By Badriyya Yusuf, 1st Year MDP student
I
am midway through my field placement and I wish there was more time to soak it
all in! I am undertaking my practicum with the International Institute for
Sustainable Development (IISD) at its head office, based here in Winnipeg. IISD
is a public policy research institute with a renowned history of conducting
cutting edge research into sustainable development. It was established in 1990
as a Canadian response to the UN World Commission on Environment and
Development’s Our Common Future/Brundtland Report and has since contributed
significantly to shaping public policy recommendations around the world.
A
highlight of my practicum thus far is my attendance of a Food Hunger conference
organized by the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, hosted by the University of
Winnipeg. The conference was well attended by a spectrum of students,
academicians, development practitioners, farmers, policy makers – including
CIDA and IISD. It was an enriching participatory experience where we not only
got to hear from the authorities in the field, such as David Nabarro, the
United Nations Secretary General’s Special Representative for Food Security and
Nutrition, John Hoddinott of the International Food Policy Research Institute
(IFPRI) and Carla Hogan Rufelds, Director of Food Security and Environmental
Sustainability, CIDA, but we also had the opportunity to present our ideas on
how to sustainably address the UN’s zero hunger challenge.
Mueni Udeozor, Program Officer, Canadian Feed the Children, Rael Marona, Entreprenuer, Kenya & Badriyya Yusuf |
I
take away with me a lot of lessons learnt from the conference, such as the
challenges of conservation agriculture and the imperative to include women in
project and policy design and implementation, as emphasized by Carla Hogan
Rufelds. However, a few of us also reflected on the absence of attempts to
address the food security challenges faced by Canadians, especially the
Aboriginal community, at the conference. The conference was largely focused on
food hunger in Africa, further perpetuating the stereotype of a continent in
perpetual hunger without really addressing some of the root causes. A little
insight was given into the situation in Brazil and in India, but the only
reference to the situation at home in Canada was made in passing, and only
because we brought it up. This was unsettling to me, especially given the fact
that the conference was held here in Manitoba where more than 64,000 people use
the Winnipeg Harvest as a food bank every month, 47% of whom are children.
This
clearly reflects the relevance of programs like our MDP in Indigenous
Development studies in creating awareness and producing graduates who will
contribute to addressing sustainable development among Indigenous Peoples all
over the world.
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