Contact:

Robin Prest, SFU Centre for Dialogue, 778.782.7885, rjprest@sfu.ca

Scott McLean, SFU Vancouver, 778.782.5151, srmclean@sfu.ca

Visionary leaders that include a former president of Ireland, a universally acclaimed author, a legendary choreographer and a leading international environmentalist are among those bestowed with Simon Fraser University’s Centre for Dialogue Jack. P. Blaney Award for Dialogue.

The international award has resulted in more than 7,000 hours of in-person community programming, and now the Centre for Dialogue is reaching out to the broader community for nominations for the 2013-14 prize.

In 2012, TED prize recipient Karen Armstrong was honoured with the ‘Blaney’ and partnered with the Centre to create the 12 Days of Compassion. The event served as a catalyst for a citywide conversation on compassion, creating 10 unique events including the launch of the Greater Vancouver Compassion Network and a compassionate cities initiative.

In addition to Armstrong, the Centre for Dialogue has honoured Mary Robinson, the first female president of Ireland, choreographer and interdisciplinary artist Liz Lerman and former under-secretary general of the United Nations Maurice Strong. 

"Our hope is that community members and organizations will view this as an opportunity to nominate individuals and programming for issues they view as critical and profound,” says Mark Winston, director of the Centre for Dialogue.

“The Blaney is different from other awards because it seeks to form community partnerships to imagine and host diverse programming with tangible, impact-focused results and dialogue-based approaches.”

Nominators will have the rare opportunity to potentially develop associated programming during the recipient’s visit. For more information on the award and the full nomination package, please visit: http://at.sfu.ca/jbKtKE

Simon Fraser University is Canada's top-ranked comprehensive university and one of the top 50 universities in the world under 50 years old. With campuses in Vancouver, Burnaby and Surrey, B.C., SFU engages actively with the community in its research and teaching, delivers almost 150 programs to more than 30,000 students, and has more than 120,000 alumni in 130 countries.

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