Thunder Bay – NEWS – Diversity Thunder Bay celebrated a full house at the italian Cultural Centre today to hear Dr. Roshan Danesh.
Over 220 people filled the hall and intently listened to the talk.
Dr. Roshan Danesh KC is an internationally renowned lawyer and educator who for over two decades has been on the frontlines of advancing Indigenous rights and reconciliation in Canada.
Danesh’s reconciliation work has included representing Indigenous Nations and political organizations in complex political negotiations, serving as the special counsel on reconciliation to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, and advising the Government of British Columbia on the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Alongside his work in Canada on Indigenous rights, Danesh has worked around the globe on issues of peace building and conflict resolution, including helping design, develop and implement cutting edge peace education initiatives involving hundreds of thousands of people as part of post-war reconstruction efforts.
Educated at Harvard Law School, Danesh has taught at universities across Europe and North America and written or co-authored over 20 articles and books.
He is the co-author with Jody Wilson-Raybould of the national bestseller Reconciling History: A Story of Canada (2024).
Drawing on his bestselling book Reconciling History: A Story of Canada co-authored with Jody Wilson-Raybould, Roshan Danesh explored how the stories we tell ourselves about our history can perpetuate conflict or, alternatively, pave pathways to peace.
Using examples drawn from efforts to rise to the challenge of reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada, as well as other parts of the globe, Roshan shared how transforming conditions of injustice and conflict ultimately requires doing work from the ‘inside-out’ where individuals and groups cultivate mindsets and worldviews that reinforce connection and cohesion rather than separation and division.
For Canada, such a perspective places in focus where we are in this moment in time in the work of true reconciliation and addressing the legacy of colonization, and the types of actions each of us can take to break down the visible and invisible silos and divisions that exist between and amongst us.
