Kitchener Rotary

e-Newsletter

March 28, 2022

Meeting Recording

A recording of Today’s Meeting can be found here

President's Comments

President Adrian welcomed all members and guests to our meeting in this, 38th week of our 100th year.

Guests

Jasmin Habib, Associate Professor, Political Science, Faculty of Arts, U of W, guest speaker
John English, distinguished Professor Emeritus, U of W, guest speaker
Douglas M. Peers, professor of history, Acting Dean of Arts, U of W
Kim Bardwell, U of W, guest of Shawky Fahel
Maissaa Almstafa, U of W, guest of Shawky Fahel
Berker Elyaya, U of W, guest of Shawky Fahel
David Viveash, U o fW, guest of Shawky Fahel
Asma Aleahsh, Canadian Arab Women’s Assoc., guest of Shawky Fahel
Gabe Fahel, guest of Shawky Fahel
Amanda Fahel, guest of Shawky Fahel

Happy Jar

Shawky Fahel was happy to have recently been able to do a makeup at a Rotary Club in Venice, Florida and present them with one of our club’s trading banners.
 
Lumi Mironescu is very pleased to have been able to provide support for a refugee from Ukraine and the support she received from our club and a Rotary club in Frankfurt Germany in doing so.
 
Louise Gardiner is proud to be a Rotarian and for Lumi's work  in helping the Ukrainian refugee and that the Women in Rotary group is continuing to network and is working well.
 
Paul Rostrup is delighted that the Canadian Men’s Soccer team qualified for the World Cup!
 

Club Announcements

Club Leadership Training
Club Leadership Training is a series of online training sessions for incoming and potential Rotary leaders.  Sessions include training on International Service, our Foundation, Membership, Youth Programs, Community Service, Public Relations.  For full details check out: Rotary7080.org/events/calendar
 
Dom Cardillo Spring Cleanup
Supporting the environment became the 7th Area of Focus for Rotary International and we are pleased to continue with our bi-annual trail cleanup.
Registration is now open for our Dom Cardillo Trail Spring Cleanup on Thursday April 21st at 4pm.  Non-rotarian volunteer/guests are most welcome!
Click here to register (deadline April 16th) - Spring-2022-dom-cardillo-trail-clean-up
 
Catch The Ace
 
Our weekly winner of Catch the Ace was Donna P.  She has been playing Catch the Ace regularly and was excited to hear about her win.  Donna picked card #22, revealing the Queen of Diamonds and won the weekly prize of $280.  We also heard that she decided to treat the family to dinner with the winnings. 
 
 
When you buy tickets you have a chance to win the weekly prize and if your card is the Ace of Spades you will also win the Progressive Prize of $9,999.  The next weekly draw is on Thursday March 31st.
 
The deadline to get your tickets as always is Wednesday at Midnight. 
Don't forget that you have to purchase a ticket the week of the draw to qualify for both the weekly and progressive jackpot!
 
When you play Catch the Ace not only do you have a chance to win great prizes but you also win by knowing that the net proceeds will all be going to KidsAbility.
 
District Conference
The district conference is on May 28 and will be at Bingeman Park.  Early Bird registration ends on March 31 so register now.  Find out more at:
 
 

Program Highlights

Our program today was a presentation on the new Foundation for Palestinian Studies at the University of Waterloo.  It was presented by a panel of three – Jasmin Habib, John English and Douglass M. Peers; moderated by our own Shawky Fahel
 
Shawky Fahel
Shawky Fahel started JG Contracting Ltd in 1979.  He now owns and operates several successful businesses under the JG Group.
 
A Palestinian by birth, he has written extensively about improving relations between Palestinians and Israelis.  In the past, he has been asked by the Canadian Government to provide advice and to participate in Middle East economic development and peace process discussions/negotiations.  From 1993 to 1997 he attended Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Summits (1993-97) and he was a Canadian Representative at the 1993 Oslo meetings that resulted in the first Israel-Palestine peace accord.  Shawky was the first Palestinian in Canada to advise the Canadian Government on Palestinian issues including the Oslo Accord.
 
