Just days back from co-chairing the week-long Aboriginal Policy Research Conference in Ottawa, University of Western Ontario professor Jerry White can already see the fruits of his labour.
Western, in partnership with The National Association of Friendship Centres (NAFC) and Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC), hosted the conference which included about 1,290 delegates from Canada and around the globe. It is the largest of its kind in the world.
Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal researchers and policy makers from Canada, Russia, the United States, New Zealand, Mexico, the United Nations, Thailand, and Latin and South America participated in the conference, which showcased a range of high-quality research that has recently been conducted on Aboriginal issues in order to inform evidence-based policy making.
“The conference itself was a really big success,” he says, adding it was often ‘standing room only’ for some presentations.
Many new partnerships and research collaborations were made at the conference.
Among those was a memorandum of understanding between Russia and Canada to support research and co-operation between the two countries, including support for the conference in the future.
White, along with the other two co-chairs, met with 12 deputy ministers to discuss how research from the conference will be used in their departments and can be used to increase well-being for Aboriginals.
“It directly influences government policy,” he says.
He also expects about 70 new research teams and grants coming out of this event, as well as a five-book volume set of research papers presented at the conference will be published.
“Canada’s past has been one of colonial relations and research has also been somewhat imposed on indigenous peoples, now we’ve broken through.
“It’s a brand new era. We can talk about real, true partnerships based on trying to understand how the Aboriginal people themselves look at their own history, life and current development, also about how we used different scientific methods.”
White feels the partnerships forged at the conference between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal researchers and Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal political leaders and policymakers will open up opportunities for changes in relationships at the personal and governmental level.
The next conference is scheduled for 2012 in Ottawa, which White says will be promoted as a ‘world conference.’ The goal is to attract 40 per cent international delegates.
In the mean time, several countries will hold smaller versions of the Aboriginal policy research conferences, chaired by organizers of the Ottawa event.
“We are seeing a proliferation internationally of our conference strategy and of our partnership strategy,” he says.
The conference serves as a networking opportunity for indigenous peoples to meet with people they otherwise wouldn’t have access to.
“The conference itself has so many strong voices and so many strong researchers and policy people involved with it that we can’t just go back to those old days where people made decisions on what they felt. Now scientific evidence is really in the forefront of all the kinds of discussions that take place about Aboriginal policy,” he says.
White also launched his new book, Aboriginal Education: Current Crisis, Future Alternatives, on March 10 during the conference.
The book is edited by White, along with Julie Peters and Nicholas Spence, also of Western, and Dan Beavon of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada and focuses on the current Aboriginal educational attainment and why it is so low. In addition to looking at the causes, it offers new and innovative solutions to rectifying the situation.
For information visit www.thompsonbooks.com/aboriginal_studies.