November 13, 2025 @ 8:00 am – 9:00 am UTC+0
Canada Coffee Hour is a member-led program designed to foster community and connections among Canadian members from coast to coast. Through engaging discussions and learning opportunities, these monthly virtual gatherings aim to inspire, challenge perspectives, and strengthen our shared commitment to philanthropy. Each session will have a speaker and discussion on chosen topics. Join us to connect, exchange ideas, and be part of a growing network of engaged members across Canada! If you have any questions, please contact Donna Lee.
Our speaker will be Maiwand Rahyab, the Founder and CEO of Resilient Societies.
Speaker Biography
Maiwand Rahyab is the Founder and CEO of Resilient Societies, an emerging global initiative dedicated to protecting civic space and empowering democracy advocates and human rights defenders confronting authoritarian repression or forced into exile. Inspired by his own journey of forced displacement and exile, he established Resilient Societies to build inclusive platforms—such as the Resilience Network and the Ottawa Civic Space Summit—that restore the voice, agency, and relevance of civil society actors facing transnational threats.
Before relocating to Canada, Maiwand held senior leadership roles with the National Democratic Institute and Counterpart International, and served as the inaugural Executive Director of the Afghanistan Institute for Civil Society as well as a founding member of Afghanistan 1400. His perspectives on democratic resilience, civil society, and exile politics have appeared in the Ottawa Citizen, Montreal Gazette, The Diplomat, and other leading outlets.
Maiwand is a Fulbright Scholar with a Master of Public Administration from Middlebury College, a Chevening Fellow in Democracy and Rule of Law at the University of Birmingham, and an Asia Society Fellow. Drawing on lived experience and global expertise, he brings a compelling and credible voice to urgent debates on civic space, democratic backsliding, and the future of exile activism.
This session will be 60 minutes long on Thursday, November 13th, beginning at 8AM PT | 11AM ET | 4PM GMT. If you have any questions, please contact Donna Lee at donna@forward-global.org.