The Canadian Global Affairs Institute (CGAI) is an independent, non-partisan research institute based in Calgary with offices in Ottawa. Incorporated as a charitable organization in 2000, the institute seeks to focus the national debate and understanding of Canada's international policies, with the ultimate aim of ensuring a more globally engaged Canada.
CGAI believes that doing so enhances Canadian security and prosperity. The institute is dedicated to educating Canadians, particularly those who have leadership roles in shaping Canadian foreign policy, about the importance of Canada being proactive in world affairs with tangible diplomaticmilitary and aid assets.
The Canadian Global Affairs Institute produces a quarterly newsletter called The Dispatch.[2]The Dispatch invites CGAI fellows to provide insight on international issues of relevance to Canada.
Strategic Studies Working Group
The Strategic Studies Working Group (SSWG) is a partnership between CGAI and the Canadian International Council (CIC), which incorporated the former Canadian Institute of Strategic Studies. The SSWG is administered by CGAI, which also conducts research and produces publications on security and defence issues on behalf of the partnership. All projects undertaken by the SSWG are first approved by CIC and are co-published or co e-published according to CIC standards.
The SSWG has begun to host e-conferences on issues related to defence and security. These e-conferences take place over a number of weeks, with each week dedicated to a specific topic. The e-conferences include regular commentaries by academics and practitioners, Twitter Q&As, live chats and major articles published in national media.
The "Future of Fighting" conference focused on how the Canadian Forces might evolve in the coming decade to reflect the changing funding and combat environment.
The "Drone Week" conference was focused on understanding some of the practical, legal and moral questions surrounding the current and future use of drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles.
The SSWG produces research papers which keep in line with the partnership's purpose of focusing on defence and security topics. The Strategic Profile Canada is a project which provides a comprehensive overview of Canada's demographic, economic and military information.[3]
3Ds Blog
The 3Ds Blog is a site managed by CGAI and provides defence and security news from Canada and around the world. Blog updates are made by CGAI fellows, the majority coming from Mark Collins.
Speakers Series
The CGAI organizes an annual speakers series based on a specific topic of importance to Canadian defence, security, and foreign affairs. The speaking events are held in Calgary and bring together businesspeople, academics, and practitioners to listen to some of Canada's most important and influential thinkers. Former speakers include Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence; Michael Bell, former diplomat; and Yuen Pau Woo, president and CEO of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, among others.[4]
Ross Munro Award
The Ross Munro Media Award was initiated, in 2002, by the Conference of Defence Associations, in concert with CGAI. It is awarded annually to recognize one Canadian journalist who has made a significant and outstanding contribution to the general public's understanding of Canada's defence and security issues.
Military Journalism Course
The Military Journalism Course was started in 2002 as a nine-day course, which introduces university students to military journalism and the Canadian Armed Forces. The course is run in partnership with the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary and includes a combination of media-military theory in a classroom setting, coupled with field visits to Armed Forces regular and reserve units. The stated goal of the program is to enhance the military education of future Canadian journalists who will report on Canadian military activities domestically and abroad. In 2007, the program introduced its first Francophone Military Journalism course held at the Université de Montréal and Canadian Forces Base Valcartier, near Québec City.[5]
Advisory Council
A group of advisers provide feedback on current and future programs.
Fellows regularly provide commentary and analysis of ongoing international events in TV and print media.[6] CGAI Vice-President Colin Robertson was named in Embassy Magazine's 2012 ranking of the "Top 80 Influencing Canada Foreign Policy".[7] The University of Pennsylvania has consistently ranked CGAI highly on its list of top think tanks in Canada.[8][9][10]
Criticism and controversy
In an article from July 2016, The Globe and Mail examined the Institute's support of Canada's $15-billion combat-vehicle sale to Saudi Arabia at a time of a humanitarian crisis in Yemen, and the think tank's acceptance of donations from defense contractor General Dynamics - the parent of the arms maker in the export contract.[11]
An article in 2017 from The Huffington Post goes on to say about the Saudi arms deal: "At least four of the General Dynamics-funded institute's "fellows" wrote columns justifying the sale, including an opinion Perry published in TheGlobe and Mail Report on Business titled "Without foreign sales, Canada's defence industry would not survive."[12]
^"Canadian Global Affairs Institute". Canadian Global Affairs Institute. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
^. Archived from the original on 2013-05-12. Retrieved 2013-05-01.
