Hiwot Mekuanent will be applying her doctoral work at Queen’s Faculty of Law to help improve the lives of people with disabilities in her homeland Ehtiopia. Admitted into the school’s PhD program as an “exceptional faculty leader” from the University of Gondar, she has received a Mastercard Foundation at Queen’s University Scholarship to complete her studies.      

With an LLM in human rights law from Addis Ababa University, she also has over six years of experience in the area. She is a lecturer and the director for the Disability Studies and Service Directorate at the University of Gondar, where she focuses on creating conducive learning and working environments for students and employees with disabilities. 

Hiwot Mekuanent recently spoke about the focus of her dissertation, how she became an expert in the area, and her plans for the future. 

Tell us about your research. 

My research focuses on the issues that people with disabilities and their families face in Ethiopia. My dissertation critically examines Ethiopia’s institutional and legal framework that governs the rights of persons with disabilities. Specifically, I explore why Ethiopia still has discriminatory laws and institutional frameworks while committed to both domestic and international human rights instruments that guarantee equality for persons with disabilities. For example, the Ethiopian Custom Authority enacted a directive that allows persons with disabilities to import a personal-use car duty free. While this provision may seem progressive, it only benefits persons with disabilities who appear at the Social Affairs Office in person and claim their rights. So in practice, it discriminates between persons with different types of disability.  

What led you to the area of human rights law, and more specifically to disability rights law? 

My brother has an intellectual disability and I’ve seen him face a number of challenges throughout his life. This has made me passionate about dedicating my education and career to breaking down barriers for persons with disabilities. I started with my undergraduate thesis that explored the “Rights of Persons with Disabilities under Ethiopian Legal System.” I built on this knowledge in my master’s degree in human rights law obtained from Addis Ababa University, where I wrote my thesis on the “Right to Education of Children With Intellectual Disability and its Implementation in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.” Particularly, my master’s degree allowed me to see the different concepts and issues of disability from a human rights perspective. I started to think about the international instruments and guarantees that protect the rights of persons with disabilities. Moreover, my experience serving as the director of the Disability Studies and Service Directorate of the University of Gondar exposed me to different laws and procedures that are discriminatory to persons with disabilities and challenged me to explore them in greater depth. My academic foundation and first-hand experience in the directorship role at the university are my main inspirations to continue my studies of discriminatory laws and practices in Ethiopia. I truly believe that evidence-based study and scholarship is the best way to find the right solution. 

What are your future plans after graduation? 

My plan after graduation is to continue to actively engage in disability advocacy work. I believe that it is important to turn my knowledge and expertise in the area of human rights law into practice. I would like to establish an organization that is dedicated to creating disability-friendly environments in public institutions. I am sure that my four years of PhD studies under guidance from Queen’s Law faculty will help me reach my goals and that I will gain important new perspectives from Canada that will shape my future. 

What do you like best about your Queen’s Law studies in Kingston thus far? 

I receive excellent supervision from my advisors, Professor Ashwini Vasanthakumar (Faculty of Law) and Professor Heather Aldersey (School of Rehabilitation Therapy). I appreciate their guidance and support of my research. What I like best about Queen’s Law is the Lederman Library and full support of faculty in accessing the plentiful resources in the library. 

What do you like to do outside the classroom? 

Outside of the classroom I enjoy spending time with my husband and two children. As a mom, taking care of my family and helping my children grow is important to me. I believe I have the responsibility to help shape the next generation be the best they can be to take care of our world. 

The Bader International Study Centre (BISC) held a special celebration on Sunday, Nov. 25, to mark 80 years since its founder, Alfred Bader (Sc’45, Arts’46, MSc’47, LLD’86), left Vienna on the Kindertransport.

