Championing civil and substantive
public debate.
About Us
Our mission is to help the world rediscover the art of civil and substantive public debate by convening the brightest thinkers of our time to weigh in on the big issues of the day.
We have done this year in and year out since 2008 by hosting in-person debates in Toronto, Canada, the world’s only one-on-one debate podcast, in-depth interviews with original thinkers, and Canada’s only federal election debate on foreign policy.
Our activities are funded by individual member donations and the generous, long-term support of the Munk family.
We are a program of the Aurea Foundation; a Canadian sister foundation to the Peter and Melanie Munk Charitable Foundation.
All donations and revenues garnered through our activities are used to support the Munk Debates.
Peter Munk, Founder
The Munk Debates are the living legacy of Peter Munk (1927–2018).
As an industrialist, serial entrepreneur, and stalwart champion of free speech, Peter Munk made an indelible impression on Canada.
The foundational experience of his remarkable life was fleeing Nazi persecution in Europe to find welcome and a new future in Canada.
His love of democracy, liberty, and commitment to risk taking and global relevance are the bywords of the Munk Debates.
In the Munk Debates, we honour Peter’s outsized contribution to Canada and his commitment to free, open, civil and substantive public debate.
Our Team
Rudyard Griffiths
Rudyard Griffiths is the chair and moderator of the Munk Debates. He is a senior fellow at the Munk School for Global Affairs & Public Policy, bestselling author and the publisher of The Hub, Canada’s leading online news outlet for public policy debate and analysis.
He has been a television news anchor on BNN, CTV and Bloomberg TV Canada, and columnist with the NATIONAL POST and The Toronto Star.
Ricki Gurwitz
Ricki Gurwitz is Managing Director at the Munk Debates. She started her career as a producer at WABC News Talk Radio in New York City, moving to Toronto in 2008 to take over production of The Bill Carroll Show on Newstalk 1010 Radio.
In 2011, Ricki made the switch to television, joining CTV News Channel as a segment and associate producer. In 2015 Ricki left CTV to produce and write her first feature documentary, The Accountant of Auschwitz, which aired on Netflix and for which she won three Canadian Screen Awards: Best History Documentary, Best Visual Research, and Best Editorial Research.
