Rethinking Foreign Policy
There's a revolution going on right now in the way we think of foreign policy – it's no longer solely about what the government does, but rather what we all do to shape our role in the world. Whether they call it foreign policy or not, groups that operate outside the purview of government – from businesses to not-for-profits to artists to technologists – are creating Canada's role in the world, acting as diplomats and cultural translators, and doing things we would traditionally think of as the responsibility and privilege of government. There's an urgent need for these new actors to collaborate with government, and in turn for civil servants and political advisors to get the help they need to make the policy-making process more open and responsive to citizens.
As this change has been taking place in the foreign policy realm, the camp movement has been breaking down the traditional hierarchies of the conference, reminding us of the potential of self-organizing and spontaneity. Camps and unconferences have been bringing people together in a way that prioritizes democracy, innovation, collaboration, and individual empowerment, using technology to realize these ideals. From the original BarCamp through to AgendaCamp, ChangeCamp, and Gov 2.0 Camp, this movement is teaching people how to create large participatory forums for the generation of new ideas and relationships, not conduits for one-way knowledge transfer. Camps integrate new technologies and online collaboration tools into the traditional conference model, heightening its participatory nature.
On November 30, at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, dozens of organizations will come together to host Canada’s first ForeignPolicyCamp (FPC). The FPC will cast our attention to the key foreign policy challenges before us, and will shine a light on the new thinkers and doers in Canadian foreign policy. FPC includes satellite camps in Montréal, Toronto, and Edmonton, Flash Mobs in cities across the country, and a series of sessions in Vancouver amplified through various social media channels. It’s a dynamic experiment in democratic development in a field that is in desperate need of shaking up.
The articles presented on this page come from across the political spectrum and demonstrate some of the issues and ideas that will be raised at FPC. To learn more about the ForeignPolicyCamp in Vancouver and its satellite events, or to participate in some of our online activities, visit our website at rethinkingforeignpolicy.ca.
Global Citizens
by John Monahan
Executive Director, The Mosaic Institute.
- First Posted: Nov 24 2009 17:34 PM
- Updated: 7 months ago
Canadians have links to almost every other country in the world. We should leverage these relationships.
Recently, Canadians read about the federal government's introduction of a new guide to citizenship, to be distributed to the roughly 250,000 immigrants who arrive in Canada each year. As reported in The Globe and Mail, the guide constitutes “a rare and significant attempt to reshape our national image.”
The government is to be applauded on its effort to deepen the public's understanding and appreciation of what it means to be a Canadian. It is important to know where we came from, what we have stood for, and what we are striving to achieve in our common future.
It is also important, however, that Canadians appreciate that the answer to the question “what is Canada?” is not static. In part, this is because, with the arrival of each one of the aforementioned 250,000 yearly immigrants, the human face of Canada – and, with it, our collective history – changes. When a new Canadian arrives on our shores, they bring with them their memories and knowledge of their countries of origin. The Canada that we know today is not just a product of the collective memories we have created together, but also a product of the combined personal histories of the immigrants who have come, and are still coming, to this land.
In theory, the citizenship of someone who has just sworn the ceremonial oath of allegiance has exactly the same value as that of a citizen whose ancestral roots here pre-date Confederation. In practice, however, the more recently-arrived Canadians who come from cultures with fewer common points of reference to our English-French traditions are less likely to participate fully in Canadian public institutions and decision-making than those whose families have been here for generations. There are commendable civic efforts now afoot – such as Toronto's “DiverseCity Initiative” – to redress the traditional under-representation of newer and visible-minority Canadians in the boardrooms, legislatures, and corner offices where so many of the decisions that affect Canadians are made.
Similar efforts are being made in the area of foreign policy by organizations such as The Mosaic Institute. Canada's proactive, pro-immigration policies of the past several decades have succeeded in producing what is arguably the most diverse citizenry on the planet. Yet the full potential of that diversity – and the global knowledge, connections and influence it represents – has yet to be fully leveraged as a means of enhancing Canada's relationship with the rest of the world.
Through our personal, familial, or community-based connections to those countries and regions most desperately in need of development assistance, the resolution of intractable conflicts, or the protection of human rights, Canada is in a unique position to help. Many of those originally from conflict zones and other trouble spots around the world who now call Canada home are eager to provide advice to Canadian decision-makers on our collective response to such needs and opportunities. Providing help to those in need around the world is part of being Canadian.
One challenge, of course, is how to differentiate between good and bad advice. One way is to ensure that these “citizen experts,” like all Canadians, have a deep appreciation for immutable, pan-Canadian values such as the rule of law, the protection of fundamental human rights for all, “peace, order, and good government,” and so on. Any advice should be tested against these non-negotiable principles. In fact, this same standard should be applied to all policy inputs, regardless of their source.
Because we know what Canada stands for, we have nothing to fear and much to gain from expanding the involvement of all Canadians, and particularly those closely connected to some of the world's most troubled regions, in the formulation of Canadian responses to such situations. To do so is to recognize that the best Canadian citizens are also committed global citizens, and that the best global citizens are often Canadian.
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