Society
Society
Pressing for environmental change – from the inside
Yalmaz Siddiqui, BCom’92, the vice-president of environmental sustainability for the Walt Disney Company, reflects on almost 30 years of promoting sustainability in senior corporate roles, and on facing skepticism from business colleagues (in the early going) and environmental activists (more recently).
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Society
The final frontier… for law
The rise of space tourism, an increase in potentially dangerous space debris, the possibility of asteroid mining – as the technologies associated with space exploration continue to advance, an award-winning book by legal scholar Michael Byers asks if international law is keeping pace.
Society
Telling the whole story
Yale historian Ned Blackhawk, BA’92, believes that too many accounts of U.S. history pay little attention to the pivotal role that the country’s Native Americans played in that history. His recent book, The Rediscovery of America, winner of the U.S. National Book Award for Nonfiction, serves as a corrective.
Society
Once an Olympian, always an Olympian
The Olympics always offer a unique blend of exceptional skill, thrilling competitions, and surprises, and the 2024 Paris Games are certain to do the same. What’s life like for the athletes who take part in the world’s biggest international sporting event? We asked some McGillians with firsthand experience.
Society
‘A million dimensions of inequality’
In her podcast series In/Equality, Debra Thompson, an associate professor in McGill’s Department of Political Science, interviews leading academic experts about different aspects of inequality. She wants to ‘create shortcuts’ to provide her audience with nuanced and accessible information about complicated issues.
Society
A new face for Canada’s top justice job
Canada’s justice minister and attorney general Arif Virani on tackling online hate, the importance of diversity in the judiciary, and how kicking around a soccer ball can break through partisan divisions even in a deeply polarized Parliament.
Society
Determined to give them back their names
Forensic scientist Cristina Cattaneo, BSc’87, heads up an effort in Italy to identify migrants who have perished in their attempts to reach Europe. “It’s important for the living, not just for the dignity of the dead.”
Society
Reflecting on a year without the internet
For a full 12 months, McGill faculty lecturer Aron Lee Rosenberg, MA’19, PhD’23, avoided smartphones, social media and email. His new book raises questions about how we interact with the internet
Society
A different way of looking at justice
Alberta judge Anna Loparco, BCL/LLB‘02, MBA’03, and New York attorney Erika Sasson, BCL/LLB’06, are each leading initiatives that reimagine the way courts deal with criminal cases – by incorporating the principles of restorative justice.
Society
Protecting your privacy
The landscape for privacy rights has never been more complex. Two of the country’s most prominent advocates for privacy protection are McGill alums: Philippe Dufresne, the privacy commissioner of Canada, and Patricia Kosseim, Ontario’s information and privacy commissioner.
Society
Why the future of farming might be … bugs?
In 2013, five McGill MBA students won the $1 million Hult Prize with a unique idea for addressing world hunger – insect protein. A decade later, that victory has led to a pair of businesses that want us to think about crickets and palm larvae in a whole new way.
Society
How an award-winning school in Uganda began as a McGill student project
While studying at McGill, Andrea Charbonneau and Farah Williamson created a student group to help children in a war-torn, poverty-stricken area of northern Uganda. Years later, those efforts have resulted in Wakadogo, a school that is changing young lives and earning international accolades.