LaFountaine-Baldwin Lecture: Sheila Watt-Cloutier, Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada, 29-30 May 2009

Organized by the Institute for Canadian Citizenship, the LaFontaine-Baldwin Lecture is one of the most prominent lecture series on issues concerning the public good in Canada. It is the only lecture which includes a sustained public conversation, book publications in English and French, press publications in English and French, and national television and radio partnerships in English and French. Every year it is held in a different city and therefore plays both a regional and national role. Each year the Institute for Canadian Citizenship organizes a local voluntary committee to anchor the program in the chosen community and to help organize the event.

Many conversations take place in Canada about the North – its environment, sovereignty, natural resources. Usually these conversations are held in the South and often without any input from Northerners. With one of Canada's leading public figures, who has long been a national and international voice for Northerners and the North, the LaFontaine-Baldwin Lecture aims to set a very different tone. Sheila Watt-Cloutier's lecture will add to the voice of people in the North and may change the nature of future debates on Northern issues. The lecture will offer a unique Arctic persective on democracy, citizenship, and governance.

About the Speaker:
Sheila Watt-Cloutier is Officer of the Order of Canada, the first recipient of Canada's Northern Medal and was nominated for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. Between 1995 and 1998 she was elected President of the Inuit Circumpolar Council. Between 2002 and 2006 she served as the elected International Chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council – a position she would hold until 2006. Ms. Watt-Cloutier has worked on a range of social and environmental issues affecting Inuit, and has most recently focused on persistent organic pollutants and global climate change.

Program of the Symposium:
The first day of the symposium is built around the lecture, which will be held on Friday, 29 May 2009, in Iqaluit, Nunavut. John Ralston Saul, Founder and Chair of the Symposium, will open the lecture. After the lecture, there will be time for questions from the audience, followed by a public reception. The second day of the symposium, Saturday 30 May 2009, will be devoted to a Town Hall with discussions about issues and arguments raised in the lecture. This will involve the use of smaller roundtables, each hosted by a distinguished Canadian, and a discussion with Ms. Watt-Cloutier and other distinguished panelists.

Organizers are hoping to involve a national broadcaster to simulcast the lecture and the Town Hall to audiences in the South, to organize questions for Ms. Watt-Cloutier from Southern audiences, and perhaps to organize local debates in the South.

Please direct inquiries to:
Sander Dankelman
sdankelman@icc-icc.ca
416.593.6998

For further information on the Institute for Canadian Citizenship, please visit: http://www.icc-icc.ca/en/.