The Hungarian Forum of Ottawa is organizing an English-language talk with Ian Bradbury on Thursday, October 13th, 2016 at 6:30 PM on an international social justice initiative called The Stand. Those who follow the news closely in Canada will have come across Mr. Bradbury’s name in the media over the years. In 2015, both the Ottawa Citizen and the Toronto Star reported on Mr. Bradbury’s initiative–the 1st New Allied Expeditionary Force–which was recruiting Canadian volunteers to assist the Kurds in Iraq, in their battles against the Islamic State (ISIS). Mr. Bradbury is, himself, a former soldier with the Canadian Forces and has served in a range of security and public safety positions within the federal public service.
Ian Bradbury
Mr. Bradbury’s approach has been to inquire directly about the needs of people and groups in other parts of the world and to ask pertinent questions, rather than prescribe blanket solutions without real input from those actually on the ground in some of the toughest places on earth.
“If you want to help the Peshmerga, the place to start is to ask what help they need. We did. And the Kurds of Iraq do not need and do not want foreign fighters. They’ve got all the boots they will ever need and they are brave. But their skill level is lacking and what they need most is combat-medical training and help with battlefield awareness and advanced marksmanship. And we’ve signed off to fill those specific gaps, which are not being filled by the allied forces on the ground,” Mr. Bradbury explained to The Star.
The talk organized by the Hungarian Forum of Ottawa is a unique opportunity to delve a little deeper into Mr. Bradbury’s most recent initiative, The Stand 2016. Described in a nutshell, the fledgling initiative aims “to support the calling of a Global Leaders Symposium: Asking for a ‘full board’ Interfaith and intercultural commitment to adopt and advocate a new Interfaith – Intercultural Peace Declaration for the 21st Century.”
The initiative also posits that “the pursuit of peace, the respect for life and human dignity is the objective of the collective international community [and that] it is essential that peace efforts move beyond military interventions and diplomatic relations to a new level of intercultural-interfaith dialogue and cooperation to achieve a realized consensus for peace on the grass roots level.”
All are welcome to this English-language public talk on Thursday, October 13th, 2016 at 6:30 PM, at St. Joseph’s Parish (151 Laurier Avenue East, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N8). Participants are asked to RSVP in advance of the talk. On-site parking is available.
To RSVP, please contact Judit Petényi by email: ottawaimagyarforum@gmail.com .
