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| Member of FIT’s Board of Governors, was invited to give a talk on Kenya elections at the University of Toronto Dr. Winnie Mitullah, member of FIT’s Board of Governors, was invited to give a talk at the University of Toronto’s Munk Centre for International Studies on June 20, 2008, on “Kenya’s Elections Controversy and Beyond.” In her presentation, Dr. Mitullah outlined the factors leading up to the violence that followed last year’s presidential elections in Kenya. Placing the often cited “ethnic tensions” in context, she identified long-standing grievances with respect to land distribution and ownership and the failure to address these issues through constitutional and political reform as the key drivers of the violence. Dr. Mitullah’s talk concluded by outlining scenarios through which Kenya can move ahead and create conditions to nurture democratic development in the country. Dr. Mitullah is an Associate Professor of Development Studies at the Institute for Development Studies (IDS) of the University of Nairobi. In addition to sitting on the FIT Board, she is a member of the UN-HABITAT Advisory Board of the Global Research Network on Human Settlements. University of Toronto - Foundation for International Training "Ranjit Kumar Graduate Fellowship" Program In 2001, FIT entered into an agreement with the University of Toronto to inaugurate the Ranjit Kumar Graduate Fellowship Program in honour of its founder, Ranjit Kumar. The Fellowship supports the development and research of graduate students in the field of sustainable development. The University of Toronto matched dollar for dollar funding from FIT to create an Endowment Fund that benefits the University of Toronto’s student award programs. Last year’s recipient of the award, Malini Sivasubramaniam, a PhD Candidate in Comparative, International and Development Education at OISE/University of Toronto, focussed on an examination of the interplay between gender, social capital and schooling in non-formal schools (NFS) in one slum community in Nairobi, Kenya. More specifically, the research seeks to understand parental decision-making structures around these schools and parents involvement in the governance structures at these non-formal schools from a gender perspective. Launch of the Code of Ethics for the Foundation for International Training—Ethiopian Civil Service College Project On November 3, 2007 the Ethiopian Civil Service College (ECSC) and FIT will launch the new Code of Ethics for the College in a Graduation Ceremony for all participants of the Ethics Workshops. The Workshops aimed at embedding ethics within the ECSC staff and faculty, as well as building the necessary capacity for sustainable ethics training within the ECSC to support the civil service over the long-term. Workshop participants, as well as students and trainers trained through the Project provided input into the development of the Code, in order to ensure personal ownership of and commitment to the Code. Invitees to the Launch and Graduation Ceremony include the Ethiopian Minister of Capacity Building, the Canadian Ambassador and Canadian First Secretary. This governance Project has been made possible through the funding of the Government of Canada through the Canadian International Development Agency’s Office for Democratic Governance. The goal of the FIT—ECSC Project is to help ECSC create a civil service with the highest ethical standards. A team of Canadian and Ethiopian governance experts are working together to develop and provide ethics courses, train trainers, create a code of ethics and establish a seminar series on ethics and governance for the college community. More on the project here. Recently Appointed Board Members We are pleased to welcome three new members to FIT’s Board of Governors: Devyani Mani, Winnie V. Mitullah and Olivia Yan Su. Devyani Mani is a human security and regional development specialist, with extensive experience in both theoretical and practical applications in these areas, as well as in urban planning, capacity building and architecture. Currently, Dr. Mani is the Human Security and Regional Development Expert for the United Nations Centre for Regional Development’s (UNCRD) Human Security Unit, in Nagoya, Japan. Since receiving a United Nations Fellowship awarded by UNCRD from 1998-2000, Dr. Mani has become an integral member of the Centre responsible for promoting the mainstreaming of human security into government development policies and programs within developing countries, as well as implementing training programs and organizing international conferences on human security. As the Senior Researcher at UNCRD until 2001, she was responsible for carrying out a wide range of research and training activities on human security, decentralized governance, poverty reduction, environmental management and the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in development. Dr. Mani has also made a substantive contribution to the research literature and knowledge base on human security and development throughout the course of her career, publishing several journal articles, book chapters