Girls, women, education and migration: book launch and conversation

To mark the 50th anniversary of Canada’s landmark 1976 Immigration Act, which contributed to advancing the protection of human rights and directly influenced Canada’s modern identity, the Human Rights Program of United College at the University of Waterloo invites you to join us on Nov. 12 for the launch of the book “Our Place in this Universe” and the conversation on “Women, education and migration: life stories from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Syria/Palestine.”

5:45 p.m. |  Arrival and registration

6:00 p.m. |  Part 1: Book launch “Our Place in this Universe”

The author, Colombian 11-year-old Emilia Franco-Pulido, will read a section of her book. This will be followed by a comment from her parents, Ramiro Franco and Carolina Pulido, a comment from Prof. Luis C. Sotelo Castro, and an exchange with the audience. 

6:30 p.m. |  Part 2: Conversation: “Women, education and migration: life stories from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Syria/Palestine”

Dr. Maissaa Almustafa (Syria/Palestine) will start the conversation, building on her life story and offering an academic framework. Then, UW student Zainab Awaz Ali (Afghanistan), UW-Essex graduate in law and human rights Aliya Hasan (Iraq) and Perimeter Institute postdoctoral researcher Encieh Erfani (Iran) will share some insights on the topic from their personal experience. Their interventions will be followed by a comment from Citizenship Judge Albert Wong and an exchange with the audience.

8:15 p.m. |  The conversation will continue over refreshments. (Event concludes at 8:30 p.m)

Both parts will be moderated by the Human Rights Program Director, Dr. Nancy R. Tapias Torrado.   

Panellists

Emilia Franco-Pulido is a young Colombian author who began writing Our Place in This Universe at the age of nine. Having moved from Colombia to Canada at the age of eight, Emilia draws inspiration from her ongoing experience as a young immigrant. She invites readers to explore her unique perspective on the universe, discovering what it means to leave one home behind, adapt to a new world, and find her place in it. Beyond writing, Emilia enjoys reading, drawing, making art, dancing, and playing with her big sister, Martina. Through this book, she shares her imagination, experiences, and a little piece of her world.

Ramiro Franco and Carolina Pulido are the proud parents of Emilia. They moved from Colombia to Canada in search of a better quality of life for their family. Ramiro works in the technology industry and enjoys going on bike rides with his daughters. Carolina is completing her master’s degree to become a psychotherapist in Canada. With over 20 years of experience supporting families and children with learning challenges, she currently works with children on the autism spectrum. Both parents enjoy travelling together with their daughters.

Luis Carlos Sotelo Castro is Associate Professor in Theatre at Concordia University. His research-creation focuses on engaging audiences as active listeners within participatory frameworks that reimagine restorative and transitional justice processes as pathways for community recovery. He is the founding director of the Acts of Listening Lab (ALLab), and co-director of the Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling (COHDS) at Concordia. In April 2025, he was awarded a nearly $200,000 Partnership Development Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) as Principal Investigator for the project Orchestrating Listening Situations in Restorative Transitional Justice Initiatives.  

Dr. Maissaa Almustafa is a fellow at the Balsillie School of International Affairs. She teaches in the Political Science Department at Wilfrid Laurier University. Her primary research interests are on the forcibly displaced. She focuses on their lived experiences as refugees and the politics of marginalization that govern their lives in the Middle East and in their diasporic communities in Europe and Canada. Dr. Almustafa earned her Ph.D. in Global Governance at the Balsillie School of International Affairs, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON.  She completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Glendon Political Science at York University, Toronto.  In addition to forced displacement and statelessness, Dr. Almustafa teaches Politics of the Middle East, Global South, Global Social Policies and Social Movements.

Zainab Awaz Ali is an Afghan student at the University of Waterloo in Canada. Having experienced displacement and the challenges of migration, she is passionate about education, women's rights, and equal opportunities for girls and women. Her journey as a refugee has shaped her commitment to raising awareness about the barriers faced by displaced women and girls, particularly Afghan girls who are denied access to education. Through her experiences and advocacy, she hopes to amplify the voices of women and girls whose stories are often unheard and to encourage greater understanding, inclusion, and support for refugees and marginalized communities.

Aliya Hasan is a candidate in the Global Professional Master of Laws (GPLLM) program at the Henry N.R. Jackman Faculty of Law, University of Toronto. Aliya is the first graduate of the Double Degree in Human Rights and Law offered by United College at the University of Waterloo and the University of Essex. She earned an Honours BA in Legal Studies, with a minor in Human Rights, from the University of Waterloo, graduating with Dean's Honours. She then completed an LLB in Law with Human Rights at the University of Essex with First Class Honours, where she was named to the Dean's List for Excellence and received the School of Law Prize for the best-performing student in Equity and Trusts. At U of T, she volunteers with the International Human Rights Program's Women's Human Rights Resources working group. Aliya has been involved in community human rights advocacy for more than a decade and is happy to mentor students following the Waterloo–Essex pathway.

Encieh Erfani is an Iranian physicist and cosmologist, currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Canada. She advocates for academic freedom and the rights of scholars at risk and is a recipient of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Scientific Freedom and Responsibility Award in 2025. Her experiences as a woman in science and a scholar in exile inform her engagement with questions of education, migration, and the challenges facing displaced academics.

Albert Wong was appointed Citizenship Judge in June 2014. Prior to this appointment, he had over thirty-nine years of service in the Canadian Armed Forces - in various public affairs positions across Canada, as the military spokesperson with the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Eritrea and Ethiopia, and as a strategic public affairs advisor in Afghanistan. He was the Chief Aide-de-Camp to the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 2013 to 2020 and was awarded the Vice-Regal Commendation in 2014. He received an honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Waterloo in October 2025. Born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Albert is a recipient of the Chinese Canadian Legend Award (2012), the NAAAP 100 award (2015), and the Transformation Award for Public Service (2015), and was named Diversity Magazine Person of the Year in 2016.

Nancy R. Tapias Torrado is a professor of human rights and the Director of the Human Rights Program at United College, University of Waterloo. Nancy is a doctor in sociology (University of Oxford) and a human rights lawyer (Pontificia Universidad Javeriana-PUJ). She also holds master’s degrees in international human rights law (University of Essex), philosophy (PUJ) and education (University of Barcelona). For over two decades, Dr. Tapias Torrado has been dedicated to working with and for human rights defenders at risk and some of the most vulnerable persons and communities, mainly in Latin America. She has also done extensive pro bono work with and for Colombian refugees. Dr. Tapias Torrado is a co-founder and active member of the Red de Diplomacia Feminista por la Paz, a network of Colombian migrant, refugee, and exiled women human rights defenders present in over 20 countries worldwide.