Letter from the Executive Director

DECEMBER 2008

WELCOME to our wonderful new website. We hope you will agree that it was worth the wait.

First and foremost, I want to say thank you to the great team that put everything together for us:
· Diana Nicholson, our superb content – and project – manager who translated all our ideas and drafts into elegant yet accessible language
·Liz Broes and Matthew Jubb, the gifted graphic design partners at EmDash Design, who gave us the new logo and the new look for the Jeanne Sauvé Foundation and the Sauvé Scholars Program.
· Warren Wilansky and the Plank Design Web team who have put it all together.
· Liane Benoit, who applied her invaluable knowledge of the Right Honourable Jeanne
Sauvé's tenure as Speaker and Governor General to writing the biography of Mme Sauvé
and the History of the Jeanne Sauvé Foundation.
· Françoise Orvoine without whose translation skills and devotion to the task we would not
have the elegant French versions of our texts .
· And above all, Diane and Jean-François Sauvé whose meticulous oversight of the project
ensured that the website would be something that Mme Sauvé would have been proud of.

The launch of the website is just in time for the final call out to Applicants for the 2009-2010 year.
By November 30, we had already received almost 300 applications, from 74 different countries,
and history tells us that we can expect some 60% to arrive in the last week before December 31. I
hope that you will make sure to forward the information to individuals or organizations in your
network who would be interested. For those of you who have blogs or websites, please post a link
to us! It is still not too late to apply!

The launch is also the culmination of the first few months of my tenure at Sauvé House, which of
course included the arrival of the 2008-2009 Scholars. It has certainly been an exciting period for
us all.

The traditional late August canoe trip went off without a hitch and everyone got to know one
another while learning about Canada's wonderful natural beauty.

The next few weeks were devoted to McGill orientation, meetings with Academic Mentors, sorting
out class schedules as well as computer and bank accounts, exploring Montreal and settling into
Sauvé House.

In September, we scheduled a series of dinners at which one or two Scholars took turns
presenting traditional dishes from their home countries while giving short talks about themselves,
their history and their aspirations for the coming academic year.Our two Canadians led off:
Marie-Marguerite Sabongui talking about her native Montreal and Quebec, and Megan Bradley
with a clever Power Point Show on Canada that included herrecommendations of must-read
Canadian books and must-listen-to Canadian music. The series concluded on October 3 with
Clarice Reis' marvellous Brazilian evening. When Elizabeth Kistin (U.S.A.) joined the cohort in
early November after serving as an Obama Fellow in her native New Mexico, she continued the
tradition with our final dinner featuring TexMex fare.

On September 11, Sonny Gordon and the Board of Directors – which now includes Fred Lowy and
Nancy Wright in addition to Diane and Jean-Francois Sauvé - hosted a wonderful dinner for the
new Scholars at Okri, an authentic Greek restaurant.

To complement regular House meetings (during which we discuss Program and other common
issues), we have set up three committees – dealing respectively with Household, Program and
Outreach issues – in which both Scholars and Board members are involved. Several alumni who
are in or visiting Montreal, have been active participants in a number of events, including two
panel discussions in which they discussed their current projects and their Sauvé experience.
Three professional development workshops were given by Guillaume Lavoie (2007-2008) on
Media Training, David Eaves (2005-2006) on Sustainable Negotiations, and Emily Paddon
(2007-2008) on applying to graduate programs (and funding). Jon McIntosh gave a presentation
on the 2007-2008 Scholars', individual projects and their community project with Leave Out
Violence Everywhere (LOVE).

On October 30, Sonny Gordon and Jean-François Sauvé hosted the opening reception at Jeanne
Sauvé House. With McGill Principal Heather Monroe Blum as the guest of honour, this was the
Scholars' formal introduction to members of the McGill administration and academic community
who contribute so much to the success of the Program, and Friends of the Program. Many of the
guests were delighted to tour Sauvé House, guided by one or more Scholars. Everyone admired
the new photograph of Madame Sauvé bestowing the Order of Canada upon former Prime
Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, which now hangs in the Conference Room, as a symbol of the
special relationship enjoyed by the Sauvé and Trudeau Foundations.

