Global education for Canadians is a must-have in a world on edge

The study group on global education recently released its report (GoGlobalCanada.ca) and made a series of important and timely recommendations based on the latest available evidence. It would be a missed and costly opportunity to let this report gather dust on the shelves of nice-to-have idealistic proposals. For me, it is personal. For Canada, these recommendations are vital for our future as a prosperous, inclusive and open society. I grew up deep in a Quebec suburb in the 1970s. If you were not there or don’t remember, Jean-Marc Vallée’s coming of age comedy-drama, C.R.A.Z.Y., captures the era amazingly well: overwhelmingly white, middle-class francophone youth with long hair and a taste for disco and progressive rock, and keen to assume its place in the world but also struggling to shake off its homophobia, inward-looking attitudes and fears about other cultures in its midst. The solitudes were still thriving. I only really began to understand and better appreciate the society that I grew up in by leaving it, by exposing myself to a world of differences. My transformative education happened at L.B. Pearson College in Victoria (200 students from 54 countries) and through a one-year internship in Mobutu’s Zaire. I returned far richer, keen to question the blind spots in my own society, to appreciate the unique Canadian and Québécois contributions to the world and to make my own path both here and abroad. My global education was made possible through a web of NGOs, universities’ experiential programs, private sector scholarships and government leadership and funding. I was very lucky though. I gained rare spots in small programs that provided full support for middle class students who, otherwise, would never been able otherwise to finance these experiences. The "Global Education for Canadian” report makes an expanded and stronger case for learning in international contexts. First, our plural and open society is not a given—the winds of xenophobia howling through the US but also in much of the world from Austria to South Africa could feed its seeds here. By exposing more of our youth to intercultural learning and seeing the world through other eyes would give much needed perspective and further deepen our appreciation of diversity as a Canadian strength. Second, emerging economies have arrived and are dominating the world’s economy. Canada’s links to most of these emerging countries remain rather shallow and under-developed. We need to grow and sustain new relationships and networks. Canadian students will be a crucial element in building these long-term relationships. Third, global education cannot remain a launching pad for well-heeled Canadians and for a few lucky ones like myself. It must become a valued rite of passage that is open to all. Our future as an inclusive society depends on it. The nature of work is rapidly shifting through automation and big data which puts even a greater premium on collaboration, innovation and problem-solving. These are skills that one must master to survive and thrive far from home. Of course, one size will not fit all: allowing students and PSE institutions to set up programs appropriate to their learning outcomes will trigger experimentation and new partnerships. It could be polytechnics students working in China’s high-speed railways systems; indigenous and non-indigenous Canadian students learning together at a Maori university in New Zealand; or even closer to home, architecture students from a downtown university helping Northern First Nations communities address their housing crisis. The keys for quality are relevance, engagement and partnerships by all involved—students, faculty and PSE institutions but also from NGOs and private sector partners. Bringing the report’s recommendations to reality will require a national effort bringing together civil society, the education system, the private sector and all levels of governments. Federal leadership, however, is required to launch, brand, and catalyze a national initiative. The study group has articulated a vision that is both aspirational and pragmatic. Now is the time for Canada to deepen its engagement with the world. Let’s get a lot more Canadian youth to experience and shape it in ways that reflect our values and interests. Jean-Marc Mangin is the former executive director of the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, the Global Call for Climate Action/TckTckTck and CUSO. He has also worked with the UN and the Canadian Government. The Hill Times