Some 100 guests gathered to view the documentary, The Children Who Cheated the Nazis (2000), followed by a musical concert in honour of Dr. Bader, who, along with his close friend Ralph Emanuel, assisted filmmaker Sue Read in the making of the film. It was especially poignant to remember that Dr. Emanuel, who remains Dr. Bader’s closest friend, is the son of Bessy Emanuel, who answered the Home Office’s call, 80 years ago to the day, for British families to provide homes for refugees from Europe.

The Children Who Cheated the Nazis was screened in the Castle’s ballroom. Narrated by Richard Attenborough, this powerful film tells the story of the 10,000 children, among them a young Alfred Bader, who came to Britain in 1938 to escape the Holocaust.

Images of small, terrified children, forced to flee their homes without their parents left many in the audience visibly moved, and yet there was also a message of hope. Many of the survivors who shared their honest and inspiring stories described how proudly they bore their emotional scars and what they had accomplished with their lives since the war. Director Sue Read answered questions from the audience after the screening in an informal, yet candid Q&A session. She said the film, which took her the best part of five years to research and complete, “totally changed my life.”

In the second half of the event, Craig Walker, Director of Dan School of Drama and Music, prefaced each element of the musical program with extracts from Dr. Bader’s autobiography. Each excerpt recounted Dr. Bader’s memories of the war and gave those in attendance a personal insight into his journey from his birthplace in Vienna, to the United Kingdom, and then Canada, to the man we know today – Commander of the British Empire, chemist, proud Queen’s alumnus, art collector, and philanthropist.

The audience was treated to performances from world-renowned violinist Midori Komachi, soprano Diana Gilchrist, and the BISC Choir. Directed by Shelley Katz, the musical programme took the audience on a journey with the young Alfred.

“The BISC was pleased to work closely with Isabel Bader on this event and to welcome so many of the Baders’ close friends to the Castle,” says Hugh Horton, Vice-Provost and Executive Director of the BISC. “It has been a wonderful opportunity to celebrate Alfred’s life with them, and with our students. Today provided all of us with valuable insights into a truly remarkable man.”

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Alfred Bader (Sc’45, Arts’46, MSc’47, LLD’86) and Isabel Bader (LLD’07) are Queen’s most generous benefactors. They have given back to Queen’s in countless ways: transforming the campus, enriching the student experience, supporting scholarship, and helping to enhance the university’s reputation as a top-tier educational institution. In an extraordinary philanthropic gesture, the couple funded Queen’s purchase of a 15th-century English castle – Herstmonceux – that has been meticulously restored and is now home to the Bader International Study Centre. 

More than 60 students, faculty and community members gathered to watch Coco, one of six movies that comprise this year’s Diversity and Inclusion Film Festival (DIFF), on Friday, Nov. 16.

DIFF is organized by the Society of Graduate and Professional Students (SGPS) in collaboration with the World Link program at the Queen’s University International Centre (QUIC), that work together to promote intercultural communication, diversity and inclusion through film.

The festival started in March 2018, and has grown into a successful series of events that educate and entertain. Screened films highlight a specific culture and are complemented by discussion, music, and food from the region.

“DIFF is a one-of-a-kind event, weaving stories from various places around the world, right here at Queen's,” says Atul Jaiswal, International Commissioner at the SGPS, and one of the festival’s organizers. “We intend to use movies as a tool to showcase the culture unique to the specific region, so people can appreciate each other’s cultures.”

DIFF has featured films from Ireland, India, Japan and Mexico. The final festival event takes place on Friday, Nov 30, with a screening of Indian Horse, an Indigenous coming-of-age story set in Canada.

All are welcome to attend the final screening or check out one of the numerous programs and events offered at QUIC. Inclusivity is a key factor in QUIC’s mission to promote strong communities and create lasting bonds among domestic and international students.  

QUIC has experienced a very successful fall term, helping to welcome more than 900 international students at the centre. QUIC provides a home away from home for these students and creates a comfortable environment to meet new people, learn about life in Canada and develop academic skills.

