CIC:
The CIC has embarked on a major initiative this year to design a new Canadian approach to international affairs in the context of changing global circumstances. The intent of the project is to generate and disseminate fresh perspectives and ideas both in the immediate term, as Canada prepares to host the G-8 and the G-20 next summer, and, more fundamentally, for the years beyond. Canadians are engaged in the world; the panel will suggest how the country can have greater impact in pursuing our national interests and projecting our values.CIC has assembled a panel of a dozen Canadians to help with this effort. They are not the usual suspects in that they are all in the ascendancy of their careers. The panel is drawn largely from the generation that came to age in the post-Cold War era of global horizons and digital connectedness. The objective of the exercise is to produce a report that provides policy-makers and the public with an original and pragmatic pathway to a more meaningful role for Canada in the world. Along the way, the CIC will be looking for contributions from its branches and the public at large.
Key topics to be considered include (but are not limited to):
The rise of Asia
The need to reconcile energy demand trends and concerns over carbon emissions
Deepening access to the United States
The role of Latin America
The implications of a warmer Arctic
Security and defence post-Afghanistan
The successes and failures of development assistance
Canada’s role in the global economy
The panel is chaired by Edward Greenspon, former Editor-in-Chief of the Globe and Mail, who will also serve as project co-director with CIC president Jennifer Jeffs. The panel will be supported by a small advisory committee drawn from the CIC Board of Directors.The GPS Project will hold sessions with experts across the country in its quest to put fresh options on the table as Canada grapples with its unique value propositions in a world in flux. CIC members from 15 branches across the country will participate by generating briefing papers and through continuous engagement on the CIC web site.
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