The Bellwether

The fourth episode of the Bellwether features Dirk Druet, a researcher, policy adviser and former official in international peace and security at the United Nations. He is a Non-Resident Fellow at the Brian Urquhart Center for Peace Operations of the International Peace Institute and an Affiliate Researcher at McGill University’s Centre for International Peace and Security Studies. This year, he taught a complexity seminar at McGill's Max Bell School of Public Policy called "Trade-Offs in International Policy". 
 
Joined by Dirk are MPP students Michael Kynaston and Chloe Aboud. In this episode, they discuss the resilience of international aid organizations, specifically, the multifaceted challenges that UNRWA faced following funding withdrawals by donor nations in January 2024. It explores the complexities of maintaining aid in conflict zones like Gaza and the trade-offs faced by UN leadership in upholding core organizational principles. 
 
If you want to learn more about this topic, Max Bell student Arwa Emhemed and co-host Chloe Aboud wrote about UNRWA's funding cuts in the Bell newsletter. You can read their op-ed here.
 
Make sure to subscribe to The Bellwether on Spotify to get notified when our next episode comes out.
 
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Music credits to: TuneTank 
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Song: Musical Bakery - In Da Hood (No Copyright Music)
Music provided by Tunetank.
Free Download: bit.ly/3eMHsy4
Video Link: youtu.be/93tW9diWPYM
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Regulating the online world is as complex as the diverse content it hosts. For the third episode of the Bellwether, Max Bell School of Public Policy Students Nina Hernandez and Asha Sivarajah unpack Canada’s recently tabled Online Harms Act (C-63) - a pivotal piece of Canadian legislation aimed at regulating harmful online content. This episode, we talk with Taylor Owen, Beaverbrook Chair in Media, Ethics and Communications, and the founding director of The Center for Media, Technology and Democracy at McGill University. Tune in as we analyze the bill and what the future holds for online safety.
 
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Music credits to: TuneTank 
-------
Song: Musical Bakery - In Da Hood (No Copyright Music)
Music provided by Tunetank.
Free Download: bit.ly/3eMHsy4
Video Link: youtu.be/93tW9diWPYM
-------
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twitter.com/tunetank_com
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For the second episode of The Bellwether, we talk to Dr. Jennifer Welsh about the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 
Dr. Welsh is the Canada 150 Research Chair in Global Governance and Security at McGill University and teaches Global Politics and Policy Landscape at the Max Bell School of Public Policy. She recently went to Ukraine on a special mission with the Internally Displaced Persons Experts Group. The group supports the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons. In this episode, she tells us about things from her trip to Ukraine and her thoughts on the impacts of the Russia-Ukraine war that has been going on for two years.
This episode is hosted by Anita Dernovici and Teodora Durca, and produced by Sean Celi. Anita and Teodora also recently published an op-ed about this topic on The Bell newsletter. You can read that op-ed here.
 
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Music credits to: TuneTank 
-------
Song: Musical Bakery - In Da Hood (No Copyright Music)
Music provided by Tunetank.
Free Download: bit.ly/3eMHsy4
Video Link: youtu.be/93tW9diWPYM
-------
www.facebook.com/tunetankcom
twitter.com/tunetank_com
www.instagram.com/thetun

For the first episode of the Bellwether, we dive into the 2023 Manitoba elections where Wab Kinew made history by becoming the first First Nations premier of a Canadian province. 
In October 2023, The Manitoba New Democratic Party won a majority government beating the incumbent Progressive Conservatives. The NDP’s campaign promises focused largely on healthcare reform and improving the quality of life for all Manitobans. 
We will hear from two top campaign strategists, Brian Topp, who was the campaign director of Manitoba NDP who successfully elected Wab Kinew and Cheryl Oates, who also helped in the Manitoba NDP’s campaign and was the Executive Director of Communication and Planning to Alberta Premier Rachel Notley from 2015-2019. They will share their insights on the win and what this means for the future of Manitoba and Canada.
This episode is hosted by Jibril Hussein and Soomin Han, and produced by Gagan Gill and Sean Celi.
 
Music credits to: TuneTank 
-------
Song: Musical Bakery - In Da Hood (No Copyright Music)
Music provided by Tunetank.
Free Download: bit.ly/3eMHsy4
Video Link: youtu.be/93tW9diWPYM
-------
www.facebook.com/tunetankcom
twitter.com/tunetank_com
www.instagram.com/thetunetank