The world speaks in dichotomies. North, South. Rich, Poor. Male, Female. Young, Old. These dichotomies, we are told, provide us with structure and order. They allow us to classify the world around us to be better equipped to function within it. But, in this simple act of someone giving me shoes, I can’t help but wonder if these very dichotomies do more to hinder rather than promote, the just treatment of others.

Capacity building. Education. Empowerment. These have been buzz words in the international development community for some time - and for good reason. Those in international development have learned that it is better to work in partnership, rather than simply doing things for others. And what better place to put this philosophy into practice than in your own organization? Enter internships.

Malcolm Fraser the former Prime Minister of Australia, declared that “Reconciliation requires changes of heart and spirit, as well as social and economic change. It requires symbolic as well as practical action.” The world in which we live is deeply broken. Humanity is self-serving, for evidence simply look at the hunger for power we pursue at [...]

I’m flying Kenya Air on my way to Kigali, writing on the back of an airsick bag. It’s unused. I don’t get sick when I fly, I just get sick of flying. Sure it’s still a bit of a rush to travel to new and incredible places that for years only existed on a map for me, but eventually it does wear you down.

An active citizen is one who takes an active, rather than passive, role in their community. For example, an individual who sits on neighbourhood watch, a parent on student council, or a friendly face at a homeless shelter. Of course, community can be explained on a variety of scales – there’s your home community (those individuals living in close proximity to you), work community and social community. Geographically speaking, community can mean neighbourhood, city, region, province or country. And in today’s “global village” community can extend around the world. Active citizens, then, are those who get engaged in any level of community, seeking to help encourage and foster the common good – that which benefits the majority.

I just returned from Washington DC this afternoon and was expecting traffic, security and a military presence at the airport here in Toronto. Didn’t see much of that, but I did see a line up of large jets right next to Air Force One. Check out my Black Berry photo. For a moment I was [...]

“Failure is to fail to learn from failure.”
~ Ian Smillie, What’s Next? 2010
Consider a room of nearly 100 young adults committed to positive and sustainable change. Now add to this a group of strong mentors in the field of social justice and international development. Welcome to the reality of what was What’s Next?
On Friday [...]

I really have no idea what tomorrow will bring, but this Friday, June 11, 2010, What’s Next? In Development will not only ask questions, but also examine a few new trends and ideas in the field of international development. With a full slate of remarkable speakers and challenging breakout sessions, I can assure you the discussion will be rich and robust.

All of this spectatorship adds up to lost opportunity. Undeveloped human capital. It’s the antithesis of capacity building. As someone who works in the field of international development, who sees issues of genuine human concern the world over, I often wonder what we could do if we invested all this time. I want to say it’s wasted. I want to say it’s irresponsible on some level to abuse the privilege we all have. I won’t. I wonder though.

For many, development may appear like an oil spill: Something too big and too burdensome for any one person to concern themselves with. For in development, as is the case in cleaning up an oil slick, every time one issue is dealt with, another issue springs up with far reaching effects, hindering progress around it in a ripple effect. Like the swells in the Gulf of Mexico, spreading the oil, threatening to devastate all that it touches.