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CERLAC Projects |
Latin American Human Rights Education and Research Network By Viviana Patroni, CERLAC Director CERLAC and Osgoode Hall Law School have received a grant from CIDA’s University Partnership in Cooperation and Development Program, supporting the establishment of a new network of Latin American universities and leading civil society organizations to advance an ambitious agenda of human rights education, applied research and capacity-building in the region.
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Latin American Human Rights Education and Research Network York-FLACSO Dominican Republic Linkage Initiatives in the New Economy |
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Latin American Human Rights Education and Research Network By Viviana Patroni, CERLAC Director CERLAC and Osgoode Hall Law School have received a grant from CIDA’s University Partnership in Cooperation and Development Program, supporting the establishment of a new network of Latin American universities and leading civil society organizations to advance an ambitious agenda of human rights education, applied research and capacity-building in the region. Along with York, the founding partners of the Latin American Human Rights Education and Research Network (RedLEIDH) are the Association of Jesuit Universities of Latin America (AUSJAL) with its Secretariat in Guatemala, the Latin American Institute for Alternative Legal Services (ILSA) based in Colombia, the Center for Legal and Social Studies (CELS) located in Argentina, and the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights (IIDH) based in Costa Rica. The Principal Investigators of RedLEIDH are CERLAC Director Viviana Patroni (Division of Social Science) and Shin Imai (Osgoode). The $3 million (Cdn) funding to be provided by CIDA – alongside approximately another $2 million contributed by the RedLEIDH partners – will allow the RedLEIDH network to function for an initial six-year period. During this time the network will work to strengthen democratic governance and human rights protection, to foster a culture of respect for the humanistic rule of law, and to support the struggle against poverty in Latin America. The network will seek both to build on and strengthen already-existing knowledge networks amongst universities and civil society organizations in the region, to link with Canadian networks, and to generate newer and deeper human rights knowledge. The experience and expertise – and associated knowledge – of women and indigenous peoples will provide a central focus as well as a resource for activities in the project. There can be no doubt of the pressing need for, and the timeliness of, the RedLEIDH network. While right-wing dictatorships are generally considered things of the past, the majority of Latin American citizens continue to enjoy only what many experts describe as "low-intensity democracy," a democracy that is endangered by violent conflict, militarism and gross violations of human rights. The neoliberal economic development model imposed by Northern institutions since the 1980s has further entrenched the exclusion of vast sectors of the population, in particular indigenous and rural populations, and the deepening crisis of this model brings in its wake massive impoverishment, as the case of Argentina tragically reveals. Given this unfinished and fragile process of democratization and growing socioeconomic disparities in the region, the advancement of human rights protection needs to be prioritized if an agenda of social justice and human development is to be more than illusory -- let alone gain momentum. Thus, a basic premise of RedLEIDH is the understanding that economic, social, and cultural rights are integral to the full realization of human rights. CERLAC’s solidly established expertise in institutional development projects with universities and other partners in the Latin American region was indispensable in the process of establishing a working relationship with our Latin American partners, a relationship that can only succeed with a high level of mutual trust and confidence. The Centre’s long history of collaborative activity throughout the region, with an emphasis on human rights broadly construed and with direct experience in the development of educational programs in regional universities makes CERLAC uniquely qualified to assume responsibility in the coordination of the project from the Canadian end.
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The first major project publication, Nation Dance: Religion, Identity and Cultural Difference in the Caribbean, edited by Patrick Taylor, was jointly published by Indiana and Ian Randall in 2001. Frederick I. Case has edited a second collection of project papers entitled, Dialogues in the Spirit (submitted 2003) based mainly on an earlier project conference. The CRP has fostered strong collaborative relationships in the field and between field researchers and the Toronto editors. Case’s trip to Guyana and Guyane (May/June 2003) and Taylor’s to Belize (May/June 2003) helped to consolidate local teams. Visits to Toronto by Caribbean scholars have also enhanced collaborative work. Caribbean scholars associated with the project have come for project meetings, met with colleagues and students and given guest lectures. Among the visitors were Ileana Sanz, field coordinator, Cuba (November 2002); Nigel Thomas, contributor, St. Vincent (Fall, 2002); Brinsley Samaroo, consulting editor, Trinidad (Jan 2003); Patrick Bellegarde-Smith, consulting editor, Haiti (December 2003); Harold Sitahal, contributor, Trinidad (February 2004); and Bernard Delpeche, contributor, Haiti (March 2004). Dr. Joyce Leung, the project’s Editorial Coordinator, has played a critical role in maintaining communication with Caribbean scholars. Her knowledge of the Francophone Caribbean has been most valuable to the project. Dr. Leung’s work in the project office at CERLAC and the administrative work of the project more generally were backed by Marshall Beck and Benjamin Cornejo, CERLAC’s administrative stalwarts over the last two years. A significant number of York graduate students made valuable contributions to the work of the CRP including Sean Lokaisingh-Meighoo (Associate Editor), Frank Scherer, Hilary Schuldt, Manuel Marques, and Aaron Kamugisha (all in Social and Political Thought), Maxine Wood (Education), Paramita Nath and Anna Vandenberg (Interdisciplinary Studies), and Leah Stewart (Humanities). Students from the University of Toronto who participated in the project include Alisa Siegel (who has since received her PhD in History) and several undergraduate students: Tamara Glenn, Shu-wen Su and Lysanne Menezes. Visit the Caribbean Religions Project website.
