Red Crescent honours McGill professor

Jim Torczyner awarded Gold Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Humanitarian Field

Professor Jim Torczyner, director of the McGill Middle East Program (MMEP) in Civil Society and Peace Building, was awarded the Jordan Red Crescent's Gold Medal for Outstanding Achievement in the Humanitarian Field this May. Professor Torczyner accepted the medal, presented by Jordanian Prime Minister Faisal Fayez in Amman, on behalf of the MMEP's partners, staff and volunteers who devote themselves to humanitarian and peace building efforts.

The McGill Middle East Program in Civil Society and Peace Building provides fellowships for Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian students who earn a master's degree in Social Work at McGill. These students then return to work in the program's five practice centers in the Middle East's poorest areas.

Since the MMEP began in 1997, some 26 graduates have helped Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian academic institutions and NGOs implement innovative and effective rights-based community practice programs in disadvantaged neighborhoods of East and West Jerusalem, Beersheva, Nablus and Amman. These five centers serve over 75,000 low-income individuals annually. The Canadian International Development Agency, the principal funder of the MMEP, was also recognized for its support by the Jordan Red Crescent.

Professor Torczyner used the awards ceremony to highlight the crucial link between peace building and the reduction of social and economic inequality in the Middle East: "This award is a testament to the faith of the Canadian International Development Agency and the Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian Universities and NGOs in this program who demonstrate daily that peace prevails through every single act that advances hope, equality and tolerance."