and research reports on human security, participatory urban governance, environmental management and training for local development based on her research and training experiences in South and Southeast Asia. Dr. Mani holds both a Masters degree and a Ph.D. in Urban Planning from the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand (1993) and the University of Tokyo, Japan (1997), respectively. Prior to working at UNCRD, she carried out planning and low-cost housing projects in India as an independent planning consultant from 1997-98 and as an associate architect with the Vastu Shilpa Foundation from 1989-92. Professor Winnie Mitullah is an accomplished researcher and lecturer, with over two decades of experience working in the public and non-profit sectors. A political scientist by training, Prof. Mitullah has researched and consulted in the areas of management and policy development of urban services, institutions and governance, and the role of stakeholders in development, with an emphasis on the policies and institutional dynamics of local level development. Prof. Mitullah is currently an Associate Professor of Development Studies at the Institute for Development Studies (IDS) of the University of Nairobi and a member of the UN-HABITAT Advisory Board of the Global Research Network on Human Settlements. In the area of urban development, her focus has included an examination of urban politics, community development, and the role of gender in urban policy formulation, planning and management of programs. Further contributing to the field of development, Prof. Mitullah has published a considerable body of material, including published papers, books, edited works and conference papers in the areas of local level governance, gender and democratization, gender in urbanization, resource management in local authorities, participatory governance and poverty alleviation, and democracy and social transformation. In addition, she has researched, collaborated and consulted in these areas for a number of Government Ministries, United Nations agencies (including, UNICEF, UN-HABITAT, UNDP, UNIFEM AND UNDESA), the World Bank, DFID, USAID, and DANIDA, as well as with national and international non-governmental organizations. Working for the Ministry of Local Government from 1986-88, Prof. Mitullah established the Social Services Coordination Unit within a joint initiative between the Planning Department of the Ministry of Local Government and UNICEF, to support the effective planning, implementation and monitoring of development programs. From 1983-86, Prof. Mitullah served as the principle researcher in a comparative study of seven African cities for the Mazingira Institute in Nairobi which was coordinated by the University of Toronto. Prof. Mitullah holds a PhD from the University of York (1993), a Master of Arts in Political Science and Public Administration (1983) and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Nairobi (1980). Olivia Yan Su has enjoyed an impressive career in the public and private sectors that spans two decades, with a particular focus on Canada-China relations. As Program Manager for the State Science and Technology Commission for China from 1978 – 1986, Ms. Yan Su was responsible for coordination of Sino-North American exchange and cooperation programs. Following this, she was Division Chief of the China Kang Hua Development Corporation where she managed the Corporation’s North American and European Affairs, including public relations and business promotion. From 1989 to 1992 Ms. Yan Su held executive management positions with Philips China Hong Kong Group Co. Ltd. and Ola Svensson (China) Ltd. Following her work with FIT in 1993 as a China Representative under the Study Mission Program, she became Vice President of SciTech International Holdings Ltd., responsible for marketing and sales of Canadian and US products to China and Chinese products to Canada. Ms. Yan Su is currently the owner of Sitecan Consulting Ltd. where she is responsible for cooperative projects between Canada and China. She was a Visiting Scholar with Pearson Fellowship at the University of Victoria from 1983 – 1984. Gender Equality and African Regional Institutions (GEARI)—Africa In March 2007 FIT, in partnership with the Centre d ’étude et de coopération internationale (CECI) in Montréal, signed a contract with CIDA to conduct gender mainstreaming work with four regional institutions in Africa: the Forum for Agricultural Research (FARA) in Accra, Ghana; the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) in Entebbe, Uganda; L’Observatoire du Sahara et du Sahel (OSS) in Tunis, Tunisia; and the African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 2006 - SMEEP project held a Symposium in Nanjing, China
More on the FIT's Canada - China Small and Medium Size Enterprise Applied Management and Environment Project
2006 - New medium term study Mission in Canada completed 2006 - Recently Appointed Board Members We are pleased to welcome three new members to FIT’s Board of Governors: Richard Beattie, Ato Tekalign Gedamu and Bryan Davies. Mr. Richard Beattie has
enjoyed an impressive career in international development and
