TEAM MEMBERS
ASIF, Umair – Research Assistant
Umair has expertise in Sports for Development and Peace (SDP) and Violent Extremism prevention. He is a social activist and the founder of Kafka Welfare Organization Pakistan. Currently, he is a Ph.D. student at UQAM University Canada. He is exploring SDP and Violent Extremism prevention. He works as a research assistant for Project Someone, an initiative that raises awareness, creates spaces for pluralistic dialogues, and combats discrimination and online hate. He has been affiliated with the United Nations and Women Deliver Young Leaders programs. In addition, he has contributed to the Youth Expert group of the United Nations High-Level Meeting 2020 on Sports and PVE. Lastly, he is a board member of the UNESCO Task Force on Youth and Sport, a member of the UNESCO Chair in Curriculum Development at UQAM Canada, and a former faculty member of GC University Lahore, Pakistan. He is very passionate about changing the lives of young people through sports.
BEIER, Jessie – Project SOMEONE Collaborator
Jessie Beier is currently a Horizon Postdoctoral Fellow at Concordia University whose current research-creation practice experiments with developing ecological dissensus and heretical forms of pedagogy aimed at collective practices of negation, refusal and fabulation. Beier recently completed a Ph.D. at the University of Alberta in the Department of Secondary Education with a SSHRC-funded project titled Pedagogy at the End of the World: Weird Pedagogies for Unthought Educational Futures.
BENCHERIF, ADIB – Associate professor
Adib Bencherif is an adjunct professor at the School of Applied Politics at the University of Sherbrooke. He teaches courses in applied political science and courses on Africa and the Middle East. He is also a research associate at the Sahel Research Group of the Center for African Studies at the University of Florida, at the UNESCO-PREV Chair and at the Francopaix Center of the Raoul-Dandurand Chair at UQÀM. He obtained his PhD at the School of Political Studies of the University of Ottawa and completed his postdoctoral fellowship at the Sahel Research Group of the University of Florida (2019-2021). Her main research interests focus on security issues, identity issues, and political violence in North Africa and the Sahel. His research focuses on nomadic communities, specifically the Tuareg. An advocate of an applied social science approach, he provides training in political risk analysis and regularly participates in consulting activities to facilitate conflict analysis and resolution and the prevention of radicalization. He has published numerous scientific articles in French and English and co-edited a book on political risk analysis (PUM).
BIMBACHI, Jolly – Research professional
Jolly Bimbachi is an instructor and mentor. She has studied social sciences in California (1995-2005) at the De Anza College and at the Calfornia State University, Stanislaus. She earned a master’s degree from St. Paul’s University (2021) in Transformative Leadership and Spirituality. Her work focuses on social enterprises.
BITTON, Paul-Edouard – Intern
Paul-Edouard Bitton holds a Bachelor of the War Studies and History degree from King’s College London and is currently in a Master’s degree in Law and security-related strategies at the University of Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas. He worked for a year in the French Ministry of Interior on internal security issues and the co-production of security between the different national actors. He is interested in national security issues, especially terrorism and radicalization. Within the UNESCO-PREV Chair, Paul-Edouard works on conspiracy theories, loss of trust in institutions and democratic resilience.
BLOUIN, Anne-Sophie – Intern
Currently an intern at the NATO Strategic Communication Center of Excellence, Anne-Sophie Blouin is pursuing her passion for international relations and foreign policy. As a double master’s student in international strategic communication at the Université de Sherbrooke and the Université catholique de Louvain, she is writing a thesis on the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Her keen interest in international conflicts gave rise to a study that seeks to analyze the level of political influence in the journalistic treatment related to the Russian-Ukrainian war. The research objective is to take a critical look at the role of international journalism in the public space as well as the ethical practice of journalists on the international scene.
