Life As A Refugee
Life As A Refugee (LAAR) commemorates World Refugee Day. It is an opportunity to bring our community together to increase awareness and understanding of refugee issues.
We are thrilled to announce that this year we are virtually hosting the 13th annual Life As A Refugee (LAAR) event Moving Forward Through Adversity on June 18th, 2021. Join us to hear our inspirational Keynote Speaker, Tareq Hadhad, Founder and CEO of Peace by Chocolate, our enlightening refugee panel sharing their resilient stories of migration and resettlement, and cheer on our community award winners and so much more!
[LAAR 2021 Promotional Poster]
About our LAAR 2021 Keynote Speaker:
Tareq Hadhad was a Syrian refugee and now living his new life with his entrepreneurial family on Canada’s east coast. He is the founder and CEO of Peace by Chocolate, the recipient of Start Up Canada’s National Newcomer Entrepreneur Award, named one of the Top 25 Immigrants in The Maritimes and selected by Google as the National Hero Case for 2018 and most recently was awarded RBC’s Top Immigrant Award and Entrepreneur of the Year in 2020.
Since Tareq’s arrival on Canada’s East Coast in 2015 as a Syrian – Canadian newcomer, he has been invited to speak to countless audiences across Canada and internationally. He has had the privileged to meet former President of the United States, Barack Obama, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and had conversations with many World Leaders.
His family’s journey has been detailed in a book called Peace by Chocolate and in spring 2021 we see the release of their story released in a feature film.
In January 2020, Tareq received his official Canadian Citizenship which garnered international attention and he can’t wait to collect stamps in his passport.
Thank you to our funder:
Thank you to our sponsors:
To be announced
Thank you to our community partners:
Collège Boréal, Carrefour Communautaire Francophone de London, London & Middlesex Local Immigration Partnership, London Public Library, LUSO Community Services, Pillar Nonprofit Network, Merrymount Family Support and Crisis Centre, South London Neighbourhood Resource Centre, the Western Centre for Research on Migration and Ethnic Relations, WIL Employment Connections and the YMCA of Southwestern Ontario