Learning/volunteer abroad programmes provide opportunities for cross-cultural understanding, partnership-building, and cooperative development, but there are also significant structural challenges and inequality of opportunity issues that result from these partnerships between host organizations in the Global South and learning/volunteer abroad for development (LVA4D) participants from the Global North. Learning and Volunteering Abroad for Development aims to unpack the complex benefits and disadvantages of learning/volunteer abroad programmes, using insights from the volunteers who travel abroad and the communities who host them. Based on empirical research within both volunteer and host communities, this book provides students and scholars with an alternative framework for a more careful and nuanced analysis of international volunteering programmes, highlighting ways to improve critical reflection, development outcomes, and intercultural competence. Supported by a website with additional learning resources, this book is an integral resource for senior undergraduate and graduate students interested in going abroad, as well as for scholars or development professionals who are leading or researching such programmes.

Learning/volunteer abroad programmes provide opportunities for cross-cultural understanding, partnership-building, and cooperative development, but there are also significant structural challenges and inequality of opportunity issues that result from these partnerships between host organizations in the Global South and learning/volunteer abroad for development (LVA4D) participants from the Global North. Learning and Volunteering Abroad for Development aims to unpack the complex benefits and disadvantages of learning/volunteer abroad programmes, using insights from the volunteers who travel abroad and the communities who host them. Based on empirical research within both volunteer and host communities, this book provides students and scholars with an alternative framework for a more careful and nuanced analysis of international volunteering programmes, highlighting ways to improve critical reflection, development outcomes, and intercultural competence. Supported by a website with additional learning resources, this book is an integral resource for senior undergraduate and graduate students interested in going abroad, as well as for scholars or development professionals who are leading or researching such programmes.

On issues pertaining to women and girls, Stephen Harper's federal government positioned Canada as a "beacon of light" in the world. Programs were developed in relation to women's maternal health and the protection of the girl child, but other actions point to an ambiguous and even contradictory approach that failed to address gender inequality. In Obligations and Omissions, contributors examine Canada's equivocal - and diminished - role in working toward gender equality in the period between 2006 and 2015. Using a critical feminist lens to document, analyze, and challenge Canada's relations with the Global South, chapters explore the extent to which matters of gender equality have been erased or exploited under the Harper government and the factors that explain these policy shifts. While the contributors document successes in Canada's approach to some issues facing women and girls around the world, they also show many problems with the ways that agenda was framed and implemented under the Conservative government. Drawing on rich theoretical investigation, empirical research, and discourse analysis, Obligations and Omissions reveals a complex picture of diverse practices, underscoring the implications of these actions for communities in the Global South, for Canada's image in the international community, and for future governments in the pursuit of a renewed gender equality strategy.

Globetrotting or Global Citizenship? explores the broad range of international experiential learning options available to Canadian students, as well as the opportunities and the ethical dilemmas that come with them. Combining practical advice with critical examinations of international experiential learning, this essay collection is designed to help the reader to move beyond photo-ops and travel opportunities and towards striving for a deeper global citizenship. Globetrotting or Global Citizenship? is a valuable guide for students considering going abroad for experiential learning and a useful resource for those returning from such programs, as well as instructors and administrators facilitating pre-departure and return orientation sessions. Anyone taking part in international volunteering will find the reflections and analysis provided here an excellent starting point for understanding the potential impact of their time abroad.

Canada is one of the most beautiful, varied, and inspiring natural environments on earth. Few countries contain such topographical differences as the West Coast, the mountain regions, the prairies, the Arctic, the cityscapes close to the American border, and the eastern forests. The Canadian territory is the second largest in the world, and it borders on three oceans--its fourth border is with the United States, the most powerful economy in the world. This provides Canadians unique access to a large market, but also raises many problems related not only to political and cultural influence, but to transborder pollution.

This book investigates the complexities of Canadian environmental policy. The text is split into three sections: the political context in which decisions are made; issue areas in need of engagement; and perspectives on the achievement of sustainable development, which colour the Canadian conceptual landscape.

The first section outlines the state of the Canadian environment, the actors and institutions involved in environmental policy formation (and a detailed history of Environment Canada), and the international context of modern decision-making. The second section is issue-specific, including chapters on environmental law, risk management and environmental impact assessment, international treaties and conventions involving Canada, and an overall assessment of Canadian policy. The final section deals with values and theories, from gender issues to environmental ethics. The book serves as a comprehensive introduction that makes explicit recognition of the transnational character of environmental policy formation in the era of globalization, and offers critical insights into the decision-making process.