New peace award at Grebel to empower women

Conrad Grebel University College
Waterloo, Ont.
<p>Ziauddin Yousafzai (left) chats with Susan Schultz Huxman about a new peace scholarship that will allow a female student from a region of the world experiencing conflict to study at Conrad Grebel University College in the Master of Peace and Conflict Studies program. Also part of the conversation are Mohan Kendall and Ahmad Shah.</p>

Conrad Grebel University College is offering a $10,000 scholarship to a female Master of Peace and Conflict Studies (MPACS) student, thanks to a partnership with Ziauddin Yousafzai, the Global Peace Centre Canada (GPCC) and the Women’s Executive Network. Yousafzai is the father of 2014 Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai.

“Each year we are challenged to find funds to accept international students into our Master of PACS program,” explained Lowell Ewert, director of PACS at Conrad Grebel and the University of Waterloo. “This award . . . will help us respond to this need by bringing into our program a female student from a region of the world experiencing conflict. This gift is a concrete way to empower women in peace education in the spirit of Malala.”

The University of Waterloo has committed to achieve comprehensive, long-term and sustainable gender equity by developing innovative programming aimed at girls and women, right through to the University’s senior leadership. This award creates opportunity and transformation for a female student from a conflict-affected area.

“Women experience the need for peace in special ways,” commented President Susan Schultz Huxman. “The major conditions for the absence of peace—poverty, lack of education, and insufficient health care—affect women and girls disproportionately. This scholarship will inspire smart women to achieve and lead, to gain expertise on peace-building and women’s empowerment.”

Conrad Grebel University College at the University of Waterloo is home to the oldest peace studies program in Canada. Conrad Grebel is home to the Mennonite Savings and Credit Union (MSCU) Centre for Peace Advancement, which helps to incubate peace organizations such as the Global Peace Centre Canada. Incorporated in June 2015, the GPCC has been working to advance peace and education in areas of conflict internationally. Its work is guided by a volunteer board of directors and supported by philanthropists, senior academics, and civil society leaders. Jahan Zeb, an MPACS graduate, is the founding director and works in close collaboration with Ziauddin Yousafzai, who serves as honorary chair. 

Ziauddin Yousafzai (left) chats with Susan Schultz Huxman about a new peace scholarship that will allow a female student from a region of the world experiencing conflict to study at Conrad Grebel University College in the Master of Peace and Conflict Studies program. Also part of the conversation are Mohan Kendall and Ahmad Shah.

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