BOLDUC, Karine – Executive Secretary
Karine Bolduc is currently Executive Secretary for the UNESCO-PREV Chair and for the School of Applied Politics of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Sherbrooke. She was a member of the Board of Directors at Baseball Sherbrooke as Director of Events & Communications for several years. She was able to bring her contributions in terms of leadership, organization and a great capacity for coordination within her team. Her association was even host of the 2017 provincial games and her event was nominated for the Mérite sportif de l’Estrie. She has won the Volunteer of the Year award several times, for Baseball Sherbrooke and Baseball Estrie, as well as at the provincial level. Ms. Bolduc was coordinator for the University of Sherbrooke’s 2012 Centraide campaign and raised an unprecedented amount of nearly $170,000 in funding. This dedication enabled her to win the volunteer award with Centraide twice. Very involved at the community level, Ms. Bolduc is above all a person of challenge and action.
BONCI, Alessandra – Research Assistant
Alessandra Bonci is a PhD candidate in political science at Laval University, under the supervision of Professor Francesco Cavatorta. She is currently preparing a thesis on the political engagement of radical pious women activists in Tunisia since 2011. She is interested in gender studies and politics in Tunisia and the MENA region. Alessandra has also worked on the secular-Islamist divide in Tunisia and the role of the Tunisian diaspora in France and Italy in the 2011 revolution. Among her works, she recently published a chapter of the book “Global Political Demography in the Maghreb Region” with Francesco Cavatorta. Alessandra also published the book chapter “The secular/Islamist divide in Tunisia: myth or reality?” entitled “The Arab Spring: microdynamics of activism and revolt between change and continuity”. In 2019, Alessandra published the review article “Salafi fuel for ISIS’ tanks? The ideological relationship between Salafism and the Islamic State” on the peer-reviewed journal Mediterranean Politics.
BONNEAU, Josie-Ann – Coordinator of the innovative social pedagogy project in Chicoutimi
Josie-Ann Bonneau is the coordinator of the UNESCO Chair in Cultural Transmission among First Peoples as a Dynamic of Well-Being and Empowerment. She holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology and anthropology and a master’s degree in regional studies and interventions. During her studies, Josie-Ann adopted an intersectional approach to exploring issues related to the integration practices of Latin American women in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean. Professionally, she has also worked on the decolonization of relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous organizations, as well as on bringing Indigenous and non-Indigenous people closer together through the promotion of Indigenous languages and cultures.
BRAULT, Annabelle – Project SOMEONE Collaborator
Annabelle Brault is a resource-oriented music therapist, musician, researcher and educator. A full-time music therapy lecturer at Concordia University, she is interested in the use of music technology as a creative medium to instill social change. Alongside her teaching, she works as a music therapist with youth and caregivers. Her research and activist interests include harnessing the emancipatory power of music, resource-oriented approaches, as well as the use of music technology and performance in education. Ms. Brault’s participation in the educational initiative ‘Landscape of Hope’, led by Prof. Vivek Venkatesh as part of Project SOMEONE, embodies all of these interests, as unique audiovisual performances are used to explore resilience in the digital age. As a professional musician using electronic music media, she collaborates with artists such as Justin Wright, Cedric Noel, Tambour, Landscape of Hate and arc.
CHANG-KREDL, Sandra – Project SOMEONE Collaborator
Sandra Chang-Kredl is Associate Professor in the Department of Education at Concordia University. She conducts research on a wide range of topics in the field of education. Mrs. Chang-Kredl’s interests include teacher identity, curriculum studies, children’s popular culture, and cultural studies. She is a researcher with Project SOMEONE’s Landscape of Hope project.
