Yeehaw! EWB National Conference takes Calgary by storm

“With the luck of being born in an affluent country comes the responsibility to provide opportunities for those who weren’t so lucky.”

Madame Adisa Lansah Yakubu, known to many at EWB as Mama Adisa, spent much of the Conference meeting EWB members from across Canada.

This statement, voiced so eloquently by Canada’s Governor General, Michaëlle Jean, perfectly captured the common motivation of the delegates attending the sixth annual EWB National Conference. The conference, themed Leaders for Change gave delegates the opportunity to exchange ideas, while listening to keynote speakers and discussion panels, as well as participating in interactive workshops and development debates. Delegates were challenged to consider their individual contributions to human development in three areas: development advocacy in Canada, including government, universities and individual citizens, leadership in overseas development and corporate social responsibility.

The Governor General’s keynote address was an exciting highlight as she delivered an inspirational speech, praising EWB’s work and emphasizing the importance of working toward poverty alleviation from within Canada. In addition, the conference explored the role of westerners in development overseas. The highlight of the conference for many delegates was a speech given by Madame Adisa Lansah Yakubu, affectionately known as Mama Adisa. A native of Northern Ghana, Mama Adisa traveled to Canada to attend the conference and share her views as an African woman. Mama Adisa encouraged all those present to act with emotion and empathy, as opposed to acting only in self-interest. As she discussed the importance of humility, including many personal anecdotes, all eyes were riveted on this fascinating, powerful woman. Mama Adisa encouraged all the delegates to take on an active role both in Canada and overseas in promoting awareness of the poverty of Africa, but also to remember the human aspects of development.

Members of EWB's Calgary Professional Chapter during a break at Collaboration Day.

Panels and workshops explored many aspects of development work both within Canada and overseas. One particular panel on westerners in development taught delegates about participatory approaches, whereby development workers involve local communities in all development projects, encouraging ownership and responsibility. This is an area where EWB has shown leadership as an organisation and has been recognized for its participatory practices overseas. As well, EWB members spent the last day of conference attending skill-building workshops, such as “Interacting with the Media” and “Evaluating Public Engagement”, to build the tools they need to affect global poverty from within Canada. At the same time, faculty members from engineering schools across Canada met with EWB’s co-CEO George Roter to discuss the importance of adding development topics to the engineering curriculum.

On the second day of conference, Collaboration Day, over 150 professionals from the Calgary area joined conference delegates for panels and workshops, with a particular focus on corporate social responsibility. The events provided much fodder for debate: are companies responsible for good social relations within their communities?; are companies responsible to their shareholders to make a profit first and foremost?; can social responsibility and profit generation coincide to make a business sustainable? These are just a few of the questions delegates pondered as they engaged with representatives from Shell, Nexen and the United Nations Global Compact. Collaboration Day engaged professionals in human development issues and delegates came away empowered in their role as socially conscious citizens within a corporation.

At the conference, delegates learned more about the role they can play as advocates of human development, whether as an overseas development worker, an active member of EWB chapters, or an employee in a major engineering firm. Each of these roles provides individuals with an opportunity to drive positive change through their everyday actions and interactions. The message of the conference was clear: whether you buy fair trade coffee, advocate and lobby the government, or work to influence the adoption of socially responsible practices in your workplace, the actions you are taking can have a massive impact on the lives of those living overseas.

Visit the Leaders for Change website for more information about the speakers, panels and workshops.