This award was presented by the Honourable Chris Alexander, Canada's Minister of Immigration, and Mr. Ian Troop, CEO of Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games.
Dr. Hugo de Burgos, originally from El Salvador, is an Anthropologist, filmmaker, activist and professor at UBC. After his mother was kidnapped and disappeared in the 80s, Dr. Hugo de Burgos fled El Salvador and came to Canada, 18 years old and alone. A multiple award-winning anthropology professor/researcher at the University of British Columbia, filmmaker, and a respected international activist, his latest recognition is the Paul Farmer Award for outstanding anthrolpology teaching. In 2010, he won Public Anthropology's Eleanor Rossevelt Global Citizenship Award for inspiring university students to take part in the global community and act responsibly; less than 1% of anthropology professors in North America receive this award. He also received two Izaak Killam Memorial Scholarships, the Government of Canada's Social Sciences Award, and is a member of both the American and the Canadian Societhy of Anthropology.
Education: BA (McGill University), MA (University of Toronto), PhD (University of Alberta).