CHAMPAGNE, Frédérique – Student
Frédérique Champagne is a master’s student in strategic communication at the Longueuil campus of the Université de Sherbrooke. Before starting the master’s program, she previously completed a bachelor’s degree in teaching French at the secondary level and a certificate in public relations. As a master’s student, Frédérique must complete an essay. This essay will focus on the perception of collegial students, namely their understanding of the origin of Covid-19 as well as their interpretation and feelings regarding the health measures imposed by the government. Through this essay, Frédérique will be able to feed her curiosity about misinformation and disinformation among youth during the health crisis. Her background as a teacher makes her attentive to the needs of young people, which leads her to reflect on the tools for validating the sources of information available to them. Frédérique is involved in a project with the UNESCO-PREV Chair on “Youth and conspiracy in Quebec: vocabulary, resonance and adhesion logics”.
CHAPMAN, Owen – Project SOMEONE Collaborator
In addition to being a composer, DJ and researcher, Owen Chapman is Associate Professor in Sound Production and Scholarship in the Department of Communication Studies at Concordia University. Addressing the place of sound in everyday life through his research, Mr. Chapman’s audio work involves app design, live performance and electronic composition and has been featured internationally in video soundtracks, media workshops, site-specific installations as well as solo and group performances.
CHOQUETTE, Emmanuel – Associate professor
Emmanuel Choquette is a professor of communication in the Department of Communication at the Université de Sherbrooke. He is also a professor-researcher with the “Groupe de recherche en communication politique” (GRCP), a co-investigator with the “Centre pour l’étude de la citoyenneté démocratique” (CÉCD) and a member of the “Observatoire de l’humour” (OH). His work focuses on political communication, discursive strategies, social cohesion issues and humour studies. He has conducted post-doctoral research at the UNESCO-Prev Chair and the Centre for Research on Social Innovations and Transformations (CRITS) aimed at developing effective communication strategies to combat hate speech. He is also interested in the representation and “negative stereotyping” of cultural and religious minorities in the public space, particularly through humorous discourse.
CLERMONT-DION, Léa – Project SOMEONE Collaborator
Léa Clermont-Dion is a filmmaker and postdoctoral student at Concordia University. She has a PhD in political science from Laval University. Her research focuses on cyberviolences against women, feminist empowerment on social media, violence against women, etc. She has received the Vanier scholarship, one of the most prestigious doctoral scholarships in Canada. She is interested in online antifeminist radicalization and sexist hate speech. She is the director of three documentaries: T’as juste à porter plainte (Noovo), Backlash: Online Misogyny in The Digital Age (Radio-Canada and Documentary Channel) and Janette et filles (Télé-Québec). She is also the author of three books La revanche des moches (2014), Les Superbes (2016) and Crève avec moi (2019).
COLIN, Mathieu – Postdoctoral researcher
Mathieu Colin is a postdoctoral researcher at the UNESCO-PREV Chair. Ph.D in Religious Sciences from the Université de Montreal, he focuses on extreme right-wing ideologies in their most radical forms: accelerationism, conspiracy, neo-Nazism. He also analyzes the cultural and religious influences of these movements, from the study of memes to esotericism.
CONCILIO, Tomas – Intern
Tomas Concilio is a student in the Master’s program in Applied Politics, Public and International Policy at the Université de Sherbrooke. He also holds a certificate in international relations, also from the University of Sherbrooke, as well as a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Montreal. He is interested in Latin American politics, particularly Argentine politics, as it is his country of origin.
COOK, Mathieu – Project SOMEONE Collaborator
Mathieu Cook is a co-holder of the UNESCO Chair in Cultural Transmission among First Peoples as a Dynamic of Well-Being and Empowerment. He is a Professor in the Department of Human and Social Sciences at UQAC, where he teaches social intervention practices in an intercultural context and social research methodology. His current research and social commitments reflect a keen interest in the conditions of immigrants and the relations between non-native and native peoples.
CROCI, Eva – Research Assistant
Eva Croci is a Master’s student in International Public Policy – with an internship – and will collaborate, as a research assistant within the UNESCO-PREV Chair, on the research for the journal Hérodote on the section related to Mapping the extreme right in the United States, with a marked qualitative and quantitative focus on the definition of violent manifestations of the extreme right in the United States. Being a Master’s student in Applied Politics at the University of Sherbrooke, after a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science at the University of Montpellier, her field of interest is focused on international crime with a particular interest in counter-terrorism research. At the same time, she is conducting a directed study on the definition of extreme right-wing violence in the West today.
