Events

Upcoming Events

Monday, May 10
Human Rights in Guatemala: A Challenging Reality

The Justice Education Society invites you to a free presentation by Helen Mack Chang, a Guatemalan human rights advocate and Commissioner for Police Reform in Guatemala.


Helen has received many awards in recognition of her courageous pursuit of justice, including the Right Livelihood Award and, most recently, the Judith Lee Stronach Human Rights Award from the Centre for Justice & Accountability in San Francisco.

She is in Vancouver as part of a cross-Canada tour and will also be meeting with the Vancouver Police Department and Victim Services Office of BC to discuss best practices on key policing issues and victims’ rights. She will also travel to Ottawa to meet with Governor General Michaëlle Jean and other officials to discuss police reform and human rights in Guatemala.

Helen Mack Chang talks with the Washington Office on Latin America about the Guatemalan Anti-Impunity Commission.

Like Helen Mack Chang and the Myrna Mack Foundation, the Justice Education Society is working to combat impunity in Guatemala. The Society’s Strengthening Effective Justice Systems Project aims to strengthen the Rule of Law in Guatemala by training justice system partners including police, prosecutors, judges and other technical experts involved in crime scene examination and investigation and oral trials. The goal is to have a more effective justice system in Guatemala which will ensure the security and protect the human rights of Guatemalans. 

Highlights from Past Events

March 2010

The Justice Education Society's International Team brought Semhal Getachew, an Ethiopian human rights lawyer and activist, to speak at several events surrounding International Women's Day in March. Ms. Getachew shared her expertise in responding to the growing number of femicide cases worldwide. The event was organized by a diverse group of organizations including Oxfam Canada and We Can BC. Getachew also spoke at a lecture at the University of Northern BC in Prince George. Her participation in these events was sponsored by the Canadian International Development Agency.

March 6, 2010

International Women's Day: Women's Voices at the Table

In celebration of International Women's Day 2010, the Justice Education Society's International Team collaborated with We Can BC and other organizations to put together an event to recognize the importance of women's voices in local and global decision-making. The event began with a celebratory rally at the North Plaza of the Art Gallery and was followed by several round table discussions addressing important issues relating to women's rights and gender equality at the Vancouver Public Library. Ethiopian human rights lawyer and activist Semhal Getachew spoke at the rally and at a round table discussion on the issue of femicide as an extreme form of violence against women. Anastasia Gaisenok spoke at the Women in Solidarity table on behalf of We Can BC.

March 9, 2010

Women's Silenced Voices: The Issue of Femicide from Ethiopia to the Highway of Tears

Semhal Getachew spoke at the University of Northern BC in Prince George, presenting an international perspective on femicide and violence against women in relation to the Highway of Tears.

January 27, 2010

On January 27, the Society hosted Central American Crime: Justice In Our Times. The event, part of the Society’s annual “Judicial Community Liaison Program,” offered BC judges the opportunity to learn more about issues that impact our communities.
 
This year’s program focused on the international impact of crime in Central America and featured The Honourable Lic. Romeo Barahona, Attorney General of El Salvador, as the keynote speaker. William Ramirez, the Society’s Program Coordinator from Guatemala, discussed the work the Society is doing to build more effective justice systems in Central America.

In addition, Superintendent Dan Malo of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, BC Integrated Gang Task Force, as well as Marilyn G.D. from the Kiwassa Neighbourhood House’s Domestic Violence Prevention Program, spoke about the legal and social impact of Central American crime in BC.
 
Many Guatemalan judges and prosecutors, who were in town for a study tour of BC's justice system as part of the Society’s Building Effective Justice Systems project, also attended the event. Over dinner they discussed their issues and challenges with their British Columbian counterparts as well as local justice system and community representatives.
 
The four presentations were filmed and edited versions will be posted on JusticeInOurTimes.ca this week. Previous Justice In Our Times events, which focused on BC’s gang violence and Aboriginal justice issues, can also be viewed on the site. The event was funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Internatonal Trade Canada.

December 6 - 16, 2009

Rick Craig, the Justice Education Society’s Executive Director, was invited by Governor General Michaëlle Jean to join her State Visit to Mexico, Guatemala, and Costa Rica from December 6-16. The invitation was a recognition of the Society’s work to strengthen effective justice systems in the region.

The Canadian delegates interacted with their Mexican, Guatemalan, and Costa Rican counterparts as well as played an active role in Their Excellencies’ meetings with civil society organizations. Craig published blog postings about the trip on the Governor General’s website that detailed Guatemala’s struggle with an extremely high level of violence and documented his experience speaking on a panel about the rights of indigenous women in Chiapas, Mexico.

December 2009

The Society’s International Team is providing technical assistance on public legal education to Agriteam Canada's Judicial Development and Grassroots Engagement (JUDGE) project in Vietnam. In December, Evelyn Neaman presented a seminar on "Best Practices in Public Legal Education" to 35 participants from across Vietnam, including local public legal education experts from the Ministry of Justice, Department of Justice and representatives from the women's, students’ and farmers' unions.

The JUDGE project has asked Neaman to return in March 2010 to provide further technical assistance on public legal education to the Ministry of Justice and selected Chief Judges involved in  its "model court" project.

November 15, 2009 

October 5 – 18, 2009

  • Building Effective Justice Systems: Phase 1- Crime Scene Investigations training for El Salvadorian and Honduran specialists in Guatemala

September 2009

  • Rick Craig, Executive Director of JES, presented the justice system building work JES has been doing in Guatemala at the Organization of Americas States (OAS) conference in Washington, DC.
  • Mayan Aboriginal Knowledge Exchange Delegation visit Vancouver and the Nass Valley and look at forging a partnership between schools in the two countries to support indigenous justice practices for youth

August 2009

  • Documentary Screening of It’s Time: African Women Join Hands Against Violence at the Zimbabwe International Film Festival  
  • Rick Craig, Executive Director of JES, was invited as a presenter at a conference for more than 850 prosecutors and law students in Tijuana, Mexico. He was asked to speak about the results of the JES's justice project in Guatemala and its expansion into Honduras and El Salvador. JES International is considering a possible future project focused on strengthening the justice system in Baja State, Mexico.
  • CAFCA, our local partners in Guatemala, conducted a three day Seminar called “Special Methods of Investigation: legal and investigative challenges” to discuss the challenges both legal and operational to the implementation of these techniques in Guatemala.

June 2009        

  • Ethiopia Assessment Mission for the Guaranteeing Human Rights Project

May/June 2009   

  • Mayan Aboriginal Knowledge Exchange and documentary film production

April 2009

  • Special Investigative Methods project: Canadian wiretapping course organized by CFSEU