SDG Month at Queen's Feature Event: Dr. Alaa Murabit

Date

Monday March 23, 2026
2:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Location

Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts (King St W, Kingston ON K7L 2X4)

Event Category

As part of SDG Month Canada, Queen’s and Universities Canada are proud to welcome internationally renowned sustainability advocate Dr. Alaa Murabit to the Isabel Bader Centre on March 23. An architect of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and one of Canada’s Women of Impact, Dr. Murabit will explore why human security, equity, and sustainable development are essential to global stability in an era of “poly-crisis.” The event will also feature a Q&A moderated by a Queen’s student leader. This free public event will be livestreamed and recorded, with advance registration required for in-person attendance. The livestream link will be available here soon.

Program

Doors open at 2 pm, program and livestream to begin at 2:30 pm in the Concert Hall

Welcome – Brooke Schmidt, Commissioner of Environmental Sustainability, Alma Mater Society

Greeting from Universities Canada - Gabriel Miller, President and CEO, Universities Canada

Introductory remarks – Patrick Deane, Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Queen's University

Keynote – Dr. Alaa Murabit

In an era of "poly-crisis", defined by pandemics, climate instability, and economic fragility, traditional frameworks of national security have proven insufficient. The true architecture of global safety lies not in armaments, but in human security: health, equity, and sustainable development. Drawing on her work as a UN High-Level Commissioner and Managing Partner at 500 Global, Dr. Murabit outlines why we must pivot from reactive crisis management to proactive systems design, and how building regenerative societies offers the only viable path to stability and economic growth in the 21st century.

Q&A – moderated by Brooke Schmidt

(livestream ends)

Reception in the lobby

Bios

Woman in black hijab with her arms folded in front of black background.

Dr. Alaa Murabit is a world-renowned strategist on the political economy of health, security, and sustainable development. As the Inaugural Managing Partner for Sustainable Growth at 500 Global, she leads the mobilization of capital towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals; a framework she helped architect. A medical doctor and UN High-Level Commissioner on Health, Employment & Economic Growth, Dr. Murabit advises governments and multilateral institutions on restructuring global security architecture to center human development and equity.

Previously a Director at the Gates Foundation and founder of The Voice of Libyan Women during the Libyan Revolution, she has been a pivotal figure in defining the intersection of security, conflict resolution and gender equity. A Harvard Radcliffe Fellow, TIME100 honoree, and Nobel Peace Prize nominee, she drives systemic reforms requisite for enduring peace and scalable, sustainable growth.