DARDEVET, Marie – Intern
Marie Dardevet is a student in the Master II of International Relations at Sciences Po Toulouse. She obtained a bilingual degree in French law and Anglo-Saxon law, as well as a Master I in political science. Her research thesis was entitled “The role of cyberspace in the processes of violent Islamic radicalization”. With a keen interest in security policies and the phenomena of violent radicalization and extremism, she is completing her end-of-studies internship at the UNESCO-PREV Chair. During her internship, she will be in charge of research on misogynist ideology, antifeminism, masculinism and violence against women. She will also be working on conspiracy and conspiracy theories.
DAXHELET, Marie-Laure – Coordinator of the “Misinformation and conspiracy movements” component
Marie-Laure Daxhelet is a psychologist and associate professor at the Department of Psychology of University of Québec in Montréal (UQÀM). As part of her doctoral thesis, she focused on the issue of child soldiers and the identity transformations they experience following a military enlistment in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Since 2016, she has been the main researcher and trainer of the Research and Action on Social Polarizations (RAPS) team, a group of multidisciplinary researchers concerned with the growing polarization of society around identity issues and various manifestations of violent radicalization. A member of the UNESCO-PREV Chair since 2018, she acted as co-researcher and coordinator of an action-research project on the prevention of violent radicalization within Quebec universities. She currently works as a co-researcher and coordinator of the Chair’s projects related to misinformation and conspiracy theories.
DUFOUR, Emmanuelle – Project SOMEONE Collaborator
Emmanuelle Dufour holds a master’s degree in anthropology (Université de Montréal) focused on indigenous cultural security in a post-secondary context and a doctorate in art education (Concordia University). She is the author of the reflective and polyphonic comic strip, “C’est le Québec qui est né dans mon pays” (2021), to which more than fifty native and non-native people contributed. She works as a lecturer, graphic facilitator, and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion educational advisor at Collège Ahuntsic (Montréal).
DUSSAULT, Janie – Research Assistant
Janie Dussault is pursuing a master’s degree in applied political studies – with a specialization in research at the University of Sherbrooke under the supervision of Professor Karine Prémont and the co-supervision of Professor Marie-Ève Carignan. During her bachelor’s degree in applied political studies (international relations profile), she developed an interest in identity issues in the United States, specifically the far-right white American identity. Her master’s thesis examines how the epistemology of civil rights and anti-racist struggles is instrumentalized by white supremacist leaders on social media in the United States. Furthermore, her work stems from a desire to contribute to the scientific literature on the use of social media by far-right groups as well as on the instrumentalization of the civil rights discourse by identity nationalism.
ELSAYED, Dalia – Project SOMEONE Collaborator
Dalia Elsayed is a third-year PhD student in the Department of Education at Concordia University. Dalia’s research focuses on race, identity, intersectionality, and feminist epistemology. Her scholarship seeks to understand blackness in a global perspective, focusing particularly on the experiences of Black graduate students in Canadian institutions. In doing so, Dalia is interested in understanding the different narratives and frameworks that contribute to the construction and articulation of Black identity/identities globally.
GAREAU, Paul L. – Project SOMEONE Collaborator
Paul L. Gareau is Métis and an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta. Grounded in Métis Studies and Indigenous Studies, as well as Religious Studies, Gareau’s work centres on theory and methodology around relationality, gender, Indigenous epistemologies, land and place, and sovereignty/peoplehood.