^. Archived from the original on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2015-06-25.
^. Archived from the original on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2015-06-25.
^. Archived from the original on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2015-06-25.
^. www.embassynews.ca. Archived from the original on 2013-03-08.
^University of Pennsylvania, 2012 Global Go To Think Tanks Index Report
^(PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-07-09. Retrieved 2015-04-24.
^University of Pennsylvania, 2014 Global Go To Think Tanks Index Report
^"Canadian think tank under fire for accepting donations from arms maker". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
^"Meet The Right-Wing Think Tank Driving Canadian Policy Toward War". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
External links
Official website
February 15, 2023
canadian, global, affairs, institute, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, contains, content, that, written, like, advertisement, please, help. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article contains content that is written like an advertisement Please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view May 2015 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article relies excessively on references to primary sources Please improve this article by adding secondary or tertiary sources Find sources Canadian Global Affairs Institute news newspapers books scholar JSTOR April 2015 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message The Canadian Global Affairs Institute CGAI is an independent non partisan research institute based in Calgary with offices in Ottawa Incorporated as a charitable organization in 2000 the institute seeks to focus the national debate and understanding of Canada s international policies with the ultimate aim of ensuring a more globally engaged Canada Canadian Global Affairs InstituteAbbreviationGlobal AffairsFormation2000 1 Founded atCalgary AlbertaTypeResearch Institute Think TankPurposeTo be a catalyst for innovative Canadian global engagementHeadquartersCalgary Alberta and Ottawa OntarioAffiliationsThe School of Public Policy at the University of CalgaryWebsitewww cgai caFormerly calledCanadian Defence and Foreign Affairs InstituteCGAI believes that doing so enhances Canadian security and prosperity The institute is dedicated to educating Canadians particularly those who have leadership roles in shaping Canadian foreign policy about the importance of Canada being proactive in world affairs with tangible diplomatic military and aid assets Contents 1 Activities 1 1 The Dispatch 1 2 Strategic Studies Working Group 1 3 3Ds Blog 1 4 Speakers Series 1 5 Ross Munro Award 1 6 Military Journalism Course 2 Advisory Council 3 Fellowship Program 3 1 Fellows 3 2 Notable alumni 4 Recognition 5 Criticism and controversy 6 References 7 External linksActivities EditThe Dispatch Edit The Canadian Global Affairs Institute produces a quarterly newsletter called The Dispatch 2 The Dispatch invites CGAI fellows to provide insight on international issues of relevance to Canada Strategic Studies Working Group Edit The Strategic Studies Working Group SSWG is a partnership between CGAI and the Canadian International Council CIC which incorporated the former Canadian Institute of Strategic Studies The SSWG is administered by CGAI which also conducts research and produces publications on security and defence issues on behalf of the partnership All projects undertaken by the SSWG are first approved by CIC and are co published or co e published according to CIC standards The SSWG has begun to host e conferences on issues related to defence and security These e conferences take place over a number of weeks with each week dedicated to a specific topic The e conferences include regular commentaries by academics and practitioners Twitter Q amp As live chats and major articles published in national media The Future of Fighting conference focused on how the Canadian Forces might evolve in the coming decade to reflect the changing funding and combat environment The Drone Week conference was focused on understanding some of the practical legal and moral questions surrounding the current and future use of drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles The SSWG produces research papers which keep in line with the partnership s purpose of focusing on defence and security topics The Strategic Profile Canada is a project which provides a comprehensive overview of Canada s demographic economic and military information 3 3Ds Blog Edit The 3Ds Blog is a site managed by CGAI and provides defence and security news from Canada and around the world Blog updates are made by CGAI fellows the majority coming from Mark Collins Speakers Series Edit The CGAI organizes an annual speakers series based on a specific topic of importance to Canadian defence security and foreign affairs The speaking events are held in Calgary and bring together businesspeople academics and practitioners to listen