Notice Board

The Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA) presents a session with the vice-president of the Canadian Red Cross as she discusses where the society is active today and the issues it currently faces.

Canadian Red Cross – An Overview and Update on Current Responses

Thursday, May 19, 2022 – 12 to 1 p.m. MDT

YouTube Live link: https://youtu.be/IZ_rovCC0UE

The Canadian Red Cross has played a significant role in Canadian society for over 120 years, helping people and communities in Canada and around the world in times of need and supporting communities in strengthening resilience. The speaker will provide an overview of the Canadian Red Cross’ membership in the IFRC (International Federation Red Cross), as well as discuss their mandate, mission and fundamental principles and how they work in Canada and around the world. Additionally, the speaker will reflect on the Canadian Red Cross’ work and learnings from the COVID-19 pandemic; and provide an update on the Ukraine humanitarian crisis.

Speaker:     Jennifer McManus

Jennifer McManus brings a unique perspective to her position as vice-president, having travelled to over 40 countries. Her first meaningful exposure to the Canadian Red Cross was as a youth in water safety leadership. Later, during her undergraduate studies in political science at Simon Fraser University and the Chinese University of Hong Kong, she took a course on the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, after which she specialized in international relations with a focus on public international law. She spent part of her degree overseas in Hong Kong researching the handover of Hong Kong from British administration to the People’s Republic of China and spent time in Nepal volunteering with their national society’s detention monitoring program. Jennifer also volunteered with the Canadian Red Cross Humanitarian Issues Program in Alberta. Additionally, her experience includes evaluating programs for Indigenous youth for the Canadian Red Cross in Treaty 7. Jennifer’s current role includes supporting the provincial operation, as well as external and government relations. She has provided leadership on the COVID-19 pandemic, northern Alberta spring floods in 2020, Fort McMurray and area wildfires in 2016 and southern Alberta floods in 2013. Jennifer was awarded a Senate 150th Anniversary Medal in 2017 for her leadership role in the wildfires in 2016 in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. At the top of her long list of achievements, Jennifer adds being a mother of two growing boys who want to explore the world. Previous overseas trips to Iceland, Myanmar and Colombia have allowed her to see the impactful work of these national societies.

To ask questions of our speaker in the chat feature of YouTube, you must have a YouTube account and be signed in. Please do so well ahead of the scheduled start time, so you’ll be ready. Go the YouTube Live link provided in this session flyer and on the top right of your browser click the “sign in” button. If you have Google or Gmail accounts, they can be used to sign in. If you don’t, click “Create Account” and follow along. Once you are signed in, you can return to the live stream and use the chat feature to ask your questions of the speaker. Remember, you can only participate in the chat feature while we are livestreaming.

Link to SACPA’s YouTube Channel:  https://www.youtube.com/c/SouthernAlbertaCouncilonPublicAffairs.

For further information on the Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs, visit the SACPA website.