GENDREAU, Guillaume – Intern
Guillaume Gendreau is a student at the University of Sherbrooke in the Bachelor of Applied Politics – Communication program. He works as an intern for the UNESCO-PREV Chair on mandates related to the politics and communication strategies of Quebec and Canadian political parties. After having participated in communication activities with electoral and charitable organizations, he wishes to develop his research and analysis skills in order to pursue his graduate studies. Guillaume will soon complete his bachelor’s degree and will then focus on his areas of interest, such as politics and its institutions, disinformation and new technologies.
GENDRON, Nicolas – Research Assistant
Nicolas Gendron is completing a bachelor’s degree in applied communication at the University of Sherbrooke and works as a research assistant for the Chair. He contributes to projects related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to prevent adherence to conspiracy theories, he is interested in ways to defuse false news in a context of an infodemic where disinformation circulates alongside articles published by rigorous journalists. The analysis of the influence of social networks and the role of mass media are among his research interests, particularly about scientific knowledge communication.
HALL, David – Project SOMEONE Collaborator
Cumulating more than twenty (20) years of experience in the film industry, David Hall is an accomplished producer and filmmaker whose documentary Blekkmetal, about the single edition of the festival of the same name, which took place in Norway in 2015. Critically acclaimed, the concert film explores the origins of Norwegian black metal. Mr. Hall is a researcher with Project SOMEONE’s Landscape of Hope initiative.
HOLGADO, Ema – Webmaster and social media Manager
Ema Holgado is a multidisciplinary bachelor student with certificates in applied political studies, history and contemporary religious studies at Université de Sherbrooke. Her multidisciplinary studies have led her to take an interest in the world’s major social issues in their entirety. She is particularly interested in the study of genocides and identity conflicts, but especially in resilience and the ways of rebuilding oneself as a person and a society after having gone through them. She joins the Chair to take on a new challenge as Webmaster and social network manager.
KAINE, Élisabeth – Project SOMEONE Collaborator
Élisabeth Kaine is an associate Associate professor Professor of art Art at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi. She is involved in many fields of design. She has received grants from CALQ and the Canada Council for the Arts, leading research teams on numerous projects. Élisabeth co-founded and headed La Boîte Rouge VIF from 1999 to 2017, an NPO dedicated to the promotion and transmission of Indigenous cultures. Since 2018, she has been co-holder of the UNESCO Chair in Cultural Transmission among First Peoples as a Dynamic of Well-Being and Empowerment.
LAFRANCE, Philippe – Research Assistant
New collaborator of the UNESCO-PREV Chair, Philippe Lafrance is a graduate of the master’s program in Prevention and Dispute Resolution of the Faculty of Law of the Université de Sherbrooke. With a wealth of experience in conflict management, he works within a wide spectrum of organizations, from Montreal International to the ADR of Canada, as well as causes, ranging from accessibility to underprivileged education and justice through electoral participation. Passionate about politics, he has worked in various cabinets at the municipal, provincial and federal levels. Philippe is currently Director, Business Development at Montreal International.
LALONDE, Martin – Project SOMEONE Collaborator
Martin Lalonde is a regular professor in the School of Visual and Media Arts’ education unit at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQÀM). His research interests include the impact of mobile digital technologies on teaching and learning, the intersection between the disciplines of art education and social work in the context of intervention with vulnerable populations, and amateur practices in visual and media creation among young people. Mr. Lalonde is a researcher with Project SOMEONE’s Landscape of Hope initiative.
LU, Lucy – Project SOMEONE Collaborator
Lucy Lu is a Chinese-Vietnamese Canadian practicing as an Art art Therapisttherapist, counselling therapist, and artist currently based in amiskwacîwâskahikan/Edmonton. She is the Artistic Director of Thirdspace Playback Theatre Edmonton, and where she facilitates community dialogue and storytelling with marginalized communities through this form of improvised and participatory theatre.
