International Development Week 2020 is February 2 to 8!
It’s time to go for the goals!
What is IDW?
This year marks the 30th anniversary of Canada’s International Development Week (IDW). It is an annual occasion to celebrate the impact and successes of organizations and individuals working to help people and communities in developing countries, where poverty, conflict or natural disasters make for precarious living conditions.
For 2020, the theme for IDW is “Go for the Goals.” In 2015, Canada committed to the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and collaboration toward a better world for all. The 2030 Agenda, with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), is a global action plan to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030.
In September 2019, Canada, alongside other members of the United Nations, agreed to a political declaration aimed at accelerating progress on the 2030 Agenda in its final ten years of implementation. The Decade of Action calls for transformative action through global leadership, efforts to fully integrate the 2030 Agenda into national and local policies, institutions and budgets, active participation by citizens to generate an unstoppable movement pushing for transformation.
Canada’s Role
As one of the world’s richest countries, Canada has a long tradition of providing assistance to those in need. Whether through long-term investments in development programs that help people meet basic needs such as water, food, shelter, and health care, or by responding to humanitarian crises, more than 2,000 Canadian organizations are making a difference in millions of lives.
With an annual aid budget of just over $5 billion, in addition to the generosity of individual donors from all over the country, Canada’s presence is welcomed in Africa, Asia, South America, the Middle East, and beyond.
In 2017, Canada unveiled its Feminist International Assistance Policy, which aims to eradicate global poverty by addressing gender inequality in its many forms. This progressive approach is aligned with the 2030 Agenda, including SDG 5 on gender equality. The policy also supports progress on climate change including the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, and efforts to protect the environment for future generations.
The Government of Canada recognizes the 2030 Agenda requires a whole-of-society approach and a focus on reaching the most vulnerable to leave no one behind in Canada and abroad. Years of experience have shown that multi-pronged interventions that straddle disciplines and cut across jurisdictions are by far the best way to affect tangible, systemic, lasting change. Canada’s development and humanitarian organizations are increasingly committing to enhanced collaboration with a wider range of civil society groups, industry, and other key actors as part of their efforts to go for the goals.
CCIC is contributing to the successful implementation of the 2030 Agenda in Canada and the world through research and analysis that focuses on identifying and promoting good practices that governments, civil society organizations and others can use to inform their efforts.
In 2019, the Government of Canada launched a consultation on Canada’s 2030 Agenda National Strategy. CCIC encouraged its members and others to participate in the consultation and urged the government to make sure that its strategy is informed by international best practices.
What Is CCIC Doing for IDW?
What is CCIC doing for IDW?
We are delighted to announce our schedule of events for IDW!
During IDW, we will lead efforts to raise awareness of how and where Canada’s development and humanitarian aid is helping vulnerable communities and saving lives. Follow our social media platforms to get all the news and engage with fellow Canadians.
Our members will also organize a myriad of events and activities to showcase the amazing work they do around the world. Check here for the latest updates.
On February 6, we will coordinate our second Hill Day, where members will go to Ottawa to meet with Members of Parliament from all parties to discuss the challenges, achievements, and aspirations of Canada’s international development community.
In the evening, we are partnering with CanWaCH to host a reception in Ottawa for CCIC members and the public. That is when we will present the inaugural Impact and innovation Award to an individual and an organization for their respective contributions to our sector. We look forward to highlighting the remarkable accomplishments of these two leaders. The awards were created in collaboration with World University Services Canada (WUSC) and the trustees of the Lewis Perinbam Award.
International Development Week is a unique opportunity for CCIC, its 80+ members, and their supporters to focus on our shared, steadfast mission to Leave No One Behind!
Participate in the IDW 2020 #GoForTheGoals Social Media Challenge!
1. Promote
2. Participate
3. Share stories
4. Evaluate
- Record a quick video of your action, explaining what you’re doing and why. Challenge your friends to #GoForTheGoals
- Post your video on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook between January 13 and February 8, 2020
- Include #GoForTheGoals, #IDW2020, #Can2030Agenda and #MyGlobalGoals in the text (or #VisezLesObjectifs, #SDI2020 and #Prog2030Can in French)
Week One (January 13)
Your Action:
- Clean out your fridge and make a meal with all your leftovers to help reduce food waste!
- Post a photo or video of your meal on your social media!
Why this action?
