Media release

Canadian universities expand international partnerships

International Cooperation Minister Aileen Carroll and AUCC unveil 11 CIDA-funded projects in the developing world to help fight poverty, improve well-being, and protect the environment

SASKATOON (April 29, 2005) ― International Cooperation Minister Aileen Carroll today announced 11 new international development projects involving nine Canadian universities, continuing a successful 10-year track record of bringing Canadian ingenuity to bear on global development issues.

The 11 University Partnerships in Cooperation and Development (UPCD) projects announced today continue the highly successful Canadian International Development Agency program, which funds collaborations between Canadian universities and higher education organizations in developing countries in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America.

“Canadian universities are making tremendous contributions to the fight against global poverty, helping to improve health care, and ensuring countries have the tools to address social and environmental concerns,” said Minister Carroll who announced the new projects at the University of Saskatchewan.

“Faculty and students from all over Canada are working in developing countries to tackle their most pressing challenges. The Government of Canada is proud to support this work.”

Including the $10.8 million for the 11 new projects, the UPCD program has funded 129 partnerships since 1994 valued at $295 million. The total Canadian International Development Agency contribution is $195 million while universities have contributed another $100 million, including additional funding from Canadian partners and other sources.

These projects highlight the strategic importance of international co-operation in higher education and research for developing countries and Canada alike. Canadian universities’ ongoing commitment to international development and educational partnership has already helped to train about 300,000 people in the developing world.

“These projects will help Canadian universities continue their important work in development where we have already had a long-lasting impact on the lives of countless people by building homegrown expertise to solve local problems,” said AUCC president Claire Morris.

“Whether it’s finding ways to help children deal with unimaginable trauma in the aftermath of genocide in Rwanda or to prevent disease through proper water management in Central America, one thing remains clear: Our universities continue to be key players in helping Canada attain its development goals around the world,” Ms. Morris said.

The projects announced today involve faculty and students from universities from St. John’s, Nfld. to Victoria, B.C. with two individual projects approved at both the University of Calgary (Uganda and Honduras/El Salvador) and the University of Guelph (Ghana and Morocco), while one each went to Dalhousie University (Uruguay), l’École Polytechnique de Montréal (Burkina Faso), Laurentian University (Congo), Memorial University (Malawi), Ryerson University (Dominican Republic), the University of Western Ontario (Rwanda), and the University of Victoria (Brazil).

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Backgrounder (pdf)

Editor’s note: The UPCD program creates knowledge partnerships between Canadian universities and higher education organizations in developing countries in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America, with the goal of strengthening teaching, research, and community service to help address the countries’ most important development needs in sustainable ways. The projects are separated into two categories: Tier 1 and Tier 2 with the main difference being the amount of funding available. Tier 1 projects are usually more than $3 million while the maximum funding for Tier 2 is $1 million. To date, there have been 29 Tier 1 and 100 Tier 2 projects announced.

The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada is the voice of Canada's universities. It represents 91 Canadian public and private not-for-profit universities and university-degree level colleges.

For additional information on this release and AUCC, please contact:

Jeff Pappone
Media relations officer
Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada
Tel.: (613) 563-3961, ext. 330
E-mail: jpappone@aucc.ca

For media enquiries for International Co-operation Minister Aileen Carroll:

Office of the Minister of International Cooperation
Andrew Graham
Director of Communications
Tel.: (819) 953-6238 or (613) 799-9948