2016 Global Symposium - Closing Panel and Ceremony

Kim Samuel is President of The Samuel Family Foundation and Professor of Practice at McGill University's Institute for the Study of International Development.

Marie Claude Landry is Chief Commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

Jennifer Corriero is Co-Founder and Executive Director of TakingITGlobal.

Peggy Dulany is Chair of the Synergos Institute.

Fernet Léandre is Co-Executive Director of Zanmi Lasante, Sister Organization of Partners In Health.

Mary Davis is Chief Executive Officer of Special Olympics International.

From October 25-27, 2016, over a hundred leading thinkers, activists and community leaders from over 23 countries gathered in Montreal for the second Global Symposium on Overcoming Social Isolation and Deepening Social Connectedness. The goal of the Symposium was to develop a shared perspective on the importance of social connectedness in community-driven change and development.

From remote regions of Nunavut, to the Masaai homelands of South Africa, participants came together as both teachers and learners to develop relationships and to share insights, experience and strategies to overcome social isolation and accelerate a global movement of unity and inclusiveness.

Based on the principles of respect, reciprocity and recognition, participants engaged in three days of collaborative dialogue which drew together lived experience, traditional Indigenous knowledge, academic research and practice. Perspectives synthesized from Indigenous youth and elders, McGill students, and people within government and civil society came together to connect and support the diverse range of projects and challenges from the communities represented at the Symposium.