“A Career Limiting Response” for International Development Students

Note: Follow up from Queens International Development Conference, 2009

For the past six years students from multi-disciplinary backgrounds including engineering, commerce, international development studies, amongst others have successfully hosted Queens International Development Conference (Queens IDC). This year’s conference, Change: A Thousand Things Done Differently” held on March 12-13th was no exception. Seasoned speakers and panellists from various institutions across Canada’s East coast presented on topics ranging from the foreign aid, to human trafficking, technology and development, water issues, women and development and more.

Queens IDC with its mission to “inspire individuals to live socially responsible lifestyles; discover multiple perspectives of development issues, enabling individuals to derive their own views; and create awareness of the many issues surrounding international development”, invited two distinct keynote speakers who have devoted a significant amount of their lives to international development work. Keeping the conference’s vision in mind, the goal of the keynote speakers and every panellists for that matter was to give students inspiration about international development service/work as solid foundation of knowledge and experiences that student can draw from as they pre-empt their roles as future leaders international services.

In spite of the amazing success of the conference there seem to be few unnoticeable “glitches.” Not only were the two keynote speakers life-time bureaucrats, but they both represented high policy level employments with apparently less experiences when it comes to grassroots engagements. The first speaker painted the typical picture of Africa’s rift without really explaining why almost all of the policies adopted by the international community to “help” Africa have failed. He rather blamed African leaders as the main blocks to “putting the puzzles” together for Africa.

The second keynote speaker gave a general overview and changes in development policies highlighting selected macro-projects. Whilst these kinds of presentation usually benefit the significance of historical contexts and relations to international development work, this speaker left the hall filled eager-to-learn students with much dissatisfaction as he failed to answer the last question posed by a student. What is your opinion of Canada’s role in international development and what can be done better the student asked. This is a “career limiting response so I can’t answer your question.”

Bedazzled! This response is incongruous to the notion of free and democratic Canada where accountability, sustainability and transparency of significance. Queen’s IDC, despite is grass-root state; is a microcosm of how Canada is expected to make a difference internationally; even as Canada assumes it role in the G8 summit, it is important to openly dialogue its agenda for action. So, what does the second speaker’s response tell the students, our future leaders? If we are supposed to be educating students about contributing to international development, how is it that our government is not open to providing education and direction for these aspiring future leaders?

Winter Law School Program - Wits, South Africa

It was almost eleven years ago that I walked along the beautiful coastline of the Cape of Good Hope, stood upon a 1.5kg ostrich egg in wine-lands, trekked along the rugged peaks of Signal Hill to watch the gorgeous sun set, captured panoramic view on the cable car trip to Table Mountain, hopped on the train to Gugulethu township...amongst others. Although, I could not make it to the most famous prison site - Robben Island Museum - I had a fair bit of chance to roam one of Africa's most beautiful city and it's surrounding for close to 2 months. When it was time to return home, I left the apartheid-laden republic with the hope of coming back someday. Little did I know it would be within the space and time of 11 years.

On March 8, 2010, after several months of exchange between the University of Witswaterstrand, I booked my flight to Johannesburg via the United Arab Emirates. This time, it was to attend the Winter Law School at the Mandela Institute of School of Law, a joint exchange program mainly organized for students from Seattle University School of Law, in Washington State, USA. I believe that South Africa and Liberia has some similarity in their cultural history of oppression. BUT unlike Liberia, RSA has managed to develop and implement laws, policies and programs to deal with various forms of equality. My hope was to learn from Africa and explore opportunities of borrowing best practice with regards to sexual violence against women.

In addition to doing South African Constitutional Law in Comparative Context and International Dispute Resolution we have the privilege of visiting some of South Africa's highly acclaimed touristic sites (Constitutional Court, Soweto, Pilanesberg National Park, Apartheid Museum, the Origin Centre, South African Commission for Human Rights, the African Leadership Academy plus the added benefit of watching the opening ceremony of the historic FIFA World Cup (bafana bafana) where I had the most delighted opportunity to not only live next door to the Brazilian Football squad but also watched them practice (courtesy Lydia & Viv). I was also able to attend the Tribute to Mariam Makeba at Mary Fitzgerald Park in Newtown - courtesy Lydia & Sammy). I just could not have asked for more...it was a BLAST!!!

Even though I have many memorable experiences in Johannesburg (most positive and few negative), few illuminates my inner spirit:
1. Seeing the King of the Jungle - a male lion - roar in its majestic tone few meters away whilst sitting in the safari truck.
2. Meeting Judge Zak Yacoob of the most progressive courts in the world - South African Constitution Court.
3. Being divided into Blacks and Whites as we entered the Apartheid Musuem - a "very miniscule experience" of what black South Africa faced during apartheid.
4. Walking through the cells at Constitution Hill where Gandhi, Mandela and others were imprisoned for "being black".
5. Solemnly imagining Winnie and Nelson Mandela time in their small house on 8115 Vilakazi Street, Soweto at the same time striking a pose in-front of Bishop Desmond Tutu's house right down the road.
6. Leaving my purse in the library for 5 minutes only to return and realize that almost 2,000 rand had been stolen but all else in tact - DEVASTATING.
7. Having serious trouble taking public transportation from Honeydew to University of Witwaterstrand.
8. Eating bitter leaf stew and Simonella (not the gram +ve bacteria but a wheat flour) with my ten fingers at a Nigerian restaurant in the city center
9. Returning from the grocery stores around 8pm only to realize that somebody was following us - I quickly turned and said to him "you're not going to get what you are looking for because we'll fight for our lives."
10. Instantly realizing that the whole city is literally "embellished" in barb wires, iron bars and security alarms for fear of being robbed or killed.

Overall, my time is Jo'burg was AWESOME except for the sounds of "fufu sellers" (vuvuzelas) at the airport...