Massey Dialogue: Academic Mobility and Refuge in a Changing Geopolitical Context

This Massey Dialogue will examine how contemporary geopolitical disruptions — including war, political repression, and forced displacement — are reshaping access to education and the conditions of academic freedom.

Panel 1: Displacement, Conflict, and the Right to Education

This panel explores how wars, coups, and political repression disrupt the lives of scholars and students, forcing displacement and limiting access to education. Panelists will also consider the role universities can play as protectors of academic freedom and institutional havens. Comparative and contextual perspectives will ground the discussion.

Panel 2: Knowledge, Identity, and Intellectual Belonging

How do displaced scholars navigate identity, language, and academic legitimacy in new environments? This conversation will examine questions of intellectual safety, what it means to belong within unfamiliar academic cultures, and how institutions can better support research that is politically sensitive or deeply embedded in community contexts.

Speakers:

Principal James Orbinski brings a lifelong commitment to civility and leadership toward the Public Good to Massey College. As a medical doctor, humanitarian practitioner and advocate, author, and global health scholar, he believes in actively engaging and shaping our world so that it is more just, fair, and humane. Providing medical humanitarian relief worldwide in situations of war, famine, epidemic disease and genocide with Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), Dr. Orbinski also served as International Council president and accepted the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize on their behalf. He was the founding director of York University’s Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research, co-founder of Dignitas International, and co-chaired the founding and startup of the globally-successful not-for-profit organization Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi).

Kerry Bowman PhD, is a Canadian bioethicist and environmentalist. He teaches at the University of Toronto and currently holds an academic appointment in the Faculty of Medicine and School of the Environment. He teaches a broad range of courses in the bioethics of health care, emerging technologies and global and planetary health. Professor Bowman has previously worked on the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Outlook reports 4,5 and 6. His primary focus has been the relationship between human health and the environment. Prof. Bowman is presently working on two major conservation projects in the Western Amazon and the Eastern Congo focusing on the intersection of human health with factors such as deforestation, biodiversity loss and emerging zoonotic diseases. Prof. Bowman has been a primary national and international commentator during the pandemic on ethical questions in pandemic management and the continued threats of emerging zoonotic diseases.

Dr. Niloufar Pourzand has a PhD and Masters in Sociology, Ethnic and Gender Studies, from the U. of Greenwich in the UK.  Her thesis focus was on Gender, Education, Forced Displacement and Conflict in Afghanistan. She has had a long career with the UN/UNICEF in various countries and capacities – including Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Eastern Caribbean, Indonesia, India, Tunisian, Jordan and Bangladesh.  In Canada, she has been the inaugural Professor of Practice at the Centre for Refugee Studies of York U, taught International Development and Human Rights at York University, regularly been a guest speaker at other Universities/NGO events and remained engaged with various CSOs. She is also a Visiting Professor at Manchester Metropolitan University.  Her focus has been children’s rights, women’s rights, refugee rights and International Development/Humanitarian work. 

Ghizal Haress, LL.B. (Kabul University), LL.M. (School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London), is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto and a Visiting Professor at the Osgoode Hall Law School. She brings over two decades of experience in the legal, academic, and public sectors, with a scholarly focus on constitutional law, human rights, and accountability in conflict-affected and transitional societies. Ghizal was Afghanistan’s first Ombudsperson, leading anti-corruption efforts and investigating abuses of power at the highest levels of government. 

Aden Hassan Ahmed is a graduate student in Counselling Psychology and Global Mental Health at the University
of Toronto (OISE). Originally from Somalia, he holds a BA in Psychology from the American University of Beirut and is a 2025–26 Scholars-at-Risk Fellowship recipient. His academic and professional work focuses on refugee and immigrant mental health, crisis intervention, and culturally responsive care. Aden currently works as a Mental
Health Case Manager at Fred Victor and serves as a Student Advisor with the InLight Student Mental Health
Research Team at U of T.

Wazhma Rahmani is a Master of Global Affairs student at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Toronto. Originally from Afghanistan, she holds a BA in Political Science from the University of Calgary, which she began remotely while living as a refugee in Tajikistan. Her academic and professional interests focus on displacement, access to education, and international policy. She has worked with refugee students, supported community-based learning initiatives, and is engaged in youth advocacy work in Canada. As a Scholars-at-Risk Fellow, she is dedicated to contributing to meaningful policy dialogue and community building in both academic and public spheres.

Mingyur Paldon is a Master of Social Justice Education student at the University of Toronto’s Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), specializing in Comparative, International, and Development Education (CIDE). With a background in International Relations and Human Development, she is passionate about refugee education, resettlement, and identity development. Mingyur serves as a Board Member & Sponsorship Coordinator for the Tibetan Children’s Village Alumni Association, where she oversees $67,200 CAD in annual sponsorship donations, ensuring education, room, and board for 140 Tibetan refugee and underprivileged children across seven schools in India. She has worked extensively in community engagement, policy advocacy, and education initiatives, including serving as an Executive Assistant to MP Yvan Baker. She has also volunteered with food security programs and cultural organizations and is committed to fostering educational equity for refugee children.