Fostering Hope in a Divided World
The Canadian Museum for Human Rights became a hub for civic reflection and moral dialogue on June 15-17, 2025.
The Canadian Museum for Human Rights became a hub for civic reflection and moral dialogue, June 15-17, 2025. The Arthur V. Mauro Institute for Peace and Justice at St. Paul’s College was honoured to collaborate with the Canadian Interfaith Conversation in co-sponsoring the 2025 Our Whole Society Conference. With the theme ‘Fostering Hope in a Divided World,’ the conference brought together scholars, activists, public servants, and faith leaders in a search for transformative solutions to today’s urgent social challenges. Dr. Stanley Amaladas, notes that “Our collaboration was intentional in that the theme for this Conference is directly aligned with Dr. Arthur Mauro’s vision for Winnipeg, namely, to be cultural centre of hope.”
The Mauro Institute sponsored two events at this Conference. First, St. Paul’s College Foundation Inc. provided a grant from the Blankstein Family Abrahamic Faiths Storytelling Dialogue: Equality and Leadership Fund. Dr. Marjorie Blankstein’s generosity allowed for , the audience to be moved by the musical performance of the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra (WJO). Opening the Conference on June 15, 2025, Dr. Richard Gillis, Director of WJO, masterfully choreographed several pieces on the theme of Hope. They ranged from Chuck Copenace’s ‘Creator’ to Oscar Peterson’s ‘Hymn to Freedom’ and to Hevenu Shalom Aleinu (Peace Song). But why music? Because as Auerbach is attributed as saying: “Music washes away from the soul, the dust of everyday life.” As Dr. Amaladas notes, “in our divided world, there is so much dust that needs to be washed away.”
Second, also supported by the Foundation, the Dr. Rey Pagtakhan Fund for Ethics, Humanity, and Politics provided funding to host a panel of distinguished citizens who offered their personal testimonies and insights on the relationship between politics and hope.
Moderated by Dr. Christopher Adams, Rector of St. Paul’s College, University of Manitoba the panel featured Dr. Sami Helewa, SJ (President, Campion College, University of Regina), Ms. Tanya Brothers, JD (Vice-Chair, St. Paul’s College Foundation Inc.), Dr. Niigaan Sinclair (Professor, Indigenous Studies, UM), and Ms. Joanne Seiff (Author and Educator). Each of the panellists explored the core questions of how political relationships can either sustain or sabotage hope for peace, justice, and human dignity—and what we can do to become catalysts for transformational change.
Politics of Belonging: A Testimony of Hope
Dr. Helewa, SJ, a scholar of Islamic and Christian theology, opened the panel with personal reflections rooted in his early life as a stateless person of Palestinian heritage.
“I was born stateless. I belonged to no country, had no birth certificate, and no rights as a citizen,” said Helewa. “I chose to be a Jesuit. I chose specifically to focus on justice and begin a life of service for others.”
Helewa described hope as intrinsically good and argued that politics, at its best, shares this potential: “Hope is due to its intrinsic nature of ‘the good.’ I would say the same with politics… to never be satisfied with the status quo for the sake of just existence.” He advocated for a “politics of belonging” – one that recognizes diversity and inclusion not merely as policies, but as pathways to human flourishing and solidarity.
Hope Rooted in History and Resilience
Winnipeg lawyer and community leader Tanya Brothers grounded her message of hope in a historical account of her maternal family’s migration from Oklahoma to Alberta in the early 1900s, fleeing racist segregation laws.
“When this group arrived at Athabasca Landing, despite being supported by Canadian officials, they faced local hostility and even a proposed Order-in-Council to bar Black immigrants from Canada,” said Brothers.
Despite this, her ancestors endured and built a community in Amber Valley, Alberta. “They had to actively envision what they did not have and set out to create it,” Brothers reflected, “They sustained their hope by fostering community and faith.”
Quoting Martin Luther King Jr., she concluded with a hopeful reminder that “unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.”
Love, Reciprocity, and the Earth
Dr. Sinclair urged the audience to move beyond human-centred thinking toward a vision of hope rooted in a creation-centred paradigm.
“Hope is a choice, and everything in creation bends toward love—except us,” said Sinclair. “We are the only beings who kill for no purpose—out of ego, nationalism, or fear. Yet creation teaches reciprocity, cooperation, and resilience. If we want hope, we must re-learn from creation.”
Sinclair called for a politics of sharing and humility: “The only way we get over the winter is by looking to the person beside us, building the lodge together, and sharing food. That is the truth of creation.”
Hope as Daily Action and Human Connection
Closing the panel, writer and educator, Joanne Seiff shared her Jewish tradition’s view of hope as an ongoing act of world repair, or tikkun olam.” We live in a fractured world… and it’s our job to put the broken vessel back together,” said Seiff.
For Seiff, hope is not merely emotional—it’s practical and participatory, emphasizing that fixing real problems through science, education, and civic action is itself an act of faith. We felt her conviction when she concluded: “Hope is work rooted in action rather than belief,,, It’s about speaking out, building bridges, and fighting hate.”
A Call to Action
As Dr. Adams noted in his closing remarks, the panellists offered more than academic insight—they issued a challenge by calling all to shift their way of thinking and act for the sake of a common good.” Whether by confronting exclusion, re-centring the Earth, honouring ancestral resilience, or practicing daily acts of justice and kindness, each speaker emphasized that hope is not passive—it is participatory.
St. Paul’s College is grateful for our generous donors who assist the Mauro Institute in creating these platforms for our global community to come together to create common ground.
In addition, as Dr. Amaladas acknowledged that for him “hope is a dream of a person fully awake.” To this end, he encourages all to “move forward not as if we are sleepwalking, but rather that we be intentional and purposeful in our quest for peace and social justice.”