From a student design project to solving global issues, the Landmine Boys are changing their name to Demine Robotics. As Richard Yim and co-founder Christian Lee expand their social venture, they continue to work to achieve their mission to create a future without landmines.
As many are aware, World Refugee Day took place this past Tuesday, June 20. On Wednesday, CPA Director, Paul Heidebrecht, wrote a letter to the editor of the Waterloo Region Record reflecting on
the demonstrated potential of this region to innovate solutions to the refugee crisis. Perhaps most significantly, he called readers to continue our innovative legacy, noting the desperate need for more breakthroughs, considering the complexity and scale of the problem.
At the beginning of May, the Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement (CPA) welcomed our newest member, Julia Coburn, cofounder of WorldVuze, to our Epp Peace Incubator program. WorldVuze is a free online platform where K-12 students worldwide can safely share and explore a diversity of perspectives on topics posted by classrooms, nonprofit organizations, or experts.
In the Fall of 2017, CPA Director Paul Heidebrecht will once again be teaching a special topics course in Peace and Conflict Studies on Engineering and Peace. Meeting weekly on Wednesday evenings, this course is built on the conviction that the kinds of problems engineers seek to address, and the ways they seek to address them, should matter for anyone interested in advancing peace in the world.
As past students have noted:
"This course put my work as an engineer in context! I think that by taking this course, I grew both as an engineer and as a person."
By Michelle Jackett, the coordinator of the Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement. This article appeared in the December 2nd edition of The Record.
The Canadian government is committed to making our country a global innovation leader. And so perhaps it isn’t surprising that Correctional Services Canada has embraced the theme “Inspiring Innovation” for Restorative Justice Week 2016.
This is something Waterloo region can get on board with!
By Paul Heidebrecht, the director of the Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement. This article originally appeared in the October 3rd edition of The Hill Times.
WATERLOO, ONT.—At the recent Waterloo Innovation Summit, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Navdeep Bains stressed that the Canadian government has an important role to play in helping homegrown startups scale up. One new area of focus is for the government to drive research and development by becoming a customer for new products and services.
Plans are underway at Conrad Grebel University College to host a Global Mennonite Peacebuilding Conference and Festival on June 9-12, 2016. In addition to academic papers, workshops, and networking opportunities, the event is intended to be a festival that will include art, drama, and music on the campus of this Canadian Mennonite College.
In his article, Trading principles: How Canada’s pursuit of military exports has left a trail of secrecy and lax standards, Cesar Jaramillo, Program Officer of Project Ploughshares, offers an overview of the Saudi arms deal. More importantly, however, Jaramillo provides an accessible articulation of why Canada's recent decision to sell Canadian-made armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia is cause for concern.