LUGOSI-SCHIMPF, Nykkie – Project SOMEONE Collaborator
Nykkie Lugosi-Schimpf is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta. Nykkie is a Métis and European scholar, and her work crosses the disciplines of Indigenous Studies, Political Science, and Sociology. Her research investigates issues of racism and nationalism in post-colonial (Canada and the US) and post-communist (Central Eastern Europe) contexts.
MADRIAZA, Pablo –Associate professor
Pablo Madriaza is professor of social work at the Université du Québec en Outaouais in Canada. He holds a degree in psychology and a master’s degree in anthropology, both obtained in Chile, as well as a master’s degree and a doctorate in sociology, obtained in France. He has participated in numerous research projects and publications on violence and social conflict, including school violence, delinquency, and social movements. The last period of his career has been devoted to the study of the prevention of violent extremism and hate-motivated acts, particularly from the perspective of intervention practices and program evaluation. He is particularly interested in analyzing such socio-political violence from a critical, decolonial and postcolonial approach.
MALLETTE, Benoit – Research Assistant
Benois Mallette is a Master’s student in applied politics, majoring in public and international politics at the Université de Sherbrooke. He holds an honours degree in political science with a concentration in international relations and a minor in history from McGill University. He is interested in political violence, terrorism and national security and hopes to acquire research and analytical skills through the UNESCO-PREV Chair.
MCPHAIL, Ian Seth – Communications Coordinator of Project SOMEONE
Ian Seth McPhail is a graduate student at Concordia University in Adult Education. He previously finished a B.Sc. in Criminology at l’Université de Montréal, where he worked on a range of projects addressing different moral issues — including cybersecurity and drug policy research, as well as 2SLGBTQIA+ member participation in community-based action-research projects. This experience, combined with his work as a freelance tech educator, has informed his interest in the role of normative ethics in educational decision-making. He is Project Someone’s Communications Officer.
MÉNARD, Alexandre – Intern
Alexandre Ménard is a bachelor’s student in applied politics – public policy path – at the University of Sherbrooke and acts as an intern for the UNESCO-PREV Chair. Very early in his bachelor’s degree in applied politics, he developed an interest in all questions concerning violence in politics as well as those concerning radicalization, particularly those within the university environment. Within the UNESCO-PREV Chair, he wishes to acquire and develop new skills in research in order to continue his graduate studies at the 2nd cycle and to be able to use all of his acquirements in research mainly affecting his fields of interest.
MOCKLER, Veronica – Project SOMEONE Collaborator
Veronica Mockler is a socially engaged artist and student researcher at Concordia University. Her work in contemporary art, social pedagogy, oral history, and documentary media redefines how her collaborators are heard in the face of systemic oppression. Her research-creation at the Acts of Listening Lab explores unscripted listening and speaking among activists as a practice of resilience. Her work has been developed and featured in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Uruguay, the United States, and Canada.
MONTMAGNY-GRENIER, Catherine – Project SOMEONE Collaborator
Catherine Montmagny-Grenier holds a PhD from the University of Montreal. Her doctoral dissertation, which is grounded in cultural criminology, investigates the role space plays in the (re)production of illegalisms and playful deviance (in this case, sexuality), as well as in the production of knowledge. Adopting an analytical perspective of differentiated space production, she has collaborated on several research projects regarding sex work, sexual tourism, women trafficking, homicide against women, and alternative pornography. Her current work is situated at the nexus of sexuality, consumption culture, and dystopian space.
OUSMAN, Sarah – Research Assistant
Sarah Ousman is a doctoral candidate in Psychology (Psy.D./Ph.D.) at Université du Québec à Montréal (UQÀM), and a FRQSC scholarship holder. Her thesis focuses on violence risk assessment related to radicalization and extremism. Sarah is interested in clinical intervention in the context of radicalization, in transcultural psychology, and in working with women refugees. She is also the Mapping coordinator at CPN-PREV.
