The University of Winnipeg made history this weekend: the Quest began. The first University of Winnipeg OmniTRAX/Broe Quest conference—Caught in the Crossfire: Global Citizens Making A Difference—brought together educators, filmmakers, journalists, relief workers and youth to discuss and explore the conflicts and challenges of today’s world, and the ways in which we, as global citizens, can affect our world.
The events of the past few years have changed our world forever. The way we look at our neighbours has been radically altered. It is a critical time in history for discussing and understanding both how we see, and how we influence conflicts around the world-from East Timor to Iraq and from the Sudan to Canada’s cities and villages. Quest provided an unprecedented opportunity to interact with individuals and organizations around the world that have taken on the responsibility to find out what it means to be global citizens.
The conference was launched at Winnipeg’s Ramada Conference Centre with the Canadian premiere on October 15/04 of Women on Patrol, a National Film Board documentary filmed in Canada and East Timor. The all-day Quest conference on Saturday, October 16/04 took place on The University of Winnipeg campus in downtown Winnipeg.
And as the formal conclusion to the University’s OmniTRAX/Broe Quest conference, the first annual University of Winnipeg Global Citizenship Award was presented at Fall Convocation on Sunday, October 17, 2004 to Ron Mathies, executive director of the Mennonite Central Committee, and Don Peters of MCC. The award recognizes their humanitarian work in Canada and around the world. The University of Winnipeg’s Global Citizenship Award will be presented annually to an individual or group embodying the spirit and drive of a passionate, committed member of society that lives out the responsibilities of a global citizen.
