Greetings from the CIC

A special CIC back-to-school greeting to students and professors, teachers, and researchers interested in international affairs and thoughtful about Canada’s role in the world.

The CIC launched OpenCanada.org last year to serve as a hub for conversation and debate and an aggregator of Canadian work on international issues. The features of the OpenCanada site allow for creative and substantive contributions and present unique possibilities for reader interaction: our Roundtable bloggers comment on topical international issues, our Think Tank section features work by thinkers and organizations both in Canada and around the world, and our Readings section highlights work by journalists and experts deserving of attention by Canadians.

We have also hosted in-depth series on key issues in foreign affairs today.

Our partnerships with The Globe and Mail, Maclean’s, the Canadian Center for Defense and Foreign Affairs Institute, and the Trudeau Centre delivered ‘The New Humanitarians’, ‘The New Missionaries’, ‘The Future of Fighting: How the Canadian Military Must Adapt’, and ‘Peace vs. Justice: The ICC and its Alternatives’. Our Ask Baird series brought the foreign minister to our audience to answer questions from readers across the country.

To expose our audiences to the most engaging voices in foreign affairs conversations, we held in-person interviews as well as online chats. From audio, to film, to online conversations, we provided expert analysis on topics ranging from drone warfare to sustainable mining practices.

At home and abroad, our audience has grown exponentially since we started. OpenCanada.org has become a valuable resource for students, journalists, and professionals with diverse backgrounds and interests. Most importantly, OpenCanada.org has taken the CIC’s mandate to promote interest and discussion of international affairs into the online realm, where anyone can participate, complementing the role of the CIC’s network of 16 volunteer-led branches across the country, who held over 150 events last year.

OpenCanada.org has links with foreign relations councils around the world. These organizations increasingly share ideas and insights online and through social media channels. Drawing on those international networks, we are able to deliver world-class content to readers within Canada and around the globe.

We invite you to be part of this network, to explore the content on our site, and join the discussions on our pages. We want to help you find opportunities through our OpenResources and OpenJobs pages, and to hear what issues you want to see covered by the OpenCanada team.

 OpenCanada.org is your hub for international issues. Open up your world with OpenCanada!

Photo courtesy of Reuters