Hazara Nation

Afghan development worker and researcher
Mirwais Wardak will be in Montreal on May 22 to discuss peace-building and
civil-military relations in war-torn Afghanistan.
Hosted by Development and Peace and Oxfam-Quebec, the visit will include
several round-tables with Montreal-based international development
organisations working in Afghanistan, as well as a public conference at the
Centre 7400 at 6 PM.
Mr. Wardak will provide first-hand accounts of the changing relationship
of development and defence in the country, focussing particularly on the roles
of civil society and governments in creating a lasting peace for Afghans.
The Montreal visit is part of a week-long tour including Toronto and
Ottawa, during which Mr. Wardak will meet with Canadian MPs to discuss
Canada's role in Afghan civil society.
Development and Peace has been working in Afghanistan since 2001. The
organisation is currently working with its partners in the country on
strengthening civil society and empowering women, particularly in Ghor, Kapisa
and Parwan.
Oxfam has been present in Afghanistan since the beginning of the 1990s.
The organisation currently supports partners in different regions of the
country, particularly in Hazarajat, Badakshan where it has development and
humanitarian aid projects.

Photos taken by 20 Afghan women will be exposed at the Centre 7400
(7400 boul. St-Laurent) at 6PM on May 22.

Mr. Wardak will be available for English-language interviews in Montreal
on May 22.

Biography notes available upon request.



For further information: Eleonore Fournier-Tombs, Development and Peace,
(514) 257-8711 ext. 307, eleonore.fournier@devp.org; Justine Lesage,
Oxfam-Quebec, (514) 382-7922 ext. 237, LesageJ@oxfam.qc.ca