Victor Dahdaleh, reconnu pour son travail dans les domaines de l’éducation et de la recherche et pour son engagement philanthropique au service de la santé à travers le monde, a récemment donné un discours sur l’importance de la philanthropie en médecine après avoir reçu un doctorat honorifique en droit de York University. Un grand mécène de l’université, Victor Dahdaleh a réalisé la plus grande donation de toute son histoire, ce qui a permis la création d’un bâtiment en son nom, le Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Building. S’adressant aux diplômés de la Faculté de Santé, il les a encouragés à avoir un impact positif sur le monde. « Faites de votre mieux pour devenir de bons citoyens, investissez dans l’humain, et surtout, redonnez lorsque vous avez du succès. » Son message soulignait l’importance de la poursuite de la recherche médicale et comment le travail dans ce secteur changerait le monde pour le mieux. L’année dernière, son organisation caritative, la Fondation Dahdaleh, a financé une nouvelle unité de recherche au sein de la Faculté de Santé de York University, la Dahdaleh Institute for Global Heath. Ceci s’ajoute à son soutien financier des Chevening Scholarships, une initiative partagée avec le Ministère des Affaires Etrangères et du Commerce Extérieur du Royaume-Uni (UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office) qui donne des étudiants défavorisés accès à des études à la LSE (London School of Economics). Il poursuit le financement de recherche et d’universités médicales à travers le monde.

1. Billionaire Victor Dahdaleh
Receives Doctor of Laws Degree
From York University, Addresses
Graduates
NEWS PROVIDED BY
The Dahdaleh Foundation
Aug 24, 2016, 11:33 ET
TORONTO, August 24, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
Billionaire Canadian business leader and philanthropist Victor Dahdaleh attended the recent
annual convocation ceremony at York University, Canada, receiving an honorary Doctor of
Laws degree.
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160824/820948 )

2. Recognised for his support for education, research and global health initiatives around the
world, Dr Dahdaleh took the opportunity to address the Faculty of Health graduates,
encouraging them to strive to make a difference in the world.
"Try your best to be a good citizen, invest in people and, most importantly, when you
succeed, give something back," he said. "Contribute your time, talent, and if you are able,
your money, and you will make a difference. I had wonderful opportunities to do just that
through philanthropy and volunteering. These things matter to me and I encourage you to
find those things that matter."
Himself a York graduate, Dr Dahdaleh's relationship with the university stretches back over
40 years. His charitable organisation, the Dahdaleh Foundation, last year funded the
Dahdaleh Institute for Global Heath - a new research unit within York's Faculty of Health.
The institute, which was funded through a record $20 million donation to York, works with a
network of national and international partners to reframe the ways in which high- and low-
income countries collaborate on global health challenges. The new centre's specialisms
include indigenous populations, migration, human rights and the social determinants of
health.
The donation made Victor Dahdaleh the largest alumnus donor to York University in its
history.
Dr Dahdaleh has previously outlined the reasoning behind his support for York, and in
particular its health programme. Speaking at the Canadian High Commission in London in
October last year, he highlighted sound administration, dedicated staff, and dynamic,
forward-thinking research as the main factors which led him to back the new facility.
"What they are doing to prepare students to work around the world and improve health
outcomes is both impressive and visionary," he told an audience at Canada House.
In his recent speech at York, Dr Dahdaleh spoke of his pride at playing such a pivotal role in
expanding the work of the Faculty. "The new institute has a great objective to become the
world's leading institution for education, research and innovative thinking in its field," he
said.
Victor Dahdaleh's support for education and medical research dates back 30 years and stems
from his close relationships with leading universities - in particular in Canada and the UK.
A governor and Honorary Fellow of the London School of Economics, he has been one of the
school's leading donors, funding a range of new programmes and securing significant outside
funding. The Dahdaleh Foundation has also backed the Chevening Scholarships, a joint

3. initiative with the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office to give underprivileged students
the opportunity to study at LSE.
In Canada, Dr Dahdaleh is also an active supporter of McGill University in Montreal, one of
the world's leading centres of medical-doctoral research. In 2007, the Dahdaleh Foundation
partnered with the William J Clinton Foundation to establish the Victor Dahdaleh-Clinton
Foundation scholarship programme - an endowment in perpetuity for 16 annual scholarships
at the university. The endowment was last year doubled by the Dahdaleh Foundation and now
funds 32 scholarships, also in perpetuity. The awards are aimed at outstanding full-time
undergraduates from low-income countries.
Expanding on this support for McGill, the Dahdaleh Foundation last year made a donation to
found a new Chair in Neuroscience at the university. Building on McGill's existing world-
class research in this field, the new Chair will develop an integrated approach to the study of
chronic brain disease, incorporating diverse clinical disciplines including neurology,
psychiatry and rehabilitation science.
Both contributions are matched dollar-for-dollar by McGill and other funders.
In the UK, Victor Dahdaleh is a long-time supporter of research into cardiovascular disease,
and has funded grants for numerous academic studies at Imperial College London and at
Royal Brompton Hospital in London and Middlesex - the UK's largest specialist heart and
lung centre. He is also a Fellow of the Duke of Edinburgh Award World Fellowship, a global
network of supporters established in 1987 to extend the Duke of Edinburgh Award to young
people around the world.
The Foundation's support for education also extends to Africa, where it is a donor and partner
to the Northwood African Educational Trust - an Ethiopia-based charity which in 2014
opened a school for orphaned children in Azezo, Gondar in the northwest of the country. St
George's School is an independent co-educational school providing free, high quality
education for more than 200 children in the area.
Stressing the need for young people to look further afield, Dr Dahdaleh told York graduates:
"Preparing students to work in the far corners of the world is a noble vision. Improving health
and life expectancy in poorer countries is a moral imperative and one which the Dahdaleh
Foundation has been supporting over the last 30 years."
The business magnate also reflected on his commercial successes and urged graduates to do
their utmost day-in, day-out. "Never give up on your dreams and ambitions," he told the class
of 2016. "The future belongs to you."
Victor Dahdaleh, who also received a Doctor of Laws degree from St Francis Xavier
University in December 2015, is the owner and chairman of Dadco, a privately owned

4. investment, manufacturing and trading group established in 1915. A lifelong promoter of
closer collaboration between Canada and the UK, he served as president of the Canada-
United Kingdom Chamber of Commerce from 2004 to 2009.
For more information, visit: http://www.victordahdaleh.com
SOURCE The Dahdaleh Foundation