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York-FLACSO Dominican Republic Linkage York University and the Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO) in the Dominican Republic continued to explore opportunities for a formal linkage and jointly undertook a number of activities in 2002 and 2003. Faculty at York involved in this project include CERLAC fellows and LACS members Patrick Taylor (Humanities), Eduardo Canel (Social Science), Andrea Davis (Social Science, LACS Coordinator), Judy Hellman (Social Science), and Viviana Patroni (Social Science, Director of CERLAC), as well as York International. Eight students participated in the study abroad program in the summer of 2002, and ten in 2003. Courses included ‘Language and Culture in the Dominican Republic’ and ‘Dominican Republic and the Contemporary Caribbean.’ All the students received York International Mobility Awards to support their participation in the program. These students enjoyed a wonderful opportunity to gain Spanish-language skills and benefited from the chance to immerse themselves in Dominican life and culture. Building on past collaborative research and exchange between CERLAC and FLACSO, CERLAC Director Viviana Patroni participated in the CERLAC-FLACSO workshop Los Recursos de la Gobernabilidad en la Cuenca del Caribe on November 8th and 9th, 2001. The dynamic presentations and discussions at this workshop, including an article by Viviana Patroni, have been collected in a book of the same name, edited by Haroldo Dilla and published in 2002 by Nueva Sociedad.
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York-URACCAN UPCD Project Successfully Completed By Harry Smaller In June 1997, CERLAC and York University began a five-year linkage project with URACCAN University on the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua. Funded by CIDA under the auspices of the AUCC UPCD Tier Two program, the overall aim of the project was two-fold: first, to strengthen URACCAN's capacity to meet the region's needs in the areas of poverty alleviation, sustainable development, and community development; and second, to strengthen the knowledge-base and research capacities of York University and CERLAC with regard to the developmental and socio-cultural issues of the region. The project involved five main theme activities: faculty development, program/curriculum development, community outreach, enhancing research capacity and provision of information and communications equipment and materials. Over the course of the five years of the project, there were many exchanges of faculty and students between Nicaragua and Canada. For the first time, a complete York Masters program was mounted in another country - a Masters of Interdisciplinary Studies. URACCAN faculty members enrolled in grad courses taught by Canadian faculty members who traveled to Nicaragua for this purpose. By the end of the program, 15 URACCAN “docentes” had completed the requirements and received York Masters degrees. In addition, another group of “docentes” each spent a year at York, studying in a variety of graduate disciplines; five of this group also successfully completed York degrees. Overall, this engagement in graduate study led directly to enhanced teaching and research capacity at URACCAN. In addition, a number of undergraduate courses were developed for use in Nicaragua, a variety of community outreach programs along the Caribbean coast were supported, and URACCAN’s information and communications capacities were enhanced. Development education at York, and in Ontario generally, was enhanced over the five years through our regular project newsletters, our website, and through a number of lectures and meetings held on and off campus. While the overall project certainly had its ups and downs, by all accounts it was a huge success and won honourable mention at a CIDA awards ceremony for international projects. Even though it is now officially completed, our ties with URACCAN remain strong - through visits, exchanges, our on-going web-site, and through the provision of support for the initiation of other research and development projects. Many thanks to all of the students and faculty at York, at URACCAN, and at a number of other participating universities, for all of their support in making this project the success it was! Visit the URACCAN Project website.