PACITTI, Olivia – Student
Olivia Pacitti is currently a double master’s student in International Strategic Communication at the Université de Sherbrooke and the Catholic University of Louvain. She is currently writing an essay on the evolution of media literacy initiatives and and the fight against misinformation during health crises (COVID-19) in France and Quebec. Through this essay, Olivia wishes to study the responses and strategies put in place by media education actors in the face of the cessation of face-to-face meetings and the significant increase in misinformation (fake news, conspiracy theories, etc.) linked to COVID-19.
PALISSER, Rémi – Research Assistant
A triple master’s student in International Political Communication and Democratic Risks at the University of Sherbrooke, the Catholic University of Louvain and Sciences Po Aix-en-Provence, Rémi Palisser holds a bachelor’s degree in information-communication from the Université Paul Valéry Montpellier III and a master’s degree in research, studies and consulting in information-communication and media at the School of Journalism and Communication of Aix-Marseille. During his university career, he had the opportunity to participate in research work in partnership with the Chair, on the media treatment of the attacks of November 13, 2015 in France. Originally from this country, he is very interested in the world of media and information practices of citizens. His dissertation thus studies the paywalls on online press sites and the consequences they generate for publishers and within the behavior of Internet users.
QUIROGA, Nicolas – Research Assistant
Nicolas works on the PREV-IMPACT Canada project as a research professional. He completed a Master’s degree in International Studies at Laval University in 2020 and also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Buddhist Studies and Himalayan Languages from Kathmandu University. Nicolas has worked for the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) and is currently a consultant at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR). His areas of interest are disarmament, arms control, education, peace, and security issues in the Asia-Pacific.
RODRIGUE POULIN, Élise – Intern
Élise Rodrigue Poulin currently completing her master’s degree in educational sciences at the University of Sherbrooke. She previously completed her bachelor’s degree in preschool and elementary education at the University of Sherbrooke. For her master’s, she is interested in the role of critical thinking when teaching sciences, particularly in primary school education. This interest stemmed from the desire to teach students to think critically in regard to scientific information. Ms. Rodrigue Poulin is interested in the topics of misinformation, radicalization and extremism. She wishes to further explore these subjects and their links to education with the internship she is completing with the UNESCO-PREV Chair.
ROUSSEAU, Loïc-Alexandre – Research Assistant
Loïc-Alexandre Rousseau is currently a student in the Bachelor of applied communication – communication profile – at the University of Sherbrooke. His time in Sherbrooke led him to become interested in communications and, more specifically, public relations. Thus, his interests revolve mainly around the influence of the media on the population. Mr. Rousseau is a research assistant for the UNESCO-PREV Chair.
SCHREUER, Soline – Research Assistant
Soline Schreuer is a student in international political communication and democratic risks, a triple master’s degree straddling Sciences-Po Aix (France), the Université Catholique de Louvain (Belgium) and the Université de Sherbrooke (Canada). She also holds a bachelor’s degree in information and communication from the Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium. Journalism and media issues are among her favorite subjects. As part of her dissertation, she examines terrorism for media purposes and the media coverage of acts committed by the Islamic State in Syria in 2014.
ST-LAURENT, Méi-Ra – Project SOMEONE Collaborator
As a trained musician (classical singing and piano), Méi-Ra St-Laurent holds a doctorate in musicology from the Université Laval. Her doctoral thesis entitled Métal noir québécois: l’analyse du récit identitaire d’une communauté black metal marginale focused on a community of black metal groups from Québec, in which she draws links between music, texts and the discourses emanating from them. Previously, her master’s thesis analyzed the narrative in extreme metal music. Specifically, she studied how music and lyrics form a unique narrative, often transgressive in scope. Ms. St-laurent has published several articles in different academic journals (Metal Music Studies, Journal on the Art of Record Production or Intersections : revue canadienne de musique) and presented her work at several international conferences (Art of Record Production Conference, International Association for the Study of Popular Music, International Society for Metal Music Studies). Ms. St-Laurent works with Vivek Venkatesh as part of her postdoctoral fellowship funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). Her current research focuses on the increasing concern about the use of inclusive discourse (so-called “political correctness”) in the North American context of popular music, where she will draw connections with the circulation of hate speech in public spaces.
