Peace and Compassion Forum
...Conversations that Inspire Connection, Kindness, and Community
Saturday, 23 May, 2026
3:00 PM - 5:30 PM
Minto Recreation Complex, Cambrian Room, 3500 Cambrian Rd, Nepean
Healing Divisions in a Diverse Community:
Bridge-Building Through Repeatable Small Steps
Purpose of the Panel Discussion
Communities across the country are becoming increasingly diverse. Different races, cultures, religions, economic backgrounds, and political beliefs now share the same neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, and public spaces. This diversity is one of our greatest strengths. But it also brings real and persistent challenges.
The truth is: diversity alone does not create unity. People can live side by side for years, even decades, without ever truly knowing each other. Physical proximity does not automatically produce a human connection. And without connection, division quietly takes root and grows.
Moderator
Khatera Akbari
Khatera is a senior executive in the federal public service with experience in both operational leadership and traditional finance and accounting.
Before joining the public service, she worked in the private sector, including audit and tax roles at KPMG, and spent part of her career on Parliament Hill with the Senate of Canada.
Khatera is a collaborative and forwardthinking leader who values strong relationships and works with her teams to drive meaningful, positive change. A lifelong learner, she is passionate about problemsolving, public speaking, and change management.
She is also active in her community, supporting small businesses and non-profit organizations. Alongside her public service career, Khatera is a facilitator with CPA Ontario and serves on the advisory board of the Canadian Institute for Media and Communication, supporting its mission and direction.
Our Panelists
Paul Adeyeye
Paul is a Community Educator who inspires through speaking, writing, and media. He promotes financial literacy, personal development, and empowerment, helping diverse communities build knowledge, confidence, and pathways to a stronger future.
Manjit Basi
Manjit is a Civic Entrepreneur and Community Builder. She brings people and sectors together to foster dialogue, trust, and collective action, vreating spaces where diverse voices connect to strengthen communities and bridge divides.
Akaash Maharaj
Akaash is a Faith and Civic Leader who advances ethical governance and unity across diverse communities. He brings global experience in dialogue, interfaith collaboration, and public service to foster trust, inclusion, and shared values.
Monique Newton
Monique is a Community Mediator and Dialogue Facilitator, leading CCRO and CICR services. She specializes in trauma-informed conflict resolution, facilitating difficult conversations, and building trust across diverse communities through practical, human-centered approaches.
Why This Conversation Matters Now
Division in diverse communities is not a new problem. But it is an urgent one Across the country, communities are experiencing deepening fault lines along racial, economic, cultural, and political lines. These divisions do not stay abstract. They show up in daily life. In the tension at a neighborhood meeting. In the silence between neighbors who have never spoken.
In the classroom, where children from different backgrounds sit near each other but remain strangers. In the workplace, where diversity is visible on the surface but genuine inclusion remains elusive. Left unaddressed, these divisions erode trust, weaken civic life, and diminish the quality of life for everyone regardless f which side of the divide they stand on.
Large-scale community change begins with small, repeated, personal actions.
This panel discussion honors that truth. It brings together voices from different professional disciplines and lived experiences to explore what those small actions look like and how each of us can begin today.
Testimonials
The Board of Directors
Approved by the General Body of Members at the AGM 2025 on Dec 14, 2025
Dr. Kanta Marwah
Dr. Jagmohan Humar, C.M.
Seleena Desjardins (Treasurer)
Dr. P. M. Vasudev (Director)
Anil Agrawal (President)
Sudeshna Chakraborty (Director)
Rajesh Jain (Vice-President)
Kameshwar Mishra (Director)
Punita Patel (Director)
Dr. Noel Salmond (Director)
Santosh Shail (Director)
Sima Vyas (Secretary)
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
(2 Oct 1869 – 30 Jan 1948)
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was born in India on October 2, 1869. After earning a degree in law from the Inner Temple, UK, in 1891, he moved to South Africa where for the next 24 years he led a peaceful and non-violent struggle against racism and discrimination faced by the Indian community.
In 1915 Gandhi returned to India and soon became the leader of India’s struggle for independence from British rule. After years of peaceful civil disobedience and resistance, freedom came to India in August 1947.
Forever committed to non-violence and truth, Gandhi has been hailed as an apostle of peace and has inspired many of humanity’s leaders who employed non-violent resistance in their struggle against oppression and tyranny.
Gandhi's Speech in Kigsley Hall, London 1931
'Vaishnav jan to' sung by artists of 124 Nations (Excerpt)
Vaishnav Jan To Tene Kahiye …
[Translation by noted Indian author and columnist Mr. Khushwant Singh. In a column written for The Hindustan Times, Mr. Singh published his English rendering of Bapu Gandhi’s favorite hymn: Vaishnav Jan To…]
A godlike man is one,
Who feels another’s pain
Who shares another’s sorrow,
And pride does disdain.
Who regards himself as the lowliest of the low,
Speaks not a word of evil against any one
One who keeps himself steadfast in words, body and mind,
Blessed is the mother who gives birth to such a son.
Who looks upon everyone as his equal and has renounced lust,
And who honours women like he honours his mother
Whose tongue knows not the taste of falsehood till his last breath,
Nor covets another’s worldly goods.
He does not desire worldly things,
For he treads the path of renunciation
Ever on his lips is Rama’s holy name,
All places of pilgrimage are within him.
One who is not greedy and deceitful,
And has conquered lust and anger
Though such a man Saint Narsaiyon has a godly vision,
Generations to come, of such a man, will attain salvation.