to some of Canada s most important and influential thinkers Former speakers include Peter MacKay Minister of National Defence Michael Bell former diplomat and Yuen Pau Woo president and CEO of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada among others 4 Ross Munro Award Edit The Ross Munro Media Award was initiated in 2002 by the Conference of Defence Associations in concert with CGAI It is awarded annually to recognize one Canadian journalist who has made a significant and outstanding contribution to the general public s understanding of Canada s defence and security issues Military Journalism Course Edit The Military Journalism Course was started in 2002 as a nine day course which introduces university students to military journalism and the Canadian Armed Forces The course is run in partnership with the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary and includes a combination of media military theory in a classroom setting coupled with field visits to Armed Forces regular and reserve units The stated goal of the program is to enhance the military education of future Canadian journalists who will report on Canadian military activities domestically and abroad In 2007 the program introduced its first Francophone Military Journalism course held at the Universite de Montreal and Canadian Forces Base Valcartier near Quebec City 5 Advisory Council EditA group of advisers provide feedback on current and future programs Ian Brodie Jean Charest PC Laura Dawson Richard Fadden Robert Fowler OC Dan Hays PC Marie Lucie Morin PC John Manley PC OC Bob Rae PC OC Christopher Waddell Robert WrightFellowship Program EditFellows Edit David Bercuson OC FRSC Jean Christophe Boucher Brett Boudreau Brian Bow David Carment Joseph Caron Andrea Charron Howard Coombs Barry Cooper Daryl Copeland Jocelyn Coulon D Michael Day Ferry de Kerckhove Paul Durand Ross Fetterly Patricia Fortier Julian Lindley French Frederick Gagnon Sarah Goldfeder Andrew Griffith Marius Grinius Robert Hage Rolf Holmboe Rob Huebert Peter Jones Thomas Juneau Tom Keenan Adam Lajeunesse Randolph Mank Eric Miller Robert Muggah David Perry Vanja Petricevic George Petrolekas Joel Plouffe Andrew Rasiulis Tom Ring Colin Robertson Lindsay L Rodman Stephen Saideman Darren Schemmer Hugh Segal CM Elinor Sloan Gary Soroka Hugh Stephens Alan Stephenson Stefanie von Hlatky Charity WeedenNotable alumni Edit Perrin Beatty PC Derek Burney OC Paul Dewar Andrew Godefroy CD J L Granatstein OC Hrach Gregorian Mike Jeffery CMM CD Andrew Leslie CMM MSC MSM CD George Macdonald Paul Maddison Roland Paris David Pratt Stephen Randall FRSCRecognition EditFellows regularly provide commentary and analysis of ongoing international events in TV and print media 6 CGAI Vice President Colin Robertson was named in Embassy Magazine s 2012 ranking of the Top 80 Influencing Canada Foreign Policy 7 The University of Pennsylvania has consistently ranked CGAI highly on its list of top think tanks in Canada 8 9 10 Criticism and controversy EditIn an article from July 2016 The Globe and Mail examined the Institute s support of Canada s 15 billion combat vehicle sale to Saudi Arabia at a time of a humanitarian crisis in Yemen and the think tank s acceptance of donations from defense contractor General Dynamics the parent of the arms maker in the export contract 11 An article in 2017 from The Huffington Post goes on to say about the Saudi arms deal At least four of the General Dynamics funded institute s fellows wrote columns justifying the sale including an opinion Perry published in The Globe and Mail Report on Business titled Without foreign sales Canada s defence industry would not survive 12 References Edit About Us Canadian Global Affairs Institute Canadian Global Affairs Institute Retrieved 2023 01 22 Canada s Strategic Profile CIC Archived from the original on 2013 05 12 Retrieved 2013 05 01 Speaker Series Canadian Global Affairs Institute Archived from the original on 2015 06 26 Retrieved 2015 06 25 Military Journalism Course Canadian Global Affairs Institute Archived from the original on 2015 06 26 Retrieved 2015 06 25 In the Media Canadian Global Affairs Institute Archived from the original on 2015 06 26 Retrieved 2015 06 25 The top 80 influencing Canadian foreign policy Embassy Canada s Foreign Policy Newspaper www embassynews ca Archived from the original on 2013 03 08 University of Pennsylvania 2012 Global Go To Think Tanks Index Report University of Pennsylvania 2013 Global Go To Think Tanks Index Report PDF Archived from the original PDF on 2017 07 09 Retrieved 2015 04 24 University of Pennsylvania 2014 Global Go To Think Tanks Index Report Canadian think tank under fire for accepting donations from arms maker The Globe and Mail Retrieved 2017 05 05 Meet The Right Wing Think Tank Driving Canadian Policy Toward War The Huffington Post Retrieved 2017 05 05 External links EditOfficial website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Canadian Global Affairs Institute amp oldid 1136361187, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
