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EquiTalks: Connecting Climate Justice and Human Rights for a Just Future

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Join us in person in Montreal (Tiohtià:ke*) for an inspiring and impactful event! 
This year’s EquiTalks focuses on the powerful intersection of human rights and the right to a healthy environment, exploring how the two are intertwined in shaping a just and sustainable future. We are honored to host a moderated panel that will bring together human rights defenders and decision-makers that will be offering insights into challenges and opportunities at the crossroads of human rights and environmental protection. We will welcome Astrid Puentes Riaño, a renowned expert from the UN Human Rights Office, as this year’s keynote speaker whose work and advocacy for environmental and human rights will set the tone for a compelling panel. In addition to the panel discussions, the event will include contributions from artists providing a rich, multifaceted exploration of the topic including youth climate defenders will take center stage to share their experiences.

Event Details

Date: Thursday February 13, 2025 

Venue: Salle Polyvalente – 1050 Côte du Beaver Hall, Montreal, QC 

Schedule: 5:30pm – 6:30pm – Networking  

                   6:30pm – 8:00pm – Panel Discussion 

 

The panel discussion will be held in French and English with live interpretation available for the in-person participants. American and Quebec sign language interpretation will also be available. 

 

Spaces are limited! Secure your spot today by registering here

Register for the IN-PERSON event in Montreal

Can’t join us in person and want to follow the discussion online? 

Keynote Speaker

Astrid Puentes Riaño, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment 

Ms. Puentes teaches at the Berta Cáceres Environmental Justice Clinic at the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City and has more than twenty years of experience on environmental law, human rights and climate change, with a perspective of climate justice, diversity, equity and inclusion. 

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She has worked for and with communities, environmental defenders and Indigenous Peoples in Latin America, contributing to the protection of their rights and territory, including in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. She has also advised organizations including Franciscans International and Greenpeace International. She has also collaborated with the UN, including with the United Nations Human Rights Office in Mexico, the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Climate Change, the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment.

Our panelists

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Laure Waridel, Ph.D, Ecosociologist and Associate Professor at UQAM’s Institute of Environmental Sciences 

Laure Waridel is a Ph.D in ecosociology and an Associate Professor at UQAM’s Institute of environmental sciences. She is the co-founder of Équiterre, co-author of the Pact for the Transition and co-instigator of the Mothers Step In movement.  

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She is also the author of several books and produced chronicles for Radio-Canada. She is an Environment and social justice advisor for the law firm Trudel, Johnston & Lespérance as well. Laure Waridel cumulates distinctions, including the Order of Canada and the Order of Quebec. But her two greatest achievements stand on two legs each. They are her children: Colin and Alphée. 

Melissa Mollen Dupuis, Indigenous tv host, activist, environmentalist, actress and mother 

A member of the Innu nation of Ekuanitshit (Mingan), Mélissa Mollen Dupuis is an animator, indigenous activist, environmentalist, actress, director and mother of two young children. She currently hosts the weekly program Kuei! Kwe! on Ici Première at Radio-Canada.  

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She is also Manager of David Suzuki Foundation’s Forest Campaign, is chair of the board of the Wapikoni mobile organization and co-founded the Quebec branch of the Idle No More movement. She has won multiple honors, including the prestigious Ambassador of Conscience award from Amnesty International in 2017. In collaboration with Élise Gravel, she has just published Nutshimit: un bain de forêt with Editions Scholastic.

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Our guest artists

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Marie-Denise Douyon, Artist, Graduate from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York 

Discover the captivating universe of globe-trotter artist Marie-Denise Douyon, whose nomad background, from Port-au-Prince to Montréal through North Africa, has shaped her unique vision of art and resilience. She found in exile a source of inspiration to create pieces that carry hope and reinvention.  

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“To yearn to reinvent oneself is a route many people go through… We all migrate inwardly; a life’s path is a ceaseless journey strewn with challenges of reconstruction and self-reinvention.”

The work of Marie-Denise Douyon reveals a crossbred identity that feeds from the confluence of three cultures – her country of origin, Haiti, the homeland of her childhood, Morocco, and her adoption land, Quebec. 

Mehramat Kaur, Slam artist and activist committed to environmental justice and human rights. 

At only 17, Mehramat actively collaborates with five NGOs, including ENvironnement JEUnesse Québec, the Monique Fitzback Foundation, wherein she holds the position of Young Minister of the Environment, Starfish Canada, the Youth Harbour and the Réseau Éducation aux enjeux environnementaux (RE3).

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Through her slam art, Mehramat expresses with power and authenticity the climate emergency and the importance of social justice, inspiring youth along the way to act for a sustainable and equitable future.

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Our moderator

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Elysia Bryan Baynes, Director of the Bishop’s University Forum

Elysia is the Director of the Bishop’s University Forum, a civic youth leadership institute. She is a mentor for young journalists as part of the Canadian Association of Black Journalists mentorship program.

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In 2013, Elysia became the first Black woman to hold a permanent television news anchor position in Quebec. Her many contributions to the community and journalism since then were recognized in 2022 when Elysia was named a CBC Quebec Black Changemaker. 

Supporting the EquiTalks

With your support, we work towards building more inclusive communities where the vital connection between climate justice and human rights is recognized and embraced—a crucial step toward a more just and equitable future.

To support the EquiTalks and Equitas’ mission of advancing equality, we invite you to donate according to your ability to give. Donations of $20 or more will be eligible for a tax receipt. All voluntary contributions from the event will go to support Equitas’ human rights education in Canada and across the globe.  

If you need more information about the EquiTalks, please contact Kate Monaghan at kmonaghan@equitas.org

Thank you to our generous partners!

Your organization wants to make a difference and sponsor this event?
Please contact Kate Monaghan for more information.

*Equitas acknowledges that this event will take place on unceded Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) land.