MONTREAL- Montreal has the dubious distinction of being the host to a trio of tragic school shootings.

It has now, hopefully, started to reverse its reputation for such senseless tragedies by welcoming a unique conference on youth and violence which kicked off Thursday at Dawson College, and will continue until Saturday afternoon at the Sheraton Hotel.

The presentations include one from retired military officer David Grossman about the possible negative effects of playing violent video games. Peace Activist Jerzy Novak will discuss the Virginia Tech killings which claimed 33 lives, including that of his Montreal-born wife.

Conference co-ordinator Mary Hlywa knows firsthand the devastation caused by school shootings; she was teaching when Kimveer Gill launched his 2006 attack at Dawson College.

"When it comes to your door and you see it in front of you, for myself I knew I just not could be a bystander anymore," said Hlywa.

She, along with other teachers, decided to invite experts in the field to address why people turn to violence.

"In the 60s you know you had violence from students that was associated with some type of protest, but now you're finding more random violence," said Darryl Holloman, the assistant VP at Columbus State University.

In August 2010, one gunman opened fire at CSU, injuring no one but frightening many. The gunman has never been found.

Heidi Rathjen, Francinie Pelletier and Wendy Cukier will discuss the 1989 Polytechnique massacre and there will also be a deep probe of the roots of bullying, including one by expert Barbara Coloroso and another concerning murdered British Columbia teen Reena Virk.

The horrific problem first hit Montreal in 1989 with the Polytechnique massacre and returned in 1992 with four killings committed by Professor Valeri Fabrikant at Concordia. It hit for a third time at the hands of Kimveer Gill at Dawson in 2006.

Hayder Kadhim survived Gill's attack, and is using the conference to showcase Youth4Youth, an initiative he has launched to address violence.

"The first workshop is called Increase the Peace, where we talk about gang violence," said Kadhim.

Pat Romano who co-organized the conference said that school shootings are, thankfully, still uncommon. "But they shock us less, so for us it's a sign we need to address this issue and think about it for the future."