Did you know that more than $1 trillion worth of food gets lost or wasted every year, which means less income for farmers in developing countries? Women farmers are particularly vulnerable, as they have less access to resources than men. Further, all that lost food means wasting the greenhouse gases used to grow it, contributing to climate change. Join fellow Canadians, at home and abroad, to take action and raise awareness. It will make for an interesting discussion over dinner! A little food for thought!
Week Two (January 20)
Your Action:
- Plant a seed or tree in a pot, or build a vertical garden with recycled bottles.
- Post a photo or video on your social media!
Why this action?
Climate change affects us all, especially people in developing countries with far fewer resources to deal with its impacts. Women are particularly vulnerable, as they don’t have access to the same resources as men to help them adapt.
But we can help. Reducing carbon emissions is crucial, but so is removing carbon from the atmosphere, which we can do by planting trees! That’s why countries like Ethiopia have recently committed to planting more than 4 billion trees. If you want to fight climate change and help the planet … plant something!
The simple act of planting a seed or seedling tree in a pot in February might seem odd considering the season. However, once the snow has melted, participants can plant their seedlings outside! Such a simple act has so many benefits. Trees help reduce climate change, purify the air we breathe, prevent water pollution, provide shelter for wildlife, are a renewable energy source, reinforce soil, and control erosion.
? Around the world, people are calling for climate action.
What can YOU do here in Canada? How about planting something to help remove carbon from the atmosphere?
#GoForTheGoals Challenge #2: Plant a seed or garden indoors ahead of spring? More details ?
For #IDW2020, take part in 4 #GoForTheGoals challenges to help build a better ?!
More on #IDW2020? Canada.ca/idw
More on the Sustainable Development Goals? bit.ly/2PPXmOr
Week 3 (January 27)
Your Action:
- Complete this statement with a word or phrase on a piece of paper: “To me, living in a gender equal and inclusive world world means…”
- Post a photo or video of you holding the paper on your social media!
Why this action?
This action speaks to the importance of diversity and inclusion, and human rights for all. Violence, injustice, and exclusion affect health, cause trauma, and weaken societies. Today, violence affects more than 1 billion children around the world. One in three women will have experienced physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. About 80 percent of homicide victims are men. And that just scratches the surface.
So today, join Canadians, at home and abroad, in taking action. Write a word or phrase on a piece of paper telling us what living in a peaceful, just, and inclusive world means to you.
Week 4 (February 3)
Your Action:
- Building a partnership takes trust. Do a trust exercise with a group of people, such as forming a trust circle. A trust circle is formed by a number of people (the more the better) standing in a circle, shoulder to shoulder, all facing towards the center. The next step is for everyone to take a quarter turn to the left (or right) and then on a given command everyone sits on the lap of the person behind them. The end result is everyone is supporting someone and everyone is being supported by another.
- Post a photo or video on your social media!
Why this action?
Whether you’re in school, at work, on a sports team, or at the G7 Summit, partnership takes patience, compromise, and most of all trust in order to move forward to the goals we want to accomplish. Tackling the world’s biggest challenges is no different. It takes partnership and trust. Forming a trust circle with a group of people exemplifies this notion.
The bigger the circle the better as it demonstrates the degree of difficulty it takes to cooperate, support, and build trust with multiple “players”, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. This action encourages open dialogue, increases knowledge sharing and information exchange between participants.
We will only build a better world—one without poverty, with gender equality, with access to health services and education— if we work together. Just like a trust circle, if one link in the chain breaks, the longer it will take to achieve the common goal. We need all links in the chain to be strong and active to #GoForTheGoals.
So get together with your friends, colleagues and family, form a trust circle and share your experience with us!
Participating Organizations
Different organizations working in international assistance in each province of Canada have their own IDW webpages with specific information about how to you can get involved during the week in your region:
- Atlantic Council for International Cooperation (ACIC)
- Association québécoise des organismes de coopération internationale (AQOCI) (in French only)
- Ontario Council for International Cooperation (OCIC)
- Manitoba Council for International Cooperation (MCIC)
- Saskatchewan Council for International Cooperation (SCIC)
- Alberta Council for Global Cooperation (ACGC)
- British Columbia Council for International Cooperation (BCCIC)
- Northern Council for Global Cooperation (NCGC)
- Inter-Council Network (ICN)