Malala Yousafzai Challenges Ottawa to make headway in education
The National Post reports that the teenage Nobel Prize winner, UN Messenger of Peace, and now honorary Canadian citizen, Malala Yousafzai. spoke on “hope, perseverance and inspiration.” As well, Malala is known as an advocate for girls’ education.
She talked about the difficulties girls face. “? she urged the federal government to put its upcoming presidency of the G7 to good use,” the National Post said. Malala emphasized the need to make girls’ education a “central theme of your G7 presidency next year.”
“?use your influence to help fill the global education funding gap,” Malala said, “You raised billions of dollars and saved lives when you hosted the Global Fund replenishment in Montreal last year. Show the same leadership for education.”
Possibilities lie in a Saudi-Canadian partnership in education
According to Arab News, there are over 11,600 students from Saudi Arabia studying in Canada in various disciplines. Saudis are the “sixth-largest” number of internationals students in Canada at the moment.
Canadian ambassador, Dennis Horak, noted that Canadian universities and colleges have some of the best technical training in the world. When finished their degree, students can return to their home country with an internationally respected degree or diploma.
Horak added, “Canada is internationally recognized for a competency-based teaching approach that prepares students to be productive in the workplace immediately after graduation.”
Trans Issues Being Worked out in Canadian Forces with Hopes for Education
CTV News said, “Shachar Erez recalls the day five years ago when, as an 18-year-old female Israeli soldier, the time had come to tell his commanding officer something profound about himself — that he believed he was a man.”
Erez told his family. His parents and two younger brothers weren’t surprised. He wanted his hair cut at age 2 and threw out dresses and skirts at age 5. Erez became “international ambassador of sorts for the Israel Defence Forces” for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community.
Erez was in Ottawa, recently, and met with “senior officials in the Canadian Forces.” Canadian Forces are in the midst of sussing out its own policy on transgender issues. The aim is to provide better education for personnel to reduce the odds of discrimination and abuse.
Violent Crimes are Falling but Sexual Assaults Remain Steady
“The idea of mandatory and comprehensive legal training in Canada’s sexual assault laws is proving to be a hot topic at a week-long seminar for new federally appointed judges,” CBC News: Politics said, “Dozens of judges appointed to Canada’s superior courts last fall and this spring are attending classes this week in Quebec, to which CBC News was granted rare, limited access.”
Chief justice of Alberta’s Court of Queen’s Bench, Neil Wittmann, described the scrutiny of the judiciary based on management of sexual assault cases. Some Canadians express outrage and disgust over some recent sexual violence-based court decisions.
CBC News: Politics stated the cases relied on outdated myths about women and sex. The retired British Columbia Supreme Court judge, Lynn Smith, stated that violent crimes continue to ’fall’ and sexual assault crimes remain steady.
A Call for the Protection of Canadian Education from Attack
It has been stated in a letter through Human Rights Watch that Canada needs to protect education from attack. Members from the International Child Protection Network of Canada (ICPNC) and Canadian International Education Policy Working Group (CIEPWG) wrote the letter.
They “commended the Canadian government” for its protection of education with such things as the Safe Schools Declaration and the implementation of the Guidelines for Protecting Schools and Universities from Military Use during Armed Conflict. The Romeo Dallaire Child Soldiers Initiative, Human Rights Watch, ICPNC, and CIEPWG welcome opportunities for discussion.
The ICPNC supports the Canadian leadership in child protection. “Canada should continue to work to see that civilians and civilian infrastructure, including schools, are respected and protected in the conduct of hostilities, in accordance with International Humanitarian Law,” Human Rights Watch said.
Innovating Program Helping to Break Barriers
The Waterloo Chronicle noted that an “innovative program” is helping to break barriers for newer Canadians at Waterloo Collegiate Institute. It has earned national recognition for its “smoothing” of the transition to acceptance for about a decade.
The program is called Crossing Borders. It was recognized by the Canadian Education Association (CEA) with the Ken Spencer Award for Innovation in Teaching and Learning. The recognition is for the “efforts to connect students to their adopted communities by giving them a sense of acceptance, increasing their resiliency?”
CEA president and CEO, Ron Canuel, said, “This outstanding school-community program deals with such a timely challenge that our education system is facing in such a creative way, and could serve as a newcomer student integration model delivered in schools across the country.”
Scott Douglas Jacobsen is an AUSU Councillor. He works with various organizations, and runs In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, and In-Sight Publishing.