2014 Global Centre for Pluralism Annual Lecture

Ottawa, Canada, 29 May 2014 - On May 29, 2014, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres delivered the Centre’s third annual lecture in Ottawa, reflecting on the promise of pluralism. 

Mr. Guterres identified several actions to stem the refugee tide:

• international cooperation to identify more opportunities for legal migration;
• policies and practices to transform international trade and globalization into true agents of development;
• targeted development programs to improve the lives of people where they live;
• renewed efforts to promote conflict prevention, resolution and peace building.

The aim is to ensure “that when people move, they do so out of choice, not necessity.” Recognizing and respecting diversity leads to the creation of “strong, cohesive and peaceful societies”. This result, he said, is the promise of pluralism.

Following Mr. Guterres’s formal remarks, Globe and Mail Editor-in-Chief David Walmsley engaged Mr. Guterres in conversation before taking questions from the audience.

The Lecture was live streamed by the Globe and Mail. Mr. Guterres was introduced by His Highness the Aga Khan, the founder and chairman of the Global Centre for Pluralism, and thanked by Huguette Labelle, a member of the Centre’s Board of Directors.

The Centre gratefully acknowledges the cooperation of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and the partnership of the Globe and Mail.