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UPCOMING EVENTS:
Ottawa Chapter announces partnership with Young Environmental Professionals (YEP) - Over the past few months the Ottawa chapter of Canada25 has been discussing a formal partnership with our counterparts in YEP. These discussions have cumulated in a formal partnership to keep our respected members informed of events in both groups and most importantly to co-host a high-profile panel discussion on Canada's role in addressing climate change.
This event will focus on follow-up to the major United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Montreal in November/December 2005, and how well Canada's climate change plan is helping us meet our Kyoto Target. The tentative date for this event is April 25. More details will be forthcoming.
PAST EVENTS:
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Civic Engagement Regional Roundtable:
The Ottawa Chapter of Canada25 held its regional roundtable on November 5 2005 at the historic Langevin Block overlooking Parliament Hill. The Roundtable was pleased to host members of Elections Canada and Exchanges Canada as observers.
After the welcome address and introductions participants broke off into two breakout groups to discuss political and civil society engagement. The groups discussed the importance of each form of engagement and began identifying clear barriers to why more people are not engaged.
At lunch participants listened to Ottawa City Councillor Clive Doucet (www.clivedoucet.com) as he discussed the importance of civic engagement with respect to the role of cities within Canada and the importance of climate change and sustainability. Councillor Doucet was very pleased to see so many young people discussion this important topic in the community and was happy to attend.
After lunch participants returned to their breakout groups where policy recommendations for overcoming the identified barriers and further promoting civic engagement was discussed. When participants returned to Plenary, our larger discussions were inspired by a presentation by Project Porchlight (www.onechange.org) a grassroots initiatives to replace one lightbulb in every house with compact fluorescent bulbs in order to reduce pollution and greenhouse gases, and raise awareness of these very important issues.
The roundtable was a complete success due to the energy and creativity of Participants and the organizing team. A Chapter report on the days findings and recommendations will be posted soon. The Ottawa Chapter is also encouraging participants to apply to become delegates at the National Forum.
- After Live 8: Is the music still playing for Africa? On August 31, 2005, the Ottawa Chapter of Canada25 hosted his Excellency the High Commissioner of Nigeria, Olufemi Oyewale George to speak to the results of the recent Gleneagles G8 meeting (www.g8.gov.uk) and what they mean for Nigeria. Approximately 40 members of Canada 25 attended.
Over the course of his speech the High Commissioner outlined the history of the G8 commitment to Africa and then proceeded to outline where progress has been made against those commitments and where significant challenges remain.
The High Commissioner noted that progress had been made with the pledge to cancel 100% of the debt of Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs) and in supporting peace keeping operations in Africa especially with respect to Sudan.
Some of the challenges that the High Commissioner noted was that many of the commitments agreed to at Gleneagles would only come into effect years from now and may never be fulfilled given the potential for changes in governments and government priorities. He also stressed the need to move away from the traditional thinking that providing aid and outside support will solve the problems of African development, and that Nigeria specifically would greatly prefer increases in foreign direct investment and the reduction of trade barriers to Nigerian products.
Overall it was an enlightening and though provoking evening. This event no doubt raised the level of knowledge and interest in this topic among C25 Ottawa members. I believe the quote that the High Commissioner used to conclude his remarks is worth posting for the consideration of members unable to attend the event.
“Africa is not just a place; it’s a million places. It’s a million voices… no one photograph could capture the mystery, the diversity and the surprise of Africa as it moves forward. Africa is one of the most hopeful continents in the world. It is a continent with a bright future…” – Chris Jones, National Geographic Editor-in-Chief
To view the full text of the Ambassador George's speech click here.
To check out some pictures of the event click here and here.
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Presentation to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and
International Trade, and Standing Committee on National Defence and Veteran's Affairs. - On Tuesday, May 31st Canada25 was invited to present the ideas and recommendations outlined in "From Middle to Model Power: Recharging Canada's
Role in the World" to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign
Affairs and International Trade. This presentation was a tremendous opportunity for Canada25 to influence key
parliamentarians as they review the government's recently published
International Policy Statement (IPS) and begin to debate Canada's foreign
policy for the coming decade. This presentation was so highly regarded that a subsequent invitation from the Standing Committee on National Defence and Veteran's Affairs was extended and accepted by C25 members.