TAIRI, Tarik – Doctoral Candidate
Tarik Tairi is an intercultural mediator specialized in conflict resolution, intervening in the reception and integration of immigrants at SANC Sherbrooke. He is a doctoral candidate in Contemporary Religious Studies at the University of Sherbrooke. His doctoral thesis focuses on the place of Islamic religious discourse in programs for deradicalization and the prevention of violent extremism. The research will make recommendations on how to integrate Islamic religious discourse, as a calming and tolerant alternative discourse, into a prevention/deradicalization program and strategy.
TOURÉ KAPO, Leslie – Project SOMEONE Collaborator
Leslie Touré Kapo specializes in the social construction of race and its impact on the life trajectories of inhabitants from working-class neighborhoods and immigrant backgrounds. His research and teaching expertise is based on a wealth of experience in social intervention and popular education in marginalized urban spaces in France and Québec. As part of his doctorate at the National Institute for Scientific Research (INRS), he carried out an ethnographic survey exploring the process of racialization in the daily and ordinary experiences of young Montrealers. This ethnography was awarded the prize for best thesis 2020–2021 by the INRS Urbanisation Culture Société Research Centre.
TSE, Shawn – Coordinator of the Innovative Social Pedagogy Project in Edmonton
Shawn Tse 謝兆龍 is a father, multidisciplinary artist, and community organizer living in amiskwacîwâskahikan/Edmonton. His practice centres around community engagement, social justice, and storytelling from underrepresented voices. He is an actor in Thirdspace Playback Theatre, co-founder of Aiya哎呀 which dreams of new futures for Chinatowns, video director at Fallout Media, and creator of the intergenerational cooking show, Seconds, Please!
URBANIAK, Kathryn – Program Manager of Project SOMEONE
Kathryn Urbaniak has been Program Manager of Project SOMEONE since 2014. Throughout the years, she oversaw the design and development of the Project SOMEONE portal and content. She also led various projects in the field of primary prevention, including the Massive Open Online Course titled ‘From Hate to Hope: Building Understanding and Resilience’. Additionally, Ms. Urbaniak has managed more than twenty public engagement events under the Project SOMEONE and Grimposium banners. She is an accomplished learning-experience designer, instructor and researcher with degrees in educational technology, information technology, and business. She has authored publications in the fields of online hate, online communities and education. Ms. Urbaniak has trained over 1,000 teachers in 40 countries and also acted as a Canadian advisory committee member on the development of the international standard ISO 29993 (education and learning services).
VARELA, Wynnpaul – Coordinator of the innovative social pedagogy project
Wynnpaul Varela is the coordinator of the Innovative Social Pedagogy project. Since arriving in Montreal in 2009, Wynnpaul has worked as freelance editor, researcher, and learning experience designer. Before that, he taught English in Japan for 15 years. He holds a PhD in Education with a focus on how music students practise their instruments.
WALLIN, Jason – Project SOMEONE Collaborator
Jason Wallin is Professor of Media and Youth Culture in Curriculum at the Faculty of Education of the University of Alberta. With over a decade of international field research about extreme music cultures and youth, Mr. Wallin created an opportunity to address problems of sexism, racism, and fascism related to the concerns of black metal producers and consumers. As part of Project SOMEONE, he coordinated and contributed (with Jessie L. Beier, University of Alberta) to the development of an anti-hate graphic novel based on youth interviews about personal experiences with hate and hate speech. The ‘anti-hate comic’ project was widely seen, having been exhibited around the world, profiled in numerous media interviews, and having comprised a visual centerpiece to UNESCO’s Summit on radicalization and extremism in Montréal.
FORMER COLLABORATORS
To consult the list of our former collaborators, click here.