The World in 2030
Event Series
The Guelph Institute of Development Studies presents a new event series to rethink the future. Global experts in sustainability, food security, gender, health, democracy and human rights will discuss the forces that are driving the prospects of sustainable human development in the 21st century.
Social Reproduction and One Health on the Farm: Feeding the World as if People Mattered
Although farms are living spaces that anchor diverse economies, the challenge of feeding the world is dominated by narrow questions of yield, efficiency, and cost-benefit analysis. Combining streams from world ecology, critical agrarian studies, and diverse economies thinkers, Flachs discusses anthropological case studies from India, Bosnia, and the U.S. Midwest to ask how small-scale agriculture supports living communities in place: feeding the world as if people mattered. Central to this approach is viewing efficiency not as a function of yields, profits, or commodities produced but of reproducing the conditions for local health and wellbeing. The talk centers small-scale agriculture as an engine of social reproduction, the continual creation of communities of practice. This analysis both helps to re-value the rippling benefits of local farm systems and illuminate the profound damage of commercial plantations that emphasize commodity production.
This event was co-sponsored by the Guelph Institute of Development Studies, the One Health Institute and the Canada India Research Centre for Learning and Engagement.
Captions by McKinley Pugh.
Migrant Labour and Social Justice: A Panel in Honour of Dr. Kerry Preibisch
This panel celebrates the life and work of Dr. Kerry Preibisch, whose lifelong commitment to community engaged research and migrant labour rights shaped – and continues to shape – the study of labour relations, transnational migration, and global development.
In Dr. Preibisch's honour, GIDS presents a lively and engaging discussion on the role of transnational migration in Canadian and global agriculture. Featuring speakers Dr. Evelyn Encalada Grez, Dr. Warren Dodd, Dr. Sally Humphries, and Gabriel Allahdua.
Migrant Labour and Social Justice Transcript | Captions & transcript by Alexandra Loopstra and Holland Berkers
Cruel Optimism? Resilience in the Anthropocene
Lauren Berlant writes that cruel optimism 'exists when something you desire is actually an obstacle to your flourishing.' Is resilience merely a last chance saloon for the maintenance of modes of living that inevitably must fail? Does resilience push the costs of climate change onto communities that can least afford it? Does resilience operate to paper over the cracks rather than to tackle problems at their roots?
Guest speaker Dr. David Chandler, Professor of International Relations at the University of Westminster, discusses three framings of resilience: building back better, managing equilibrium, and dynamic adaptation.
Cruel Optimism Transcript | Captions & transcript by Alexandra Loopstra and Holland Berkers
HERD: Inuit Voices on Caribou Film Discussion
"HERD: Inuit Voices on Caribou" tells the story of Inuit connections with caribou in the Nunatsiavut and NunatuKavut regions of Labrador, Canada.
This project stands as an emotional, audio-visual, qualitative repository that highlights Inuit feelings and experiences of loss and distress associated with caribou declines; shares outlooks and actions of strength, hope, and resilience; and illustrates the need for Inuit leadership and guidance in caribou conservation and management.
Featuring speakers David Borish, Inez Shiwak, and Nicholas Flowers.
HERD Transcript | Captions & transcript by Brooklyn Barber
Experiences of Displaced Scholars: Push and Pull Factors
Scholars affected by displacement share their stories in a discussion exploring the causes, consequences and life realities of forced migration.
- Dr. Ahmad Mohammadpour, University of Massachusetts Amherst
- Dr. Halil Ibrahim Yenigün, San Jose State University
- Dr. Hamid Alawadhi, Point Park University Pittsburgh
- Dr. Basileus Zeno, Amherst College
- Dr. Yar Taraky, University of Guelph
- Dr. Evren Altinkas, University of Guelph (moderator)
Experiences of Displaced Scholars Transcript | Captions & transcript by Daphne Campomanes
Spilling the Beans: Inclusive Development in the Coffee Sector
GIDS and Planet Bean Coffee present a discussion about fair trade and empowerment with women coffee farmers from Indonesia and Peru.
- Rizkani Ahmad, a coffee farmer from the Gayo Highlands of Sumatra, Indonesia, and a representative of the KOKOWAGAYO coffee co-operative.
- Isabel Uriarte Latorre, a coffee farmer from Cajamarca, Peru, and the co-founder of specialty coffee brand Café Femenino.
