CIDA and CSR

I don't know enough about this topic to comment adequately. But I know that CIDA's new corporate social responsibility strategy - funding corporations' CSR programs - is controversial, particularly when CIDA is cutting funding to NGOs.

CBC's The Current does a much better job at looking at the debate. Today's program devotes a half hour to this topic. You can listen to it on their Past Episodes page.  

What's it like doing humanitarian assistance in conflict affected contexts?

CBC's "The Current" had a half-hour documentary today looking at the experiences of three aid workers with Médicins Sans Frontières (MSF or Doctors Without Borders). You can listen to the podcast version here. Or go to the Current`s website to see past episodes.

If it's not for you - it's ok to get out

I have a couple of posts about how to get into aid work. I've been invited to speak on a couple of occasions to university students and to young people about aid work.  Most of the questions are about how to break in.

I usually try to stay pretty positive, but realistic – not mincing words about how much you may need to schlep before you “break in”. I have warned people looking at this field of work of the difficulties they may face – namely that the work may not be for the a) faint of heart or b) easily annoyed. I had not thought – however- to tell people that it is ok to quit. And more importantly, that it will not ruin your career. The message is important, and not one I’d thought sharing before.

Alanna Shaikh at Blood and Milk wrote a post on quitting the Peace Corps back in November.  I had wanted to post this for a while. It think it is an extremely important message – not just for Peace Corps volunteers, but anyone heading off on a longer term volunteer/internship program that really would like to take on a career in humanitarian aid and development. In Canada this could be CUSO VSO or the International Youth Internship Program which comparably throws you out of your comfort zone. The position could be wrong for you. You may feel isolated, lonely, homesick or worse, unsafe. There are a number of reasons why this particular position may not be the right fit - it doesn't mean that your not cut out for aid and/or development work. 

I wish someone had said this to me. I had an internship where the head of the office was verbally abusive to all staff, and physically abusive to some. There were times where I actually thought I was in physical danger. Colleagues were physically ill with stress when he was in the office. But I did not think I could quit because I worried that I would not have another shot at an international internship or job. So I stuck it out and eventually was moved. I know now that I likely could have jumped ship and started over. I may have taken a different path, but I could still have worked in the same field.

So I have taken note. I’m sharing the post. And in the future I will be sure to mention that it is ok to quit. 

Walk a Mile in Her Shoes

I will start off by saying I should have posted this during the 16 Days. I've mentioned before that one of the things I really like about my job is the fact that I get to go to cool events and hear awesome people speak. So - I got to attend "Because I Am A Girl" launch in Ottawa. The project is the brainchild of Plan International that looks to highlight the plight but also the resilience of girls globally. The campaign's goal is to empower and improve the lives of girls and women - in an aim for gender equity - and it is frankly... awesome. The campaign has been running for 5 years now, and this year it is on "So, What About Boys?" It's really great - and everyone should check out the BIAAG reports and resources. But I digress. The real reason I wanted to write is because at this event I had the fortune of sitting beside the Executive Director of the White Ribbon Campaign. An organisation that encourages men to help stop violence against women. It's an incredible organisation that I was aware of in a Canadian context, but I had no idea that the campaign was global. It's actually in about 60 countries (I may have counted wrong... I should never work with numbers). So check out them because they are doing fantastic work to recognise the role that men can play in fighting violence against women and breaking down barriers to gender equity. On a related note I also wanted to post this video from Simon Fraser University's Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies department taking part in the Walk a Mile in Her Shoes Campaign to fight violence against women (featuring such notable personalities as David Suzuki and the Mayor of Vancouver, Greg Robertson) Men raise money for to stop gender based violence by literally walking a mile in pumps. These events are happening all over the place and you can see if one is happening in your area on the webpage's calendar. I tell you - I always thought David Suzuki was pretty dreamy. And then I saw him in stilettos... In other news - I have been really poor about posting for this year. It's mostly a combination of being unenthused with life and also taking up writing as a job. Basically the last thing I want to do after work is write more words on paper. Hopefully that will change soon.

Celebrities helping causes the best way they can

Thank you Funny or Die

Ending impunity for human rights abusers

Interesting opinion piece in the New York Times by Kathryn Sikkink on prosecuting leaders who use - or turn a blind eye to - gross human rights abuses in their country. Research apparently shows that states that have prosecuted leaders for this are less likely to have their future leaders practice human rights abuses.

The next fight in global human rights

For work I had to provide some comments on the Draft Guiding Principles on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights. I saw that a number of groups were provided for in some sense or another, this included special consideration for women, children, ethnicities (sort of - a little sparse on the indigenous) and also a variety of ages and disabilities. Yet scanning through there was no mention of sexual orientation. There are 82 countries in the world where homosexuality is illegal. Countries such as Iran and Uganda have moved towards stricter, harsher penalties for those suspected of engaging in same sexual encounters. It's a global uphill battle facing prejudice that no other form of discriminated group has faced in recent history (controversial statement I know - but at least, globally, with a number of other persecuted groups people do not pretend that they don't exist or that being a woman, or indigenous is a disease you can be cured of... I ramble). The Guardian has a piece focusing on positive movements in global LGTB rights - mainly that under international law, pretty much every country that criminalises homosexuality has signed up to a convention that protects their freedom of choice, association, and orientation (with the exception of *ahem* Saudi Arabia). So unleash the lawyers...