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Our Mission | Munk Debates

Our Mission

Peter and Melanie Munk

The late Peter Munk (1927-2018) and wife Melanie founded the Munk Debates as a signature initiative...

Peter and Melanie Munk

The late Peter Munk (1927-2018) and wife Melanie founded the Munk Debates as a signature initiative of their private foundation. The Munks are among Canada's leading philanthropists, having generously donated more than $300 million to improve healthcare, support higher education, and advance public policy discussion and debate. Peter Munk was a Companion of the Order of Canada, Canada’s highest public honour, and the recipient of numerous other awards and distinctions. Melanie Munk is a passionate advocate for patient care, public health, and recognizing the service and dedication of nursing and support staff in Canada’s healthcare system.

Rudyard Griffiths

Rudyard Griffiths is the chair and moderator of the Munk Debates. He is the author of...

Rudyard Griffiths

Rudyard Griffiths is the chair and moderator of the Munk Debates. He is the author of Who We Are: A Citizen's Manifesto and has edited various essay collections on Canadian and international politics and history. He has been a television news anchor on BNN, CTV and Bloomberg TV and columnist with the NATIONAL POST and The Toronto Star. He is the chair of the Ontario 360 public policy initiative at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, where he is also a senior fellow. For debate related content and commentary follow Rudyard at @rudyardg.

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 mainstage debates in Toronto, Canada, the world’s only one-on-one debate podcast,  the Munk Dialogues series, national election debates, and debates on social media.
 
Past presenter include Henry Kissinger, Laura Ingraham, Stephen Fry, Michelle Goldberg, Paul Krugman, Dambisa Moyo, Fareed Zakaria, Anne Applebaum, Tony Blair, Kimberley Strassel, Christopher Hitchens, Samantha Power and Jordan Peterson, among dozens of other compelling thinkers and doers.
 
As our democracy becomes dangerously polarized, we believe that civil and substantive public debate is a vital public good.
 
Everyone should have the opportunity to hear both sides of an issue and then make up their own mind about where they stand.
 
The Munk Debates are a project of the Aurea Foundation, a Canadian charity established by the late Peter Munk (1927-2018) and Melanie Munk.

The Debates are supported by range of private and public donors including our active Munk Members community.
 
Consider become a Munk Member to support more and better public debate.

Rudyard Griffiths
Chair, The Munk Debates
@rudyardg

Debate Highlights