Identity and Polarization:

Implications for our ability to live well together

A symposium on diversity

October 3 - 4, 2008; Calgary, AB

 
Canada is often pointed to as a model of how a highly diverse population can live together peacefully.  But our diversity can present challenges.
 
For example, the debate in Ontario a few years ago about giving the force of law to religiously-based arbitration revealed tensions between promoting gender equality and accommodating religious difference.
 
The Chumir Foundation is launching a multi-year project on diversity by looking at a few basic issues: How do we identify ourselves?  Why is identity of ethical importance?  And what does this all mean for public policy and good governance?
   
Topics and Speakers:
 
Friday evening keynote address:
 
The ethics of personal identity 
 
Saturday sessions:
Social identity in Canada: What are the facts and issues?
 
Who am I?:  Social identity in Canada and why I see it this way

 

Identity can be dangerous: Some Canadian examples

 
Identity and poverty
 
Polarization along religious lines – 'Religion in politics'
 
What are the building blocks of a healthy democracy in a diverse society?
 
Downloads:
  
About the Sheldon Chumir Foundation for Ethics in Leadership
The Sheldon Chumir Foundation for Ethics in Leadership is a non-profit organization based in Calgary which conducts activities across Canada.

The Foundation is supported by a bequest by Mr. Chumir, who was a lawyer, businessman, civil libertarian and Alberta MLA (1986 - 1992). Sheldon observed that "leadership exercised by individuals motivated by high ethical purpose can bring about significant change for the betterment of our society." He wanted the Chumir Foundation to "advance and encourage this type of leadership."

The Foundation works on a variety of issues. As of early 2008, the Foundation's two primary priorities are (1) the reform of Alberta's human rights (anti-discrimination) law and (2) issues connected with diversity. The work on diversity touches on topics such as free speech in a multicultural society, the appropriate role of religion in Canadian public life and the impact of greater diversity on gender equality in Canada.
  
 

  



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