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Special Convocation
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Peace and Reconciliation
On Tuesday April 20, 2004, Simon Fraser University will hold a Special Convocation at Christ Church Cathedral to confer honorary degrees on four world leaders:
- His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama
- Professor Shirin Ebadi
- His Excellency Vaclav Havel, and
- Archbishop Desmond Tutu
A number of tickets have been reserved for SFU faculty, staff, students and alumni; these tickets will be assigned through a lottery process. (Alumni will need their SFU identification number.)
Rules (please note: this offer has now expired)
- All entries must be submitted through the web process until 9:00 am on Monday, March 15, 2004.
- You may submit only one entry even if you qualify in more than one group. Multiple entries will be eliminated.
- Be sure to enter your name and contact information accurately as we cannot assume responsibility if we are unable to contact you with the lottery results.
- Winners will be advised by email no later than March 19, 2004.
- Tickets will be issued in the name of the winner only; they may not be exchanged with or transferred to any other person. Each ticket holder must pick up his/her ticket in person from the main Reception area on the third floor of Strand Hall (Strand 3100), no later than April 8th. Any unclaimed tickets will be re-allocated.
- Students with final examinations at the time of the ceremony should not enter the lottery. If the Special Convocation occurs during a staff member's normal work day, the staff member will be granted time off, with pay, subject to operational considerations.
- This Convocation will take place at Christ Church Cathedral in downtown Vancouver (Georgia and Burrard). Security screening will be in place, and you will be required to show both your ticket and photo identification in order to enter the Cathedral. The ceremony will commence at 9:00 am but guests will need to be in their seats between 7:00 and 8:00 am (as specified on the ticket) because of the volume of guests. Latecomers may be refused entry.
| The Dalai Lama, religious leader of the Tibetan people, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 recognizing his efforts to peacefully resolve the political relationship between Tibet and the People's Republic of China. As the 14th Dalai Lama, he and thousands of his followers fled Tibet in 1959 for exile in India. Since then he has taken his message of peace and cooperation throughout the world. |
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Vaclav Havel, a Czechoslovakian writer who suffered years of hardship and repression for his advocacy of human rights and peaceful political change, led the "velvet revolution" that brought democracy to his country. As Czechoslovakia's president, he abolished the death penalty, closed the arms factories, released political prisoners and encouraged social reform and reconciliation. He was twice elected president of the Czech Republic. |
| Shirin Ebadi, the 2003 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, is a lawyer and human rights activist in Iran. She is known for her advocacy of peaceful democratic solutions to society's problems and her strong defense of freedom of speech. She has argued, to the point of imprisonment, for a new interpretation of Islamic law incorporating such human rights as democracy, equality before the law and religious freedom. |
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Desmond Tutu was one of those most instrumental in leading the movement to end Apartheid in South Africa. As Anglican bishop of Johannesburg, Secretary-General of the South African Council of Churches, and Archbishop of Cape Town, he championed the transition to a non-racial democratic society. For his leadership in that struggle, Tutu was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984. Following the establishment of democratic government in South Africa, Archbishop Tutu was appointed to head the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which facilitated the uniquely magnanimous settlements of damages sustained by victims of Apartheid. |
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