Currently, he is proud to work with the University of Waterloo on establishing a Foundation for Palestinian Studies for scholarship on Palestinian culture, history and current affairs.
 
Shawky is the distinguished recipient of several honours and awards including Waterloo's Citizen of the Year, Rotary International's Paul Harris Fellowship Award as well as several humanitarian and outstanding volunteer awards.
 
He is motivated by a belief in the power of philanthropy to give back to the community and does so through his charity, the Canadian International Development Organization, as well as through his volunteer involvement in several organizations.
 
He lives in Waterloo with his wife Kathie and their two children Shaddi and Amanda.
 
Jasmin Habib
 
Founding director of the Global Engagement Seminar Program and an Associate Professor in the Global Governance Program, Jasmin Habib holds a PhD in Anthropology and an MA in International Peace Studies.  Her research publications focus on the politics of empire and the practices of decolonization with primary interest in the experiences of war-affected refugees now living in Israel, Palestine, Canada and the United States; indigenous practices and relations of autonomy in North America; and the architecture of consent for contemporary state violence (systemic and direct).
 
Dr. Habib’s work is primarily ethnographic and collaborative.  Her research methodologies and practices are informed by postcolonial, diaspora, indigenous and feminist theories of the state; and the theories of spatial and visual cultures of violence/non-violence.
 
Dr. Habib is past-Editor-in-Chief and Anglophone Editor of Anthropologica, the flagship journal of the Canadian Anthropology Society, and General Editor of the Cultural Spaces series at the University of Toronto Press.
 
She is completing her book manuscript entitled Transnational Palestine: History, Memory, Identity as well as co-editing a book on Arab Canadians with Rachad Antonius; and a book on the US-Canada border with Jane Desmond.
 
John English
John English is a distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Waterloo.  He’s been a Liberal Member of Parliament, a Special Ambassador for Landmines and a Special Envoy for the election of Canada to the United Nations Security Council.  He has also served as President of the Canadian Institute of International Affairs, co-editor of the Canadian Historical Review, chair of the Board of the Canadian Museum of Civilization and the Canadian War Museum.
 
Douglas M. Peers
Douglas M. Peers is a professor of history, past Dean of Arts, and currently Acting Dean of Arts at the University of Waterloo.  After completing an undergraduate degree in political science and a masters degree in history at the University of Calgary, he went on to do a PhD in imperial history at King’s College London.  Prior to coming to Waterloo in 2011 he had been on the faculty and held senior academic leadership positions at York University and the University of Calgary.  He has been a member of the boards of a number of national and international associations including the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, the Canadian Association for Graduate Studies, the Canadian Historical Association, the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute, and also served as interim vice-president of programs at the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
His research and teaching interests lie broadly within the area of modern global history and more specifically the history of imperialism in South Asia.  He has authored and edited several books as well as more than twenty-five articles and chapters which focus on the relationship between the military, state formation, and the structures and ideologies of colonial rule.  He is currently writing a book on order and discipline in the Bengal, Bombay, and Madras armies (c. 1800-1860) and completing another on war and making of colonial South Asia since 1750. 
 
The Foundation for Palestinian Studies fund will support research, teaching and outreach activities in Palestinian Studies. The goals of the Foundation are:
  • to inform and promote meaningful and balanced discourse that leads to Palestinians achieving social, cultural, economic and peaceful co-existence objectives,
  • to create engagement and interest in Palestinian Studies within the UofW student body and the general public.
 
The Foundation will be interdisciplinary in approach and wide in focus.  Its work will strengthen the understanding of Palestinian history, culture, literature, philosophy, art and governance, as well as, social and economic development matters.  The Foundation will strive to develop academic and research relationships with Palestinian universities.
 
