Dr. Rey Pagtakhan speaks about the Global College to the Ukranian Professional and Business Club of Winnipeg

Founding Director of the University of Winnipeg's Global College and co-chair of the College Advisory Committee, Dr. Rey Pagtakhan talked to the Ukranian Professional and Business Club of Winnipeg on Thursday evening.

Dr. Pagtakhan, a former federal cabinet minister, has been at the centre of the development of the Global College and he described the development and the goals of the college.

It has been less than two years since the Global College was officially launched. In that time, the College, a place for leadership, dialogue and action, has developed six Institutes. Each of these institutes focus on an important area.

The Institutes include:
1) The Institute for Health, Security and Human Potential. Recognizing the difficulty of dealing with other aspects of human development, when there infectious diseases remain such a problem in Africa and other parts of the developing world, this institute focuses no improving health, and benefits from expertise in Winnipeg at the Canadian Science Centre for Human and Animal Health.
2) The Institute for Human Rights and Global Studies has been involved in the 2005 conference on War Affected Children in Winnipeg, and has benefitted from an ongoing dialogue with the Lost Boys and Girls of Sudan who came to Winnipeg.
3) The Climate Studies Institute focuses on the role of climate change in the human condition globally.
4) The Global Information Commons Centre's goal is to promote the free exchange of ideas, software and information - creating a global commons in the area of information.
5) The Institute for Women's and Gender Studies recognizes that this is an important area for understanding in our global society - and emphasizes the importance of collaborative, participatory action research.
6) The Institute for At-Risk Education works to understand the needs of at-risk youth, and the approaches which must be taken to help them succeed in getting an education.

In the photo, I am with Dr. Pagtakhan, Sylvia Todaschuk and Ron Storozuk at the event.