A GRADUATE OF North Toronto Collegiate Institute, Ben Peterson, was selected as one of nine delegates to tour Africa with Governor General Michaëlle Jean.
The tour was scheduled for April 14 to 22, with state visits to the Republic of Senegal, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of Rwanda as well as an official visit to the Republic of Cape Verde.
“It’s no vacation. It’s designed to maximize every drip of diplomatic magic in Her Excellency’s bones.Yesterday, she broke down in tears at the former slave trading fort on Goree Island in Senegal.These were not fake tears — she is one of the most emotive, and genuinely so, leaders I’ve ever had the pleasure of witnessing first-hand,” Peterson wrote on his blog.
Ben Peterson is the the executive director and co-founder of non-profit organization jhr (Journalists for Human Rights), founded in 2002 to make everyone aware of their rights. They are currently operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for jhr to showcase the importance of the media in the development of sub-Saharan Africa,” he said. He is the son of former Liberal premier of Ontario David Peterson.