What do you want to ask an aid worker?

By Stephanie Murphy, Canadian Red Cross

Every year during the first week of February, the Canadian Government recognizes International Development Week. The week aims to encourage Canadians to learn more about, and contribute actively to, international development. It also showcases the work Canadians are doing to make the world a better place.

This year the Canadian Red Cross, through its partnership with Global Affairs Canada, is observing the week by hosting a panel discussion with some of our international aid workers, broadcast live online across the country. “The Human in Humanitarian” is organized by the Red Cross Youth Advisory Committee – a group of seven dedicated young humanitarians.

The panel will take place on Thursday, February 9 at 7 p.m. ET in English and at 8:30 p.m. ET in French and be broadcast at http://bit.ly/CRC2017.

The discussion will focus on the lives of humanitarians, both at home and abroad. We’re inviting Canadians from across the country to submit questions for the aid workers to answer. Questions can be submitted on Twitter leading up to and during the event with the hashtag #CRCIDW.

Our panelists include:
One of our panelists Sandra DamotaSandra Damota (pictured left) is a social worker and mother of three from Toronto, Ontario. Sandra worked with the Red Cross in Sierra Leone during the Ebola outbreak, in the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan and in New Jersey after Hurricane Sandy.

Sabrina Chung is a nurse advisor with Health Canada’s Communicable Disease Control Division in the First Nations and Inuit Health branch, based in Ottawa, Ontario. Sabrina travelled to Germany in 2015 to work at a transition camp for Syrian refugees.

Nicolas Gauvin is a shelter and infrastructure advisor with the Canadian Red Cross in Montréal, Québec. Nicolas recently coordinated agencies responding to Hurricane Matthew in Haiti, and travelled there in 2015 to coordinate construction projects to bring clean water to Haitian communities.

Chiran Livera is one of our panelists.Chiran Livera (pictured right) is the Canadian Red Cross deputy director of domestic disaster management in Ontario, based in Mississauga, Ontario. He’s responded to numerous major emergencies around the world, including the tsunami in South Asia, the 2010 earthquake in Haiti and the Ebola outbreak.

Sébastien Jouffroy is manager of the Canadian Red Cross Emergency Response Unit, based in Ottawa, Ontario. Sébastien’s first assignment internationally was the 2010 earthquake in Haiti and since then, he’s worked in the Philippines, Chad, South Sudan, Nepal and Ecuador.

Youth Advisory Committee members are holding events across the country to live-stream the panel, with discussion afterward featuring local Red Cross aid workers.

All events are free of charge and are open to the public. We would love to see you there!

Vancouver, BC
University of British Columbia, Ponderosa Commons: Oak House, 1002
6445 University Blvd., Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2
4 p.m. PST
In partnership with the UBC Red Cross Club

Calgary, Alberta
St. Mary’s University, Le Fort Center, room L200
14500 Bannister Road SE, Calgary, AB T2X 1Z4
5 p.m. MST

Toronto, Ontario
University of Toronto, Galbraith Building, Room 404
35 St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 1A4
7 p.m. EST
In partnership with the University of Toronto International Health Program (UTIHP)

Montréal, Quebec
McGill University, SSMU Building
3600 Rue McTavish, Montréal, QC H3A 0G3
7 p.m. EST English/8:30 p.m. EST French
In partnership with the International Relations Students’ Association of McGill

Whether you attend a viewing event or tune in from home, join us on February 9 to learn more about the life of humanitarian aid workers and celebrate the important contributions Canadians are making around the world!

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