Wajahat Ali, voted by CNN as one of the 25 most influential Muslims, will be in Corner Brook for a speaking engagement Tuesday.
Ali, who was once called a generation change leader by former American secretary of state Hillary Clinton, will be the keynote speaker at Diversity Summit 2018, which started Monday and runs until Wednesday at the city’s civic centre.
Ali will be making his keynote address, followed by a question and answer session moderated by The Western Star managing editor Troy Turner, from 11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. during Tuesday’s conference portion of the summit.
The son of Pakistani immigrants to the United States, the multi-faceted Ali counts lawyer, writer, and media personality amongst his roles.
Recognized as an emerging Muslim American artist by the Muslim Public Affairs Council, he helped launch the Al Jazeera America network, where he has worked as co-host, correspondent, reporter, and social media expert.
Ali’s writing and producing credentials include “The Domestic Crusaders,” the first major play about Muslim Americans, post-9/11; a television show about a Muslim American cop, the series “The Secret Life of Muslims;” and “Fear, Inc.: The Roots of the Islamophobia Network in America.”
His writing has also appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and Salon and he regularly appears on CNN.
As a community participant and former creative director of Affinis Labs, Ali has fostered various entrepreneurial initiatives to help solve pressing global issues by employing a sustained focus on technology, innovation, and the global Islamic economy.
A resident of Washington, D.C., Ali also worked with the U.S. Department of State on the Generation Change leadership program, which empowers young entrepreneurs and has chapters in eight countries.
Organized with a broad range of partners, funders, and sponsors, Diversity Summit 2018 brings together local business leaders and community stakeholders to discuss the opportunities and challenges of immigration and growing cultural diversity in Newfoundland and Labrador.
