Rt. Hon. Michaelle Jean

Topics

Presentations

Promoting Solidarity and Compassion in Canada
Inspired by her five-year mandate as former governor general, Michaëlle Jean lays out her vision of Canada in which citizens of diverse backgrounds build upon the spirit of solidarity, compassion and reciprocity, which defines our national character, for the greater good of all Canadians.

Building Global Solidarity One Community at a Time
Drawing on her extensive experience working with grassroots communities across Canada, Latin America, Africa, Asia and Europe, Michaëlle Jean speaks from the heart about building global solidarity through meaningful actions at the local level.

Mobilizing Your Company for Social Change
Madame Jean outlines her deep conviction that the private sector can be a force for social good in communities across Canada and abroad.

Harnessing the Catalytic Powers of the Arts
Conveying her vision of the transformative power of culture, Madame Jean discusses the ways in which the arts can be instruments for citizen participation, social cohesion, inclusion and innovation.

Sustaining Women Leadership
Using her experience building networks of shelters for battered women and becoming Canada’s first female Commander-in-Chief of African descent, Madame Jean speaks passionately about the intrinsic value of women leadership and the conditions necessary to transform young women into the new generation of leaders.

Social Mediation through the Arts
Conveying the vision of their new foundation, the Michaëlle Jean Foundation, Michaëlle Jean and her husband, Jean-Daniel Lafond, discuss the ways in which the arts can be used to foster social harmony, civic engagement, inclusion and innovation.

Summary Profile

Throughout her career, she has captured the hearts and minds of Canadians and people around the world with her compassion, her grace, and her representation of our vast and diverse land.

An eloquent and natural speaker, the Rt. Hon. Michaëlle Jean will be available for a limited number of speaking engagements in 2011 through GSA. Proceeds from her engagements will go directly towards supporting her legacy, the Michaëlle Jean Foundation (FMJF). The Foundation works with business leaders, government, artists, and civic leaders to empower youth to use the arts to transform disenfranchised communities.

The Rt. Hon. Michaëlle Jean was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. She immigrated to Canada with her family in 1968, fleeing the dictatorial regime of the time.

After studying comparative literature at the Université de Montréal, she taught Italian in the Université's Department of Literature and Modern Languages. During her studies, Ms. Jean worked for eight years with Quebec shelters for battered women, while actively contributing to the establishment of a network of emergency shelters throughout Quebec and elsewhere in Canada. She later ventured into journalism and became a highly regarded journalist and anchor of information programs at Radio-Canada television and CBC Newsworld.

Rt. Hon. Michaëlle Jean will be very active in Canada and internationally in the next few years. In addition to her Michaëlle Jean Foundation she has been appointed UNESCO's Special Envoy for Haiti where she is spearheading a multilateral initiative to overhaul the education system and protect culture and heritage in Haiti.

Rt. Hon. Michaëlle Jean remains a shining example of the impact of connecting with one another in meaningful ways.

Client Testimonial:

"When she met the families of soldiers killed in Afghanistan, she showed a rare empathy for their pain. When she travelled abroad, she related as an internationally minded person to people in other situations, speaking different languages. When she went to the Arctic, she ate seal meat; when she met the poor, she was never condescending; when she gathered women's groups to Rideau Hall, she was one of them; when she handed out honours or met diplomats, she spoke to the occasion with fitting words."

Jeffrey Simpson, Globe and Mail