"Since my very first day at Queen's, I felt the most comfortable at QUIC and it has really become my second home here,” says Herman Kaur, a first-year master’s student in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Queen’s. “It is always so amazing to talk to the students and staff at QUIC and be part of various activities and workshops being organized."

With 25-30 part-time student staff, and up to 100 student volunteers, QUIC offers a variety of opportunities for students to get involved and help develop intercultural awareness on campus. By working together as a community, QUIC supports diversity and inclusion at Queen’s and beyond.

In mid-December, QUIC is moving from the JDUC to the second floor of Mitchell Hall, the university’s new Wellness and Innovation Centre in the heart of campus.

Check out QUIC’s website to learn more about upcoming events and how to get involved.

A group of 110 students and faculty from the Bader International Study Centre (BISC) travelled to the French town of Vimy on a cold, wet, and windy Nov. 11, as the world marked the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War.

Today, the Canadian National Vimy Memorial, Canada’s largest overseas war memorial, sits at the highest point of the Vimy Ridge and commemorates not only the Battle of Vimy Ridge, (April 9-12, 1917) but all Canadian Expeditionary Force members killed during the First World War, including those with no known resting place.

While students from the BISC have been travelling to the memorial on or around Remembrance Day for the past several years, this is the first year that the BISC Chamber and Open Choir have been invited to participate in the Remembrance Day ceremony itself.

The BISC’s 40-strong choir, robed and sporting their BISC scarves, was afforded the honour of leading a procession of pipers and local dignitaries to the memorial site. The choir sang two moving excerpts from Requiem by Eleanor Daly, a Canadian composer and Queen’s University graduate. As the rain came down in earnest, soloist soprano and BISC Musician-in-Residence, Diana Gilchrist also sang Mozart’s Laudate Dominum from his Solemn Vespers.

Three first-year BISC students, Wyatt Mann, Harriet Wright, and Sarah Dulmage, laid a wreath during the ceremony on behalf of the BISC and Queen’s University. They were chosen from dozens of applicants for their outstanding submissions on the subject of what laying a wreath at the Vimy Memorial would mean to them and their families.

“With this opportunity, I take great pride in being able to represent those who have come before me. My great-great grandfather Charlie Wright fought in World War One and took part in the Battle of Vimy Ridge,” says Dulmage. “My family is composed of many military personnel, so to me, laying the wreath meant giving the ultimate thanks to my family who have served and allowed me to be who I am and where I am today.”

Choir member and BISC 100 lecturer Beth Richan says she was proud seeing such a mix of generations and a sea of Canadian red in the assembled crowd as the bugler played The Last Post.

“What struck me from speaking to the students afterwards was just how many of them expressed that being present was not only very important to them personally, but would be hugely significant for their parents and grandparents too,” she says.

Student Jake Kidd was one of many who searched the thousands of names etched into the Vimy Memorial on behalf of their families and found a relative, his great uncle.

Following the ceremony, each student was presented with a commemorative Vimy pin and poppy. The students then had the opportunity to visit Ypres and the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing, before returning to Herstmonceux Castle.

The trip to Vimy was the culmination of an entire term’s worth of opportunities to learn more about the history and experience of war. On Nov. 7 and 8, approximately 125 students attended performances of Lest We Forget at Hastings’ Stable Theatre. This contemporary production is based on stories from survivors of the Great War from East Sussex and weaves readings, poems, and songs from the era into the narrative. In addition, the Castle Reads group, which encourages members of the Castle community to come together through a shared love of literature, has chosen the First World War novel Strange Meeting by Susan Hill as their book for the fall term.

Back in the UK, the students will have the opportunity to reflect further on their experiences with a concert at the Castle on Sunday, Nov. 25 in honour of the 80th anniversary of Alfred Bader’s participation in the Kindertransport of 1938. Dr. Bader, along with some 10,000 other Jewish children, was evacuated to the safety of the UK from Nazi-occupied Austria.