- Meghan Brockington, PhD candidate, University of Guelph (moderator)
Spilling the Beans Transcript | Captions & transcript by Brooklyn Barber
Contesting Systemic Racism
GIDS welcomes two distinguished guests for a discussion about how to address structural inequalities and achieve a more just society.
- Mary Anne Chambers, OONT – Member of the GIDS External Advisory Board, Former U of G Governor, Bank Executive, Ontario Cabinet Minister
- Patrick Case – Assistant Deputy Minister – Education Equity Secretariat, Ministry of Education
- Steffi Hamann – Assistant Professor, University of Guelph (moderator)
Contesting Systemic Racism Transcript | Captions & transcript by Brooklyn Barber and Emily Kerr
Dirty Money and Divestment – Defunding Climate Change
Representatives from three Ontario-based universities discuss the role of initiatives campaigning for higher education institutions to divest from fossil fuel companies:
- Kyla Tienhaara, Assistant Professor, Queen's University
- Matthew Hoffmann, Professor, University of Toronto
- Sarah-Anne Thompson, Member, Fossil Free Guelph
- Craig Johnson, Director, Guelph Institute of Development Studies
Dirty Money and Divestment Transcript | Captions & transcript by Delia Gregory
Do WE have a problem? The Future of Charity and Canada's Aid Sector
A panel of renowned Canadian development experts discusses the impact of the WE scandal:
- Nicolas Moyer | President & CEO, Cooperation Canada
- Simran Singh | Director, Global Programs, CARE Canada
- Rebecca Tiessen | Professor, University of Ottawa
Do WE Have a Problem Transcript | Captions & transcript by Brooklyn Barber
Our World is at a Crossroads
The international community is pursuing an unprecedented agenda for tackling food insecurity, preventing human rights violations, protecting biodiversity, managing humanitarian crises and mitigating global climate change.
At the same time, nationalist politicians and governments are turning inwards, rejecting global agreements and international cooperation in favour of right-wing populism, hate speech and xenophobia.
Immigration, populism and democracy
Right-wing victories in Europe, the United States and most recently, in Brazil, suggest that politicians and political movements are making electoral gains by engaging in discriminatory rhetoric that actively targets immigrants and ethnic minorities.
How do we explain these trends? Are we witnessing the beginning of a right-wing backlash? To what extent is the international community able to accommodate and respond to new flows of economic migrants and political refugees? What are the prospects for democracy?
Sexuality, difference and identity
There is now a growing awareness and acceptance of gender, difference and sexual identity. However, patriarchal practices like dowry and sex-selective abortions remain widespread.
Similarly, and in spite of the victories that have been made in the name of LGBTQ rights, sexual minorities face widespread discrimination and persecution, often at the hands of right-wing movements.
Where are these trends taking us? Are legal and constitutional guarantees sufficient for protecting the rights of sexual minorities?
Urbanization, sustainability and development
Cities generate vast wealth and employment, but they are also major sites of pollution, displacement, insecurity and inequality. According to the United Nations, approximately 70 per cent of the world’s population will be living in cities by the year 2050.
How will the world accommodate and adapt to such a rapidly expanding urban population? What are the most pressing urban challenges?
How are local, national and international institutions responding to these challenges? What are the implications for food systems, food security and rural livelihoods?
Climate, vulnerability and health
Increasing attention is being paid to the challenge of tackling and reducing climate change vulnerability by building resilience or “building back better,” challenging destructive development pathways and envisioning alternative policy scenarios.
However, climate disasters like devastating windstorms and flash floods often leave psychological and emotional scars that are rarely if ever addressed by humanitarian assistance and relief agencies.
What are the known drivers and factors connecting climate change and health? To what extent are humanitarian and environmental actors incorporating health into existing policy?
Indigenous self-determination and the nation-state
International efforts to incorporate Indigenous peoples into “mainstream” policies and discourses have taken the form of highly aspirational normative frameworks, such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
However, concerns have been raised that the inclusion of Indigenous concepts and peoples only reinforces ethnic stereotypes, racialized differences and an unequal ecology of knowledges.
Moreover, Indigenous self-determination frequently stands in direct contradiction to the colonial institutionalization of land, property, language, education and justice that underlies the modern nation-state.
To what extent are nation-states able to acknowledge and accommodate such fundamental contradictions? What effect has UNDRIP had on local forms of Indigenous self-determination?
How do Indigenous leaders and communities around the world understand and act upon the mobilization of Indigenous communities in Canada, Bolivia and other national contexts? What does the future of Indigenous self-determination movements hold for Indigenous communities?