The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been raging for many years now and the number of victims is multiplying. Especially over there, yet also here in Canada and more specifically in Montréal where young Arabs and Jews, their eyes full of anxiety, their minds confused over the controversy, are in daily contact. However, three Arabs and three Jews studying at McGill University decided to take action in an attempt to build a bridge between the two communities. As a response to the wave of tension, they decided to establish the Yalla newspaper in which young Arabs and Jews can express, in a constructive manner, their frustrations in regard to a conflict that is drawing them farther apart and making them tear each other to pieces. Never before has a project of this kind succeeded in uniting the young people of these two communities. The 200 pages of the first edition of Yalla, featuring short stories, poems, essays and photographs, is meant to be a reflection of the daily lives of these youngsters, their personal experience, and is an invitation to readers to better understand one another even though they may not always share the same beliefs. Bringing with it a breath of fresh air, Yalla is paving the way for a better understanding between the two nations.
For more information >>>

When seven students at the École Polytechnique de Montréal decided to join the Comité international de Projets Outre-mer (CIPO), they had no idea that their project of building a processing and storage centre for shea nuts (a small, highly nutritious nut) would have such a phenomenal impact on the economic future of a small village in Mali. Indeed, since this small, dynamic group visited Siby, the Maison du karité project has taken shape and given rise to a kind of civil awakening in regard to the contribution of women to the village’s economic activities. Although the village is located less than 60 kilometres from the Malian capital of Bamako, it had never possessed an appropriate infrastructure enabling it to take advantage of the unexpected gift within its grasp, that is to say the largest shea nut crop in the country. Today, thanks to the commitment of these Polytechnique students, the setting up of the Maison du karité has helped increase the economic potential of the cultivators of this crop and women in rural areas have joined forces in order to participate in the country’s socio-political life. The cooperative has already produced its first pots of shea nut butter… and changed the lives of a great number of women.
For more information >>>