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CAMP-Lab III By Mark Hostetler The CAMP-Lab III project, funded by the International Development Research Center (IDRC), was an institutional partnership between the University of Central America’s Center for the Investigation and Documentation of the Atlantic Coast (CIDCA-UCA) in Nicaragua, and CERLAC. CAMP-Lab’s core effort focused on working with the people of the Pearl Lagoon communities to establish and implement a management plan for the natural resources of the Pearl Lagoon Basin that is rooted in their interpretations and understanding of resource problems and general needs. As part of this effort, CAMP-Lab worked to increase the local communities’ capacity to: 1) conduct research and gather information relevant to resource management in the area, 2) better analyze their situation, and 3) engage with business and various levels of government in meaningful dialogue about the future of their communities and the natural resource base. In the final two years of the project, York University participants worked with CAMP-Lab to strengthen its popular communication efforts, including a community-run radio program and a Creole language newsletter that focus on local environmental issues; to plan and execute a participatory seminar on the potential effects of shrimp farming in Pearl Lagoon; to conduct participatory scientific research on the reasons for seagrass decline in Pearl Lagoon; and to introduce the use of Outcome Mapping (OM) as a tool to focus, improve and document the project’s efforts. York University’s commitment to the project included participation by graduate students and faculty to assist with various activities, and to provide skills and expertise that complemented the abilities and efforts of Nicaraguan CAMP-Lab staff and local people. York University participants in the project were: CERLAC Fellow Bill Found (Project Leader), CERLAC Fellow Deborah Barndt, Geography PhD Candidate Mark Hostetler (Project Manager), Political Science PhD Candidate Bernice Kozak, Master of Environmental Studies (MES) graduate and recipient of the Graduate Diploma in Latin American and Caribbean Studies Christine McKenzie (2003) and MES graduate Monica Schuegraf (2004). As a result of the project, the locally-owned integrated natural resource management plan has been incorporated into municipal law, the newsletters are being used in school curricula, and four graduate students had the opportunity to conduct field research that both generated academic knowledge and helped to strengthen a marginalized local community. Local capacity was also built through the development of strong community groups who support other projects in Pearl Lagoon; the strengthening of local Pearl Lagoon staff, who have gained skills and confidence from extensive local workshops and active participation in international conferences; and through increased participation among local youth in post-secondary education. For a list of the numerous project publications, please contact Mark Hostetler.
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CERLAC and the Temuco Project By Ricardo Grinspun The York University-Catholic University of Temuco Linkage Project promotes innovative teaching methods and university research to develop human resources that can alleviate rural poverty and gender inequity while ensuring environmental sustainability. It also purports to strengthen institutionally an academic institution located in a predominantly rural region in the south of Chile. At CERLAC, the project continued to have significant impact in terms of expanding our focus and expertise in rural development, and more generally, international development, sustainability and North-South issues. The Rural and Community Development Group (RCDG) was created in late 2000 as a network of researchers, professors and graduate students who are working on rural sustainable development or on issues that affect Latin American rural communities, such as the mining and hydrocarbon industries. It was led during the first two and half years by Alejandra Roncallo, and more recently by Miguel Gonzalez, both PhD candidates in Political Science. The RCDG group incorporated a variety of researchers and encouraged cross-regional comparisons of Latin American experience with that of Africa and Asia, and served as a venue for presentation of graduate student work, invited speakers, and organization of workshops. (See list of RCDG Events). In January 2003 the project organized a major activity hosting a group of eight senior academics from the Catholic University who came to enhance their academic contacts in Canada. An intensive two-week program of activities was organized that also included contacts with other Ontario and Quebec universities. Included in the activities, a half-day workshop allowed the Chilean academics to discuss various aspects of sustainable rural development in southern Chile and particularly in the Temuco region. In addition, a two-day participatory workshop entitled From the Bottom Up: Globalization and the Challenge of Rural and Community Development was held on January 27-28, 2003 with the participation of about 90 researchers and students from various institutions. One specific goal of the workshop was to critically analyze relevant Canadian policies. The RCDG has also continued to support activities to promote fair trade as part of the Fair Trade Campaign at York. Recently, the project has been a driving force behind, and has provided institutional support to, the creation of the University Consortium on the Global South (UCGS), and RCDG activities have merged with those of UCGS. Information about the project and its activities can be found on the Temuco Project website. See also Tim Clark's Reflections of a Graduate Student in Chile: La Araucanía.
