McLeod Group guest blog by Rebecca Tiessen, November 14, 2019
The Conservative Party’s 2019 election platform promised significant cuts to Canada’s aid program. In response, several leading thinkers in the Canadian aid community highlighted the importance of foreign aid for a wide range of issues that affect Canadians and partner communities around the world.
Yet foreign aid remains a misunderstood and increasingly divisive issue among Canadians. It is time to strategize on ways to better communicate the positive impact of our aid programming to Canadians.
International exposure is a very effective way of enhancing knowledge about international issues, building cross-cultural understanding and facilitating global civic engagement. Volunteering abroad for development increases support for international cooperation among Canadians. Global Affairs Canada’s Volunteer Cooperation Program funds Canadian organizations to provide rich cross-cultural experiences and to build capacity around the world, while establishing avenues for ensuring global inequalities and injustices stay on our radar at home.
A 2018 study of Canadian international development volunteers shows that international volunteering experiences were directly linked to advocacy efforts on foreign aid when volunteers returned home. Returned volunteers can therefore influence Canadian international development policy as citizen advocates.
As one survey participant noted, they use their knowledge and experience “to engage parliamentarians, policymakers, the media and ordinary Canadians on global poverty issues and solutions.” Former volunteers’ experiences abroad also fostered a more critically informed view of Canada’s international role and how development work is (or should be) done.
Returned volunteers tend to prioritize global assistance as part of Canada’s efforts, are more likely to have friends in other countries and to donate more to international development NGOs, and are more likely to volunteer with international and domestic organizations. They often seek careers dedicated to addressing inequality and injustices locally and globally.
Sending Canadian youth abroad for study and experiential learning also helps build a globally engaged Canadian public. In May 2019, The Canadian government announced a new International Education Strategy. It allocates $95 million to encouraging Canadian students to study and build ties abroad, particularly in Asia and Latin America.
This initiative is meant to change Canada’s relatively low number of students studying abroad (only 11% of Canadian undergraduates study in another country). The initiative focuses in particular on opportunities for Indigenous and low-income students, as well as those with disabilities, who have historically been less likely to take part in learn/volunteer abroad opportunities.
Canadian university campuses are increasingly adopting locally based global learning, as well. International exposure does not have to involve international travel. Canada’s rich multicultural society offers an important opportunity for encouraging greater cross-cultural understanding. Several campuses are expanding opportunities for “internationalization at home” through community service learning and intercultural training programs.
The University of Ottawa’s uOGlobal program, for example, links cross-cultural understanding with career preparation and community service opportunities. Similar global engagement strategies and global citizenship recognition are offered at several other post-secondary institutions.
These strategies all promote a more globally informed Canadian citizenry. They also deepen the knowledge and understanding of global issues beyond simplistic ideas of charity. The initiatives facilitate international cooperation, build networks of global solidarity and foster friendships that cross borders and build community at home and abroad.
Together, they can contribute to a globally engaged Canadian electorate that understands and prioritizes development assistance, encouraging Canadians to be more supportive of government initiatives and programs to address global concerns. We should scale up these opportunities because they are good for Canada and Canadians, as well as for the international connections we need to build and maintain.
Rebecca Tiessen is Professor of International Development and Global Studies and University Chair in Teaching at the University of Ottawa.