Warm congratulations to Ian Smillie on the publication of his memoir, Under Development, reflecting on his 50 years of learning and action in fighting poverty and advancing justice in Africa and around the world. A perceptive analyst and superb writer, and of Canada’s most accomplished and creative nonprofit leaders, Ian built breakthrough programs at CUSO,…(Read more)
The Group of 78, a Canadian non-profit promoting education and policy solutions for planetary survival, is hosting its annual conference in Ottawa on September 27 and 28, 2024 with the title of Citizens Confront Climate Crisis. Featured speakers will include leading-edge environmental campaigners, scholars, policy researchers, and an Indigenous Elder from the Ottawa-Gatineau region. For…(Read more)
“We need more defiant optimism in the face of adversity,” declared Jagmeet Singh, Leader of Canada’s New Democratic Party, in giving the Bell Lecture at Carleton University in Ottawa on April 30, 2024. “I learned from my mother that the phrase for that is Chardi Kala.” Mr. Singh also recounted the ways in which his…(Read more)
Following an expert consultation in early 2024, the International Labour Organization recently published its definition of a living wage. “A living wage is a level of pay that gives workers and their families a decent standard of living. This includes being able to afford basic needs such as food, housing, healthcare, education, transport and clothing”…(Read more)
Following the recent passing by both main political parties in Parliament of a bill that cruelly criminalizes Ghanaians who identify as LGBTQ+ persons and anyone promoting gender diverse lifestyles, the country’s President has asked Ghana’s Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of the bill. The Minister of Finance has warned that the country could…(Read more)
“Corporate leaders and investors have been slow to treat violence against women as a major risk and mitigate accordingly,” argues Singapore-based SWEEF Capital in the latest webinar in its Gender ROI Insight series. GBV in the workplace can range from aggressive language and financial coercion to physical injury and sexual assault. Focusing on survivor-centred approaches,…(Read more)
Farmworkers in the Fair Food Program, the award-winning initiative of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers based in southwest Florida, have negotiated heat-safety rules on FFP farms that are judged to be the best in American agriculture. Under this scheme, “every worker takes a 10-minute break every two hours during the hottest part of the year.…(Read more)
The 2024 conference of the Canadian Association of International Development Professionals in partnership with the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University was held from February 20 to 22 in Ottawa and online. The theme of the conference was Development Cooperation in a Time of Geopolitical Instability. The event featured excellent keynote addresses…(Read more)
A recent post by the International Finance Corporation highlighted an investment by Circulate Capital, a Singapore-based climate fund, in Union J Plus in Thailand, “a women-owned and led company that collects and recycles large volumes of domestic plastic waste in Thailand and converts it primarily into premium, food-grade polyolefin plastic”. The injection of capital “will…(Read more)
UN Women’s theme for International Women’s Day 2024, on March 8, 2024, is Invest in Women, Accelerate Progress. Key areas of action, the agency says, include investing in gender equality as “the greatest human right challenge”; ending poverty; implementing gender-responsive financing; shifting to a green economy and care society; and supporting feminist changemakers. For more…(Read more)
