Archive for July, 2017
A breathtaking journey through Austria
I am often asked by my Canadian friends what one should see in Austria and I usually don’t quite know where to start, as there is simply too much on offer. Austria is a country that waltzes effortlessly between its vibrant outdoors and its historic city centres. From fine arts and music to magnificent palaces […]
New Arrivals – Summer 2017
New arrivals Diego Stacey Ambassador of Ecuador Stacey’s career has spanned 40 years and four continents with postings in Bogota, Cairo, Hamburg, the Vatican, Bonn, Washington, Stockholm and Vienna. His first ambassadorial post was in Sweden. He has also served in various strategic capacities in Quito, including as under-secretary for bilateral relations, acting minister of […]
An artful residence for an artist and an ambassador
lf you wander into the residence of Czech Ambassador Pavel Hrncir in tony Rockcliffe, you might think you are in the wrong place. In an area known for its baronial manor houses, this house has none of the typical stucco and stone exteriors, no stone columns, no wrought-iron balconies and no circular driveway. Inside you […]
Canada at 150: Wine worth drinking
A 150th anniversary is a good reason to take pride in Canada’s accomplishments and we have much to toast when it comes to our wines. Compared to some other New World countries, wine had a difficult start in this country. Early attempts by European settlers to cultivate their own vines typically failed due to the […]
Peru’s complex culinary evolution
Peru, situated on the west coast of South America, sharing borders with Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia and Chile, boasts a rich multicultural cuisine combining the flavours of four continents. Dating back to pre-Inca times, an ever-evolving Peruvian cuisine has shown unique tolerance and assimilation of those cuisines introduced by immigrants from Europe, Africa and Asia. […]
A big secret that everybody knows
I have a framed poster on my wall at home that illustrates 14 different types of small explosive devices. The same poster is found in nearly every elementary schoolroom in Laos (and Cambodia, too) where it’s intended to teach the little ones to refrain from, for instance, playing with landmines. My copy hangs above the […]
States on the brink
The Fragile States Index is based on a conflict-assessment framework known as “CAST” that was developed by FFP nearly a quarter-century ago for assessing how vulnerable states are to collapse. The CAST framework measures this vulnerability in pre-conflict, active conflict and post-conflict situations and continues to be used widely by policy-makers, field practitioners and community […]
Africa’s thirst: severe water gaps
Ezirazi wishes she were in school. But, like so many 10-year-old African girls south of the Sahara, she has to trek early every morning and just before sunset every night to fetch water from a well 10 kilometres away. The drinking and washing needs of her family take priority over schooling. Anyway, she also has […]
Free speech’s living barometer
A version of this speech was delivered as the keynote address at the Canadian Committee for World Press Freedom luncheon in Ottawa on May 2. It was 1903 and Pennsylvania governor Samuel Pennypacker had had enough. After a year of being depicted as a parrot by the cartoonist Charles Nelan of the North American, [a daily newspaper […]
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