There has been LOTS of political activity for this year's cohort to observe. When everyone arrived
there was a federal by-election underway in the riding (electoral district) where Sauvé House is
located. Several Scholars worked as volunteers for local candidates of all political stripes. But it
was cancelled the day before the vote, because a General Election was called by the Prime
Minister. The national campaign ended on October 14, just in time for everyone to become totally
absorbed in the elections in the United States.

Sauvé Scholars were active participants in the historic U.S. campaign. Elizabeth Kistin worked as
an Obama Fellow in New Mexico while Avi Alpert (2006-2007) was a field organizer for the
campaign in Central Florida. Tomer Avital lent a hand in NY; Edward Vainker and Jon McIntosh
met up in Washington DC with 2007-2008 alumni Guillaume Lavoie, Xiaoli Pan (covering the
elections for media in their respective countries), and Kirsten Verdel, working at the Democratic
National Committee. Seven Scholars traveled to New Hampshire (November 2-4) to participate as
volunteers in the last three days of the historic U.S. campaign, helping out the Democrats and
enjoying the excitement of seeing the very first polls in the nation open at midnight on November
4. They made the difference in Colebrook as this traditionally Republican town went for Obama
by 56 votes! And no sooner was the U.S. election over than the Premier of Quebec called a
provincial election for December 8!

Scholars have participated in an intensive program of conferences and speaker events this year.
Among the highlights have been the pre-eminent environmental activist, Dr. David Suzuki,
speaking on "Reconciling Prosperity and Sustainable Development: a Common Responsibility";
former UN Special Envoy regarding HIV/AIDs in Africa, Stephen Lewis on the Links between
Climate Change and Global Poverty; former Prime Minister; The Right Honourable Paul
Martin on The "Future of the Global Financial System"; and Premier Jean Charest on
"International Relations: an Area More Dynamic Than Ever for Québec".

In addition to the array of conferences hosted by McGill University (notably the Global Food
Security Conference, CORIM (Conseil des relations internationales de Montréal) events are a regular
part of this year's program, as are those organized by the Fraser Institute, The Montreal
Economic Institute and the Institute for Research on Public Policy.

On November 13 – 15, we attended the Trudeau Foundation Conference "Redefining Canada's
Global Agenda" and on the 17th, were honoured to host Federal Liberal leadership candidate
and former Premier of Ontario Bob Rae at Sauvé House for a private talk with the Scholars on
Canada's role in the world.

The following week, we attended a UNICEF appreciation event for supporters and friends of
UNICEF Quebec and, later that week, WUSC (World University Service of Canada) held a
reception at Sauvé House to celebrate their 30th anniversary and welcome their 1,000th student
refugee to Canada.

November 25, was definitely the highlight of the fall activities – if not the year. We went to hear
former President Bill Clinton speak at a conference and right afterwards, we had the opportunity to
meet with Mr. Clinton when he spoke with each Scholar individually – it was magical!

Finally, this year's Scholars have instituted regular in-house presentations on their areas of
expertise. Sergey Tantushyan kicked off the new initiative speaking on the global economic crisis.
We have invited the Scholars to document each of these and all future events with a brief
summary and photos whenever possible. These will all be posted under events and activities in
the Newsroom.

The first half (already!) of the year concludes with a traditional tree-trimming party at Sauvé
House and a holiday dinner for the Scholars hosted by the Sauvés.

After that, as the Scholars enjoy the December-January break from the Program's activities, the
Selection Committee will be hard at work reviewing the applications for next year's cohort.

On behalf of the Board and staff of the Foundation, I wish you happy, healthy, safe and blessed
holidays, wherever you may be, and remind you that a warm welcome always awaits you at Sauvé
House.

 Sincerely, 

Désirée McGraw
Executive Director
Jeanne Sauvé Foundation and Sauvé Scholars Foundation