Tzavta #48 with Nadia Murad and Luanne Freer
We were honored to invite our guests to an exceptional Tzavta Salon with human and women’s rights advocate, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Nadia Murad, and pioneering adventure physician Dr. Luanne Freer for an intimate dinner and conversation. The salon marked the inaugural event of Odem’s World Foundation and the beginning of an extraordinary partnership with Nadia's Initiative, the nonprofit organization founded by Nadia Murad that advocates for survivors of sexual violence and works towards rebuilding communities in crisis.
DR. LUANNE FREER - GUEST SPEAKER
Dr. Luanne Freer is the founder of Everest ER, the world’s highest altitude medical clinic, which has provided life-saving care to climbers, Sherpas, and local communities at Mount Everest Base Camp since 2003. As an emergency physician and leader in wilderness and altitude medicine, Dr. Freer has dedicated her career to advancing healthcare access in remote and extreme environments. Her work bridges the worlds of medicine and adventure, combining scientific expertise with a deep commitment to humanitarian service. Through her efforts, she has both advanced global understanding of high-altitude medicine and inspired new approaches to healthcare delivery in the most challenging conditions.
NADIA MURAD - GUEST SPEAKER
Nadia Murad is a leading advocate for survivors of genocide and sexual violence. Her New York Times bestselling memoir The Last Girl: My Story of Captivity, and My Fight Against the Islamic State is a harrowing account of the genocide against the Yazidi ethno-religious minority in Iraq and Nadia’s imprisonment by the so-called Islamic State (ISIS).
Much of her advocacy work is focused on meeting with global leaders to raise awareness of the genocide against the Yazidi people and the systemic use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. Ms. Murad is the President and Chairwoman of Nadia’s Initiative, which actively works to persuade governments and international organizations to support the sustainable re- development of the Yazidi homeland, as well as survivors of sexual violence globally.
CHRISTINA FRANGOU - MODERATOR
Christina Frangou is an independent journalist who has been recognized with some of Canada’s most prestigious awards for print journalism, including a National Newspaper Award and four National Magazine Awards. She is the 2022 recipient of the Landsberg Award, given by the
Canadian Women’s Foundation and the Canadian Journalism Foundation for her efforts to shed light on gender injustice. Her work has appeared in The Globe and Mail, The Guardian and Chatelaine, and she is a contributing editor at Maclean’s.
In 2018, she wrote a feature story for The Globe and Mail about two brave Yazidi sisters in Calgary who were desperate to be reunited with their youngest sibling. The story helped lead to the reunification of this family and raised awareness of continued injustices shown to the Yazidi community worldwide.
Odem’s World Foundation’s mission is to drive positive change through the art of salon gatherings, providing an accessible and impactful platform for sharing knowledge, fostering meaningful connections, and cultivating an equitable global community.
Odem’s World Foundation was born in a Tzavta, and this event is the culmination of eight years of Salons shaped by you, our fantastic, loyal, engaged audience.