CASID / ACÉDI

Global development is everyone’s concern and not the exclusive domain of specialists and professionals. Thus, CASID and its funding agencies see public education and service as institutional priorities. CASID currently has three main instruments to promote this mission: the Canadian Journal of Development Studies, the Annual Conference, and Regional Events. However, while these conventional vehicles are necessary, they are not sufficient for contributions to policy debate and public education. Certainly, more needs to be done to further advance CASID’s contribution to the Canadian public debate.

In 2007, CASID took the initiative to bring development issues out of academia and into the realm of policy makers, citizens and the NGO community. The International Development Research Centre (IDRC), CASID’s main financial sponsor, enthusiastically supported this initiative. CASID committed itself to seeking active engagement with civil society and to making this an institutional priority. In this vein, we decided to hold, in addition to the regular Annual Conference and Regional Events, a series of problem-oriented symposia, connected with regional initiatives dealing with current issues of international development. Each of these events, termed International Development Forum (IDF), were designed to provide the content for an issue-oriented publication, as well as highlight policy and ethical issues for further discussion at the Annual Conference and elsewhere. An example of this was the successful forum on Afghanistan held in Saskatoon in May 2007. Such events are also intended to identify expertise and possible partnerships, including those with policy-makers, practitioners, the media, educators, and the public at large. In time, we hope that this initiative will evolve into an effective and relevant instrument of public education.

It is in this context that Development Forum was conceived as a short, issue-oriented publication, by experts but not for experts. Its purpose is to bring to the attention of the general public important international development issues from a well-informed and clearly written perspective. Similar publications have tackled development issues for the average interested, informed but not specialized readership. Yet, Development Forum is a more ambitious effort, geared to taking advantage of current internet and e-publishing technologies, to provide substance for well-informed public discussion on a range of important development issues.