Presented by the University of Ottawa
and the Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD)
June 15, 16 and 17, 2003

In Canada it is truly “time to act,” with the federal government starting to dedicate more resources to social development and vowing to work more closely with the voluntary sector. We invite governmental and non-governmental researchers, policy-makers and advocates to join with us at this year’s conference to envision social policies that will make a difference.

This year the role of the voluntary sector in policy-making will be highlighted, with South African activist Kumi Naidoo delivering the keynote address. After years dedicated to anti-apartheid and womens’ rights struggles, Naidoo founded Civicus: the World Alliance for Citizen Participation, which now brings together 500 organizations and individuals from 97 countries to strengthen citizen action and civil society throughout the world.

Debate and discussion will be animated by such prominent social advocates as Frances Lankin, President and CEO of the United Way of Greater Toronto, Quebec-based political activist Françoise David and municipal counselor Olivia Chow. To provide perspective on the Canadian experience, this year’s conference will also include international speakers such as Michael Raper, Director of the Welfare Rights Centre of Australia, and Simone Pennec of the Université de Bretagne occidentale in France.

For more than twenty years, this biennial conference has strengthened links among researchers and policy-makers working for government, the voluntary sector, and universities. We expect approximately 300 participants in this eleventh social welfare policy conference, the first to be organized with the Canadian Council on Social Development as its permanent secretariat. The conference will be bilingual, with simultaneous interpretation for the plenaries and workshop sessions in both French and English.

We sincerely thank the Social Development Partnerships Program of Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) for the financial support which made this conference possible. We also gratefully acknowledge financial support from the following organizations:

• Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT)
• The City of Ottawa
• Policy Internships and Fellowships Program (PIAF) (pdf file)

The Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD) is the permanent secretariat of the Canadian Social Wel