2022 Presenters

Experiences and Successes Through Eskasoni

This presentation will take you on the educational journey from the perspective of a Mi'kmaw student beginning school in the early 80's. This student went on to become a teacher, Chief, and Chair of the Board of Directors of Mi'kmaw Kina'matnewey, the collective voice for Mi'kmaq education in the province of NS. It will highlight the process of change and showcase some of the amazing things that are currently happening for young Mi'kmaw learners in our province.  

About Chief Leroy Denny: 

Chief Leroy Denny is a graduate of Cape Breton University where he received his Bachelor of Arts, Community Studies in 1999. He went on to receive his Bachelor of Education at St. Francis Xavier University in 2002.

Always putting the wellness of his community first led to his career in politics and he was first elected as Chief of Eskasoni in 2010 and has held this position since.

In November of 2021, he received his Honorary Doctorate degree from CBU because of his dedication to his community and the people who live and work there.

Chief Denny is a strong advocate for education and wants to see true revitalization of the Mi’kmaw language. He has worked to open an immersion school in Eskasoni and hopes to see this lead the way for more Mi’kmaw immersion schools in other communities. He has been a strong advocate for language both in his own province, by working to develop language protection in Nova Scotia, and at the National level, through his work with the Assembly of First Nations on Bill C 91 - An Act Respecting Indigenous Language.

Chief Denny is the Chair of Mi’kmaw Kina’matnewey (MK), a self-governing Mi’kmaw organization which operates under the Mi’kmaq Education Act – an agreement that recognizes their authority to support local band schools in delivering language immersion and other culturally rich programs and activities. 

Tareq speaks on the compelling story of his family, the positive impact of newcomers, and the spirit of resiliency, entrepreneurship and giving back.

About Tareq Hadhad:

Tareq Hadhad is telling his story. He was a Syrian refugee and now living his new life with his entrepreneurial family in Canada’s east coast. He is the founder and CEO of Peace by Chocolate, the recipient of the EY Entrepreneur of The Year 2021 for Atlantic, named one of the Top 25 Immigrants in The Maritimes, selected by Google as the National Hero Case, and was awarded RBC’s top Immigrant Award and Entrepreneur of the Year in 2020 and Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee Medal. All of this has happened since Tareq’s arrival on Canada’s East Coast in December 2015 as a Syrian-Canadian newcomer. In 2012 the Hadhad’s home and factory that housed the family chocolate-making business were destroyed which forced them to seek safety in other countries. A former medical student at Damascus University and long-time peacekeeping advocate, Tareq joined medical relief efforts after arriving in Lebanon. A new life began when Tareq and his family were welcomed to Canada on a community-based sponsorship. Passionate about peace and entrepreneurship, his family relaunched the family business to recreate the chocolates they once exported across the Middle East and their story turned into an international inspiring phenomenon.

Tareq and his family have a focus on job creation, utilizing a network of local community members and refugees from across Nova Scotia and Canada to help support the local economy. Now that their chocolates are distributed across Canada, they look to offer more employment opportunities as their business grows. In January 2020, Tareq received his official Canadian Citizenship which garnered international attention and has become one of the greatest accomplishments of his life. He has had the privilege to meet former President of the United States, Barack Obama, Canadian Prime Ministers, and has had conversations with many World Leaders. 

Author Jon Tattrie wrote a book about the Hadhad’s story which has become a best seller. A feature film, Peace by Chocolate, also based on the family’s story premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and launched in Cineplex theaters across Canada in the spring of 2022. The film won several film festivals awards and accolades. Tareq has spoken at the Summit of The Americas, Amnesty International’s Human Rights Conference, TEDx events, and Chambers of Commerce Dinners. He delivered keynote presentations in Jamaica, London England, Paris, and Copenhagen, spoke to several corporate and government organizations both in person and virtually, and has done over 500 interviews with different news teams across the globe. Tareq speaks on the compelling story of his family, the positive impact of newcomers, and the spirit of resiliency, entrepreneurship and giving back.

Building Soft Landings for 2SLGBTQIA+ Youth

Building Soft Landings is a workshop about creating inclusive, welcoming, intentional spaces of exploration and support for 2SLGBTQIA+ students. In this workshop, we will discuss foundations of gender and sexuality 101 while also sharing stories, best practices, and affirming tools that can create spaces of care, celebration, and sustainable support networks for 2SLGBQTIA+ students. We will also discuss how covid-19 has impacted 2SLGBTQIA+ youth navigating the realities of coming out, isolation, gaps in localised resources, and building community while brainstorming ways to continue to build these students up and meet their needs. Bring questions and come as you are! 

About Carmel Farahbakhsh:

Carmel is a community educator, arts maker, and youth worker. They transitioned from a five-year term coordinating South House Sexual and Gender Resource Centre to working as the Executive Director at the Youth Project for the past two years. As the Executive Director of the Youth Project, Carmel holds a youth-centric approach to organizational movement and support. Carmel builds their vision from their community education background and aims to apply an anti-racist and trauma-informed framework to their work. Seeing a direct link between 2SLGBQTIA+ (Two Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, trans, intersex, acesexual,+) engagement and access to the creative sector, Carmel has also collaborated on the Khyber Centre for the Arts board for four years, and enjoys their position as Co-Director of local music festival EVERYSEEKER. Aditioanlly, they are passionate about collaborating and organizing with grassroots initiatives, artist-run-centres, and community partners with an aim to create wider 2SQTBIPOC (Two Spirit, queer, trans, Black, Indigenous, people of colour) community and support systems provincially.