All eyes are on the Middle East as Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Jordan and Algeria champion for regime change. As tensions escalate, the efforts of pro-democracy demonstrators are not only acting as a catalyst for revolution, but are also raising questions about the implications that this push for new leadership will have on the global economy, international security and established diplomatic relations.

In light of these recent events, the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA) has organized a multidisciplinary panel of experts, who will discuss the current political tensions in the Arab world. The panel titled "Do they march for democracy? Discussing current events on the "Arab street"" will be held on Thursday, February 10th at 10:30 a.m. in Room 112 of Tabaret Hall.

Admission is free and the public is welcome to attend. It will be a great opportunity to learn more about the current power struggle in the Middle East. More information and registration.

In addition to hosting the Distinguished Canadian Leadership Awards recently in Toronto, I had the honour of congratulating the winners of the video contest Faites-vous partie de la meilleure classe d'immersion à Toronto? held on November 27. That evening, the University of Ottawa awarded $200,000 worth of scholarships to contest winners and finalists. I invite you to view photos (external site) of the event and the winning videos for 2009. You can also read the blog (external site) comments of an immersion teacher. Congratulations to all who made the evening a grand success and to all the participants for whom the French language is so important.

Here are a few photos from my trip to Africa. Included are shots taken outside a high school in Kampala, Uganda, where I was asked to speak about the purpose of my visit to Africa, as well as an article from Al Maghribia, which talks about the speech I gave at a pre-conference dinner organized jointly by the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Education and the Moroccan Center for Civic Education.

How can Canadian universities play a greater role in forming new national policies on everything from public health to climate change and international development? Why don't our campuses have more influence in shaping Canadian public policy? What can we learn from experiences elsewhere?

These were the topics discussed last Thursday and Friday at the Presidents' National Dialogue, a conference hosted by uOttawa and presented by five university presidents. Apart from me, the presidents included those from the universities of Montreal, Waterloo, Winnipeg and Alberta.

I think that the conference was a real success, that we created momentum for positive change and that the “to do list” of follow-up items is both practical and worthwhile. We'll post it on the website once it's in its final form.