Mr. Fahel wants to recognize the achievements of former University President and Vice-Chancellor, Feridun Hamdullahpur. Dr. Hamdullahpur provided wise counsel in the creation of the Foundation and has contributed greatly to the University and the community.
 
The Foundation will support a yearly guest lecture series that will bring distinguished authorities on Palestinian studies and history to the Waterloo campus.  Each year the guest speaker will give a lecture, meet with faculty and students, and will be introduced to the Waterloo community. The lecture series is designed be a catalyst for the involvement of others in the educational and awareness work of the Foundation.  Student events and travel will be supported. Faculty research on Palestinian-related topics will be encouraged.
 
Launch events are currently being planned for May and Fall of 2022.
 
Background
Palestine has long been the site of rich inter-cultural, religious, economic, and political exchange as well as conflict.  In the contemporary period, it has presented the international community with persistent, difficult social and political challenges.  While a small minority hold citizenship within the state of Israel, Palestinians comprise the largest number of refugees in the world, with more than half stateless.  Military violence normally brings attention to the Palestinian experience.  But missing from the headlines, for example, are the daily eff orts of Jewish-Israeli and Palestinian human rights, peace and justice organizations, and the rich and complex body of scholarly, artistic, literary, creative, and popular works generated by Palestinians at home and in the diverse and dynamic diaspora that spans the globe.
 
The University of Waterloo’s Foundation for Palestinian Studies aims to spark meaningful dialogue around Palestine: its history, its culture, and the challenges Palestinians face today. We hope to build on the vision, energy, and strengths of our founding donor, Mr. Shawky Fahel, our students and faculty – and extend educational opportunities to the larger community – by bringing in fresh perspectives and established expertise, offering our students new intercultural experiences to foster inclusive cultural understanding, compassion, and mutual respect, and supporting research and education to resolve conflict, relieve suffering, and build peace.
 
Our students show us every day that they are open to new perspectives, care about justice, and want to work for peace.  From the Stratford School of Interaction Design and Business to the Kindred Credit Union Center for Peace Advancement at Conrad Grebel University College, our students design projects and create new innovations to make the world a better, more secure, equitable place – for everyone. They are curious about the world.  And they are bright: They love to find new angles on how we might resolve old problems.
 
But to solve problems, we need to talk about them.
 
The Friends of the Foundation for Palestinian Studies works independently to support the University of Waterloo and its work in the area of Palestinian Studies through financial contributions, volunteer work and by promoting the Foundation to our networks.  Through the Friends, fundraising, activities will be undertaken to augment and support the work of the University of Waterloo. We will also provide members and volunteers with news and updates about the Foundation’s activities as well as news and stories about the Palestinian people.
 
Contact
For more information about the Foundation for Palestinian Studies and the Friends of the Foundation for Palestinian Studies, please contact:
Shawky Fahel
519-651-9433
 

Closing Remarks & Reminders

President Adrian reminded members that the next meeting on April 4th will be on Zoom at noon. As well, please mark your calendars, an in person celebration of the 100th Anniversary of Kitchener Rotary has been scheduled for June 27th - more details to follow.
 
Speakers
Mar 28, 2022 7:00 PM
EVENING ZOOM - Peace Building - UofW Faculty of Arts for Palestinian Studies
Apr 04, 2022 12:00 PM
NOON ZOOM - Hear Peter's son talk about his not-for-profit involvement
Apr 11, 2022 12:00 PM
NOON ZOOM - Multi club meeting
Apr 21, 2022 4:00 PM
IN PERSON - Registered Event
Apr 26, 2022 7:00 PM
TUESDAY EVENING In Person Who Am Is and New Member Induction
View entire list
Birthdays & Membership Anniversaries
Member Birthdays
Tasreen Charania
March 1
 
Deborah Barton
March 5
 
Dave Smith
March 6
 
Kingsley Madu
March 24
 
Join Date
John Tibbits
March 15, 2003
19 years
 
Sponsors