National Hockey League game at the Bell Centre in the Dundee corporate box.
On November 21, the Lowys graciously received the Scholars for Brunch at their home.
In December, Jean-François and Diane Sauvé held an elegant and festive holiday dinner party for the Scholars and staff at their magnificent home.
And Nancy Wright ensured that the Scholars enjoyed true Canadian hospitality in a rural setting with a Winter Wonderland weekend at her Lac des Iles family home. Thiha’s description and the accompanying pictures leave no doubt that a very good time was had by all! 

SCHOLAR INITIATIVES
This year’s Scholars launched a Blog that offers a more informal view of their reflections and experiences. We hope that other cohorts will continue this excellent initiative.
Rouzbeh Mircharkhchian led the 2010/2011 McGill University White Ribbon Campaign to end violence against women. The campaign included a screening of Polytechnique, a film based on the 1989 Montreal Massacre, which attracted over 60 McGill students.
Anu George & Amruth Ravindranath spoke at the Social Equity and Diversity Education (SEDE) Calendar Launch.
Arcie Mallari, Thiha Tun, Rouzbeh and Damilola volunteered at the Global Conference on Human Rights in Diverse Societies; this was the second Echenberg Family Conference on Human Rights, and was hosted by McGill’s Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism. 
Kyle Hill, Arcie, Lisa Rae, Jessica Simpson and Andrew Sniderman visited New Hampshire on the eve of the American midterm elections to knock on doors and encourage voters to visit the polls on Election Day. They joined other volunteers from Quebec with Sauvé alumnus Guillaume Lavoie’s organization, Mission Leadership 
Anu, Roozbeh, Temitope, Lilit and Damilola  travelled to Saint Johnsbury Academy, Vermont where they made formal presentations and led classroom talks and discussions on key issues affecting their respective regions.  
Anu’s recounting of their visit describes an exceptional student body and a truly rewarding experience for all.
Nine Scholars enjoyed a weekend trip to Quebec City to experience the Carnaval and see the famous Ice Hotel –Michelle’s enthusiastic account and wonderful pictures  indicate that all succumbed to the unique charm of the former capital of New France.     
Two Scholars delivered TEDX talks; Amruth spoke at McGill  about the potential role of technology in reshaping our education systems and Andrew spoke at York University, Toronto about his Green Bonds initiative.
Lilit, Lisa and Michelle joined the Seize Your Future young women’s leadership program as mentors. Each of them worked with several teenage girls from Montreal, giving them support in running their personal projects in spring 2011.
Arcie was a member of the panel for the Young Professionals in Development Workshop  where he described his experience leading educational change in the Philippines.
Arcie was also selected for his educational project, iWasteology, to share the stage with Kofi Annan and David Suzuki as part of Living Your Legacy: A Youth Summit on Community Engagement  
I must add to this impressive list the individual presentations that the Scholars gave at the Closing Reception. Not only did they give a picture of the projects each Scholar had worked on, they offered creative appreciations of what the Program has meant to each one.

SELECTION OF THE 2011-2012 SCHOLARS
Each year there have been refinements to the Application and Selection process. It has become more streamlined, but no less demanding for all – applicants, initial reviewers and finally, the Selection Committee. We wish to thank our Program alumni around the globe as well as our Selection Committee for their contributions to this difficult process. The result of our collective efforts is evident: yet another group of 14 remarkable emerging young leaders; they come from 10 countries, including first-ever Paraguay and The Palestinian Territories, but I leave it to Désirée to tell you much more.

IN CONCLUSION
I am grateful to so many people who made this year’s Program a success.
The group of outstanding Scholars quickly became an enthusiastically proactive and mutually supportive cohort. The members of our Board tirelessly offered their support, encouragement and active participation in all we did: Chairman, Sonny Gordon, President Jean-François Sauvé and Directors Diane Sauvé, Nancy Wright and Fred Lowy.
My good friend, Désirée McGraw was, despite her theoretical absence on maternity leave a consistent voice of enthusiastic support, offering timely suggestions and always ready to organize or participate in any event.
Simone Hanchet ably took on the challenges of “outreach” and more with efficiency and diplomacy, especially the application and selection process for the incoming 2011-2012 Scholars.
The Academic Mentors met with the Scholars regularly and played an important role in supporting their research and professional development. McGill university’s collaboration and resources are invaluable to so many aspects of the Program.
Numerous Scholar alumni shared experiences and participation, contributing dynamic elements to the Program.  We are grateful also to those who work so hard in the background on the essential underpinnings of the Program and Foundation - accounting, cleaning, building maintenance, IT.
Finally, I must pay tribute to the invaluable assistance and devotion of Louise Brunet Nelson, always attentive to the needs of Scholars, house manager/den mother extraordinaire and indefatigable organizer of events. Louise, who has moved on to pursue other interests, including her expanding family, leaves with our warmest wishes for happiness in whatever she undertakes and the assurance that the warmest of welcomes awaits her whenever she returns to visit.
It has been a rich and rewarding experience to serve as Acting Director of the Jeanne Sauvé Foundation and the Sauvé Scholars Program. I look forward to continuing to serve the interests of the Foundation and the Scholars in new capacities. 

ION VALAKAKIS
Acting Executive Director (2010-2011)
Jeanne Sauvé Foundation
Sauvé Scholars Foundation