Scientific Committee
Vivek Venkatesh
Concordia University
Vivek Venkatesh, PhD is an internationally renowned researcher and research-creator focused on building community resilience and tolerance against hate through a resolutely public pedagogical approach. He holds the UNESCO co-Chair in Prevention of Radicalisation and Violent Extremism (UNESCO-PREV), and is Co-Director of the Centre for the Study of Learning and Performance (CSLP) at Concordia University, where he is Full Professor of Inclusive Practices in Visual Arts and Chair of the Department of Art Education. His myriad contributions to promoting tolerance and non-violence have been co-created with community and scholastic partners, and have taken many forms: massive open online courses, multimedia portals, curricular frameworks, peer-reviewed publications, feature films, documentaries, musical soundtracks, as well as multimedia productions. He has been awarded more than $10 million (CAD) in external funding as principal or co-principal investigator, has published and presented more than 70 peer-reviewed scholarly pieces, as well as curated and performed at over 25 festival, art installation and concert events. Dr. Venkatesh's films, which have been co-produced, co-directed and co-written alongside independent filmmaker David Hall, include extreme metal documentaries Blekkmetal (2016) and Enslaved (in post-production), and the underground cultural documentary Where in the hell is the Lavender House? The Story of Longmont Potion Castle (2019). The duo have also co-produced and co-directed music videos for two songs from genre-bending musical collective Ulver's 2017 EP Sic Transit Gloria Mundi, namely Echo Chamber (Room of Tears) and Bring Out Your Dead.