the public service. He
joined the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) in
1983 as Director of Consultant Selection and Contracting. In
1988, Mr. Beattie would become Country Program Director, Sri Lanka,
and two years later, Director of Africa and the Middle East, Industrial
Cooperation Program. In 1995, he accepted a three-year posting
in Accra, Ghana as Deputy and Acting Head of Mission with the Canadian
High Commission, responsible for all field operations to support
the planning, implementation and evaluation of Canadian development
assistance programming in four African countries. Prior to his
recent retirement from CIDA, Mr. Beattie was the Director of the
Youth Action Division of CIDA, and oversaw the International Youth
Internship Program, an initiative of the Federal Government’s
Youth Employment Strategy (YES). He is also an active volunteer
in his community, serving on the Board of Directors of I-C Youth,
an organization that provides youth-to-youth mentoring for “youth
at risk” in Ottawa. Mr. Beattie graduated with a Bachelor
of Arts in Political Science and a Masters in International Relations
from Carleton University. He went on to complete his doctoral coursework
and research at the University of Edinburgh, Centre for African
Studies. Ato Tekalign Gedamu is a renowned development practitioner with impressive academic and professional credentials. In 1959, he received a Master of Science in Agricultural Economics from the University of Illinois, and in 1966, went on to complete a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University. In the early ‘60s, Mr. Gedamu served with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Africa as an Economic Affairs Officer. During a span of 8 years between 1967-1975, he held different posts with the Government of Ethiopia, including Minister of Planning and Development, Minister of Transport and Communications as well as Managing Director, Development Bank of Ethiopia. He also served as Vice President, Finance and Vice President, Central Operations with the African Development Bank in Cote d’Ivoire. From 1993-1995, Mr. Gedamu was President of Transnational Development Associates, a private consulting firm in Washington, DC. He was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of Abyssinia in Ethiopia and until recently an advisor to the Commission on HIV/AIDS and Governance in Africa, UN Economic and Social Commission for Africa. Bryan Davies has enjoyed a successful career in both the public and private spaning 30 years. He has held posts at the senior-most level with the Government of Ontario, including Deputy Minister of Citizenship and Culture, Deputy Minister of Housing, Deputy Treasurer and Deputy Minister of Economics. During 1975 –1985, Mr. Davies also served with the Government as the Assistant Secretary to Management Board; Assistant Deputy Minister, Office of the Budget; and Assistant Deputy Minister, Office of Economic Policy. Mr. Davies’ career in the private sector has been equally impressive. From 1994 – 2002, he was Vice-President of Regulatory Affairs, RBC, Royal Bank. From 2002-2005 he was the Chief Executive Officer and Superintendent of Financial Services, Financial Services Commission of Ontario. He has also been an active volunteer and is currently a member of organizations such as the Canadian Ditchley Foundation and the Champlain Society. Mr. Davies is a member of the Advisory Council of the School of Policy Studies, Queen’s University and of the International Advisory Board of Boston College’s Centre for Corporate Community Relations. Mr. Davies holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Toronto and a Masters of Public Administration from Queen’s University.
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A one-day symposium was organised jointly by the Department of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, Jiangsu Environmental Protection Bureau, SME Development Center from the Ministry of Economic & Trade and FIT on November 9th in Nanjing. The purpose of the symposium was to popularize the achievements of the environmental projects and disseminate the results and lesson learned. It also provided a forum for the project experts from China and Canada to exchange their knowledge and approaches. The symposium resulted in wider dissemination of results achieved by the project creating greater awareness of the environmental concerns and potential solutions for SMEs.
FIT has recently completed a pilot China Study Mission project, a medium term (two-month) custom designed training program for 30 public officials from Anhui; a Province with which FIT has had a long term relationship. The Program was an intensive skills development initiative aimed at providing the opportunity to young and mid-level government officials to enhance their capabilities by learning cutting-edge theories and practices of economic and public management. Through the program participants gained insight and knowledge of Canada’s successful experience, familiarized themselves with Canadian mechanisms and shared experience and expertise with their Canadian counterparts.
