On November 5th a Canadian Task Force headed by Maurice Strong, and
sponsored by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the
International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), and the
North-South Institute (NSI) released a Task Force report titled:

        CONNECTING WITH THE WORLD: Priorities for Canadian
        Internationalism in the 21st Century

In the Forward by the Hon. Lloyd Axworthy, P.C., M.P., Minister of Foreign
Affairs and International Trade, the Hon.  Minister writes:

"...our historic role as international "good neighbour" can no longer be
dominated by the donor-recipient exchanges of the past...out strategic
advantage will lie in our potential to become an effective "knowledge
broker"; and that our immediate challenge is to build and strengthen the
institutional arrangements required for this role."

In the Preface Maurice Strong (currently special advisor to the Secretary
General of the UN) continues this thread with "..[Canada] will need to
earn its position through intellectual and policy leadership and through
strategic advantage as a multidimensional "knowledge-broker." He also
recomments that "...iDRC, IISD, NSI and other relevant institutions
strengthen their ties with the private sector and other funding sources so
that government congributions are matched on a one-for-one basis"..[and].
that {institutioins] should be free "..to "grow" their assets, using
techniques such as the building of venture capital funds and the creation
of endowments and program reserve funds." (p. v-vi)

The full report is 40 pages long and not reported on in detal here.
Contact the sponsoring institutions for a copy (no web site cited!)

With reference to universities the report says (p. 4, eng. ver)

"Canada has an excellent record of engagement with the developing
economies of the world, but knowledge-based activities have been modest.
Canadian educational institutions have become increasingly seized of
international issues, but often from an academic rather than from a
proactive, policy-oriented perspective. And beyond academia, compared with
American and European intellectual investments in international
relations, Canada is not a significant player."

My Comments are: First, there is food for thought here. The document's
views conform very much to how official funding sources are thinking about
(a) funding, and (b) underscore home important it is for the Canadian
University Community to re-think how CUCHID will be re-vitalized and
remain operational.

Sam Lanfranco, DKProj York U  <[log in to unmask]>