After the presentations the committees conducted a question and answer period
during which other recommendations were highlighted and discussed. The
committee members were significantly impressed by the quality of the
report's ideas and the concept of Canada25. Consequently the ideas of our
members will help to shape the parties' platforms and influence the foreign
policy debate. More importantly, this presentation has positioned Canada25
as an important and credible resource for future parliamentary committees,
providing our members with another important vehicle to influence public
policy.
- A discussion about democracy and elections with Canada's Chief Electoral Officer - On May 25th, 2005, Canada's Chief Electoral Officer Jean-Pierre Kingsley met with
20 members of Canada25's Ottawa chapter to discuss the issue of low voter
turnout among young Canadians. This event was directly related to this year's
National Policy Project, 'Civic Engagement'.
Mr. Kingsley shared his belief that declining voting rates among first time
voters are linked to a sense of detachment youth feel towards their society
and history. Specifically, he posited that a decline in the teaching of
history and civics is at the root of the problem. Canada25 members suggested that other factors might also be coming into
play. Some pointed to increasing participation of youth in voluntary
organizations as evidence that young people do not feel disconnected from
their society. Instead, young people fail to vote because political
parties, focussed on the baby boomers generation, neglect the policy issues
that matter to youth.
Mr. Kingsley was impressed with the discussion and told Canada25 members
that their theories would be tested in Election Canada's ongoing
consultations and surveys. In short, the discussion provided another
excellent example of how Canada25 members can positively shape policy
development and programs at the local, provincial and even national level.
- NATO in Transition - On Friday March 11, 2005, Canada25 members particpated in a Conference of Defence Associates informal roundtable on the subject of 'Nato in Transition'. The CDA Chairman, Lieutenant-General Richard Evraire (ret'd), hosted the event and Mr Charles Court, Canada's Deputy Permanent Representative to the Canadian Joint Delegation to NATO, provided an insightful key note address. The discussions that followed on the role of NATO past, present and future were stimulating and the CDA highly valued the informed and innovative perspectives of Canada25 members. After the seminar, members of the CDA expressed interest in further involving Canada25 in other events in order to include the views of young Canadians in their work.
- Launch of From Middle to Model Power - On January 24th, 2005 the official Ottawa launch of the 'Model Power' report was held in style at the Lester B. Pearson building, the headquarters of Canada's Foreign Affairs Department. The launch took the form of a brief presentation of the report and a subsequeant panel discussion between foreign policy experts including panel discussion on the future of Canadian foreign policy with Jennifer Welsh, Andrew Cohen, Robert Greenhill and Canada25er David Eaves. There was good media coverage of this event from across the country including articles on the event from the Globe and Mail and National Post. The event also coincided with the release of the federal International Policy Statement, parts of which clearly reflect aspects of the Canada25 report.
- Human Rights Policy Roundtable - On January 14, 2005 a Human Rights Roundtable was co-hosted in Ottawa by the Canadian Institute of International Affairs (CIIA) and Canada25, with the support of Foreign Affairs Canada (FAC). At issue was whether human rights are the key to sustainable peace, security and development. The Roundtable was held as a prelude to FAC’s February consultations with the CIIA and other key civil society organizations prior to the annual meeting of the UN Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR), the Roundtable provided a broad perspective for considering the more specific issues addressed in the subsequent consultations. Canada25 participants provided valuable insight from the perspective of young Canadians. Members were centrally engaged in the discussion session, and feedback from other attendees suggested that the views of Canada25 members were highly valued. A submission, authored by one of the participants, Patrick Quealey on the issue of human rights was provided and can be found below on this page under 'individual contributions'.
PUBLICATIONS:
INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTIONS:
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Chapter Leaders:
Patrick Quealey and Samir Chhabra
ottawa@canada25.com
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