The Global Forum on Bigotry and Hate convened Sept. 12 and 13 at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, bringing together international leaders, academics and students to address pressing issues of discrimination and intolerance worldwide.
Organized collaboratively by faculties from the U of M and the University of Winnipeg, the two-day event featured a series of panels, presentations and discussions covering global matters of hate, propaganda and social justice. Andrew Woolford, the lead organizer and professor of sociology and criminology at the U of M, explained the conference’s purpose. “It was really an exchange of information. We bring in international experts [to share] what is happening in their countries and regions,” he said. He added that the conference also offered learning opportunities where students could contribute their own insights.
Woolford pointed out the significance of education in fostering peaceful coexistence, even as Canada continues to reckon with the historical misuse of schooling to propagate harm. “We still see education as a key venue for transmitting to young people not hateful ideas, but ways of tolerance, dialogue, peaceful coexistence and mutual understanding,” he said.
Graduate students played a central role in the conference, presenting research and sparking dialogue. Zac Code, a student presenter, offered a historical lens on Canada’s engagement with propaganda and the manipulation of communication during times of crisis. “We can draw a lot of comparisons [from history] to the present time about the manipulation of communication and language,” he explained.
He also emphasized the role of education in preventing the exploitation of ignorance, saying “education is important” to make sure that ignorance is not something people can manipulate. For students interested in tackling sensitive social topics, Code encouraged active participation. “Don’t be scared of the idea of putting yourself out there and wanting to do that research,” he said. “There’s a lot of faux pas about, especially really problematic topics, that you have to be very knowledgeable on the subject to work on it. That’s not particularly true […] Just actually engage with the subject a lot more than most people are doing nowadays.”
Peace Ifeanyi, another student presenter, focused on Canada’s structured intervention units, illustrating how these confinement practices disproportionately affect Black and Indigenous inmates. She reflected on how the silence of policy and gaps in oversight practices can perpetuate social inequities.
Ifeanyi urged future presenters to prepare thoroughly. “Be prepared […] as it helps you face the challenges that lie ahead.” She expressed optimism about ongoing change and societal reflection. “I now see that change is happening […] There is active thinking about the well-being and future of those who will come after us.”
The conference concluded with a series of performances and presentations that combined artistic expression and critical discussion. Drag artists Miss Pocket and Pretty Boy performed, while Elder Albert MacLeod spoke on “2S Identities and Patterns of Hate and Bigotry Impacting the 2S Community.”
