2010: To Boldly Go: Charting our Common Future

This year marked the University's 25th International Week, built around the theme To Boldly Go: Charting Our Common Future. 2010's program put special emphasis on International Week's tradition of cooperation with faculty members, student and community groups, government departments and non-governmental organizations. Not only does this approach permit a deeper and more holistic understanding of complex issues, it enables people with common interests to exchange ideas and lay foundations to work together collaboratively.

A leader in global education programming for the past 25 years, International Week has contributed creatively to internationalization on our campus, harnessing the energy and knowledge of a broad range of actors to foster global citizenship. This year Nancy Hannemann, Director of the Global Education Program, accepted the Award for Outstanding Program in International Education from the Canadian Bureau for International Education on behalf of International Week. The award celebrated International Week's long history and achievements in increasing dialogue around global issues. The Week's sustainability and ever-growing program demonstrate meaningful engagement of individuals and communities on and off campus: many are ever eager to organize, present, sponsor, volunteer and attend events.

A much-quoted African proverb teaches us: "If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."

Decades after the World Commission on Environment and Development called for a development path that "sustained human progress not just in a few pieces for a few years, but for the entire planet into the distant future", we continue to struggle to envision and protect a shared future. With over 60 events in this year's International Week, participants joined discussions on topics like Canada's role in the world and the struggle for effective solutions to climate change. The importance of civic engagement, opportunities for action and prospects and alternatives for the future also emerged throughout the program.

Featured guests:

• Donna Brazile, veteran US Democratic political strategist, adjunct professor at Georgetown University and television political commentator.
• Brigadier-General Jon Vance, former Commander Joint Task Force Afghanistan and Task Force Kandahar
• Rajendra Pachauri, Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Director-General of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in India
• Thomas Pogge, Yale University Leitner Professor of Philosophy and International Affairs and part of team developing Health Impact Fund
• Susan Aglukark, winner of the first-ever Aboriginal Achievement Award in Arts and Entertainment and three Juno Awards for her blend of music in Inuktitut and English