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Initiatives in the New Economy By Luin Goldring “Initiatives in the New Economy,” a three-year SSHRC-funding project, will contribute to knowledge and policies concerning the economic insertion of selected new immigrant groups in Canada’s rapidly changing post-industrial and multicultural society. Older cohorts of immigrants could expect some economic mobility, at least over time, with education and language as key determinants of the slope of the upward trajectory. In recent years, it has become clear that new immigrants, regardless of education and language, are much more likely to encounter labour market difficulties in Canada’s new economy. Our overall research question investigates the impact of macro-level restructuring, Canadian immigration (selection and settlement) policy changes, racialization, and the proliferation of transnational connections and practices on immigrant economic incorporation. We are particularly interested in the impact of three processes on immigrant economic and social well-being, as indicated by occupational trajectories: (1) legal status upon entry and subsequent changes in this status, (2) aspects of social capital and networks, and (3) community-level institutional development and embeddedness. The analysis is informed by a ‘transnational’ perspective, which recognizes that economic incorporation is a complex social process that does not preclude, and may be accompanied by, the maintenance of regular connections and complex relationships with the homeland. The project stands to contribute to theoretical and policy debates in several areas, including analyses of immigrant entrepreneurship (e.g. the extent to which it is a defensive mechanism, a strategy for mobility, or both), the costs and benefits of transnational practices for various social groups (class, gender, racialization), the impacts of precarious employment and the hourglass labour market on newcomers and their families, and the relationship between modes of economic incorporation and transnational linkages. CERLAC Fellow and York University sociology professor Luin Goldring is the Principal Investigator and CERLAC Fellow Patricia Landolt at the University of Toronto is co-investigator of this exciting new project.
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In the course of my work as editor of this journal, I came to forgive e-mail almost all of its irritating and intrusive qualities because electronic communication made possible some of the most productive and satisfying collaborative relationships I have ever enjoyed. Patricia Chuchryk, Ted Hewitt and Yvon Grenier's support and contributions were invaluable. In addition to these co-editors and the hardworking members of the Editorial Board, other colleagues, closer to hand, played a crucial role through their support for the journal. In this respect I want to mention Viviana Patroni, Director of CERLAC, who brought the journal to York University and worked with great energy as an editorial board member and guest editor, giving abundant encouragement at every turn. Stan Shapson, Vice-President for Research and Innovation, and John Lennox, Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies, provided the financial and human resources that underpinned our efforts. Ricardo Grinspun, former Director, and more recently, Acting Director of CERLAC, was unwavering in his enthusiasm for hosting the journal. And Marshall Beck, for years Administrator of CERLAC, supported the journal in a hundred different ways that ranged from the design and production of the new cover, to carrying out the work of the Graduate Assistant over the summer break, and – perhaps most important – allowing me to seize a manuscript from his desk drawer to send out for review and, ultimately, to publish in the first issue of the journal we produced at York. Moreover, Judy Powell of the University of Calgary Press, did so much to make this long-distance relationship a great success. CJLACS is now leaving CERLAC for Montreal. Having enjoyed my work as editor far more than I could ever have imagined, I would feel very sad to see the journal leave CERLAC were it not the case that my responsibilities will now pass to an exceptionally talented and enthusiastic colleague, Professor Victor Armony of the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM). I know that all of us who have been associated with the journal are delighted that Victor has been willing to take on this task and wish him the very best in his work as Editor of CJLACS.
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The University Consortium on the Global South CERLAC, in collaboration with a number of other academic units at York University, launched the University Consortium on the Global South (UCGS) in April 2004. The purpose of this initiative is to encourage academic engagement with the Global South, broadly defined. In recognition that the problems of the Global South transcend regional boundaries, this initiative provides a venue for trans-disciplinary approaches to these issues and for reaching beyond regional limits. It aims to stimulate critical research, by encouraging methodologies such as action research, and encourage critical analysis of Canadian policies toward the Global South. This collaborative endeavour has established a shared academic space for dialogue and research among graduate students, faculty members, social activists, policymakers, visiting scholars and speakers, as well as governmental and non-governmental organizations. The initiative arose from a growing recognition that orthodox development practices are not conducive to equitable and sustainable human development. The upsurge of resistance at the grassroots, national and international levels in reaction to widespread social exclusion and human insecurity is an indication that current development practices have fallen short. Despite their diversity, these social movements share a quest for alternative practices that focus on equity and social justice, an assertion of local knowledge, the celebration of cultural diversity, and a renewed demand for autonomy in every sphere of life. The Consortium provides an open and inclusive forum where participants engage with a broad spectrum of critical perspectives on the Global South. It will work in areas such as human development, political economy, equity and social justice, ecology and sustainability, gender, ethnicity and racialization, rural and grassroots development, North-South relations, global-national-local links, and public policy.
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