Guelph Institute of Development Studies Celebrates 30 Years of Hosting Prominent Global Development Scholars

For the last 30 years, the University of Guelph has invited internationally renowned scholars to discuss their work on contemporary and future global development challenges in the annual Hopper Lecture. 

Established in honour of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC)’s founding president David Hopper, the very first Hopper Lecture in 1993 was given by Vandana Shiva, a distinguished environmentalist and feminist who champions the cause of grassroots participation in developing countries. Shiva shared with the audience her ideas on understanding the threats to biological and cultural diversity, arguing that conservation of biodiversity is inevitably a movement for the protection of cultural diversity, and a survival imperative.  

Over the years, the Hopper Lecture has continued to provide an opportunity to share cutting edge research about international development and engage with the Candian public on global issues by bringing prominent international development thinkers to the University of Guelph of Guelph campus.  

The Hopper Lecture has covered a wide variety of topics, from former Peruvian president Francisco Sagasti’s lecture on the future of development cooperation to feminist economist Naila Kabeer’s lecture on building collective actions on the margin with gender perspectives from South Asia. These scholars are invited to both give a lecture in-person at the University of Guelph and another Canadian university of their choice. 

This year, the Guelph Institute of Development Studies (GIDS) has invited Leanne Betasamosake Simpson to give the Hopper Lecture. Simpson is a renowned Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg scholar, writer and artist who has been recognized as one of the most compelling Indigenous voices of her generation. 

In her talk on Theories of Water, Simpson will reflect on what it means to listen to and believe in water, taking inspiration from the works of interdisciplinary Anishinaabekwe artist Rebecca Belmore and Canadian poet Dionne Brand. Through this work that is deeply connected with the land, Simpson challenges systems of colonialism that have contributed to our current climate and humanitarian crises. 

“At the Guelph Institute of Development Studies, we are thinking carefully about how to pursue decolonial forms of global solidarity and partnership as the world faces multiple complex crises. Decolonisation is about meaningfully shifting power relationships, as well as questioning dominant ways of thinking, being and doing. We are so honoured that Dr. Leanne Betasamosake Simpson has agreed to share her knowledge with us as we think and act on these questions,” said Dr. Andrea Paras, Director of GIDS. 

All are invited to hear Simpson’s talk Thursday, October 19 from 4 to 6 p.m., both virtual and in-person on the University of Guelph campus. Register to attend Theories of Water. 

The annual Hopper Lecture is a unique long-term collaboration between the IDRC and the University of Guelph, the only kind in the IDRC’s history. It celebrates the many significant connections between the two institutions, such as that of its namesake and founding president David Hopper, who obtained his first academic appointment as Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics at the University of Guelph in 1957 after the completion of his PhD.  

Learn more about the Hopper Lecture and its past speakers. 

The Guelph Institute of Development Studies (GIDS) 

GIDS provides education, research and analysis related to international development and development in Canada. The mandate of the Institute is to promote positive and inclusive change in the world and social justice for all. Learn more about the Guelph Institute of Development Studies.