News

Emma Kirke reflects on the various 'Word of the Year' winners in 2022 and what they say about our society and the need for peace.

Past and present CPA participants featured in the Fall 2022 Grebel Now magazine

Emma reflects on gender based violence as UWaterloo remembers the 14 young women murdered in a gender-based act of violence at l'École Polytechnique de Montréal in 1989.

Earlier this month, Emma Kirke packed into a van along with 5 other Grebelites of varying years and programs and headed down to Lancaster Pennsylvania to attend MEDA’s annual convention. Focused on “Celebrating Entrepreneurship,” the convention highlighted the past successes of the organization, as well as exciting new developments to watch for in the coming years. The Mennonite Development Associates organization has been a part of the international economic development arena for nearly seventy years, working in over the same number of countries. Beginning as a collective of Mennonite businesspeople, the organization focuses on creating business solutions to poverty. 

Growing up in Ottawa, I was a member of the Ottawa Children’s Choir and regularly participated in the annual Remembrance Day ceremonies at the national cenotaph. After a chilly rehearsal at the crack of dawn, we would be shepherded to a government lobby to enjoy timbits and hot chocolate before participating in the full ceremony. We would sing our repertoire as gun salutes went off, snowbirds (of the fighter jet variety) flew overhead, and wreaths were laid.

Beyond Pride month in June, there are many opportunities to celebrate the 2SLGBTQIA+ community throughout the year, for example, October marks 2SLGBTQIA+ history month. First celebrated in 1994 in Missouri, the month serves as an opportunity to reflect on how far the 2SLGBTQIA+ community has come and how far there still is to go.

In addition to the turning of the season, October marks Islamic Heritage month. Established in 2007 by the Canadian federal government, the month was created to provide an opportunity to honour the rich history of Islam, the diversity of Muslim communities across the country, and the many contribution of Muslims in Canada. As Mifrah Abid from the Coalition of Muslim Women of Kitchener-Waterloo shared with the Waterloo Record last year, “Islamic History Month is a way to bring back the focus and centre these voices. It’s also a time for Muslims to reaffirm themselves, to be who we are unapologetically.”

As the world grapples with the concept that our lives are interconnected and the systems we rely on are a complex network of causes and effects, systems thinking has continued to be important for advancing peace.