A screenshot from Young People F*cking.

We all know that U of T’s a good place to go if you want to learn things like History and Math, but what about the IMPORTANT things? … like Biology, if you get my drift.

Have you gotten bored with your routine sex life? Do you find yourself wondering ‘how the heck does anybody use that as a sex toy?!’ whenever you see a cucumber?

Don’t deny it.

Well, it’s a good thing for you that Sexual Awareness Week just so happens to be this week! From March 7th – March 10th, U of T’s Sexual Education Centre (SEC) is going to be hosting a series of fun, informative (and sexy!) events.

Set yourself as ‘attending’ on Facebook!

Here’s a quick breakdown of all of the events: (more…)

It was electrifying. The sheer intensity of the energy and passion in the room permeated through the crowd as the final session of the conference came to a close. Allstream Center, Toronto. January 15th, 2010. Nearly 1500 people: politicians and members of parliament, thought leaders from Europe, Africa, and America, 19 delegates from four African countries working for various governments and organizations, businessmen and corporate leaders, development workers from diverse initiatives, and Canadian students. Students spanning all levels of education: undergraduate, masters, and PhD. Students spanning across disciplines: engineering, political science, economics, law, commerce, international relations, development studies… This was one special group of people. All brought together at this conference bound by a singular common interest: international development and poverty.

The title of the 2-day event: Kumvana. A word that in the Chichewa language (commonly spoken in parts of Malawi) means “unite so we may discuss and understand.” And that was exactly what this conference was. Multiple disciplines, multiple stakeholders, people who don’t interact on a day-to-day basis but play interlocking roles in the fabric of global society, all brought together in real, honest, pragmatic conversations about the dysfunctional development sector. And how we can change it.

The What and the Why

Put on by Engineers Without Borders Canada (EWB) – an organization I’ve been working with for nearly 3 years now, both here in Canada and in Ghana (West Africa) – Kumvana was an amalgamation of EWB’s 10 years of experience learning and growing in the international development sector. In honor of EWB’s 10th Anniversary, Kumvana was a bold step to bring together people who EWB believes should really be learning from and talking to each other.

After working, learning, and growing with EWB in the past couple of years, and especially after spending four months in Ghana in the past summer working with local government to improve public service access, I strongly believe that the siloed nature of how society is structured is hindering us from tackling some of the pressing problems the world faces today. One key example of this is the way departments are divided and specialized in the university education system. Globalization may be a buzz-word, but it doesn’t make it any less powerful. The social, economic, technological, and social systems of the world are so interconnected that they cannot be worked in isolation. Thus Engineers Without Borders is one organization that is really pushing interdisciplinary thinking, learning, and collaboration.

So… Where does U of T fit into all this?

EWB has an active chapter here at U of T that sent a sizable delegation of 28 students to attend the conference this year. Being one of the first arms of the organization, the U of T chapter has a large member base of students from engineering, political science, commerce, and arts and science. So no, EWB is not just for engineers! The chapter focuses on building members’ knowledge of the realities and complexities of international development. Through running workshops, providing students with leadership opportunities, asking critical questions, and working with faculty to incorporate global issues into core courses, we hope we are slowly building a new generation of multi-disciplinary problem-solvers. In addition, the chapter also has a focus on public outreach to the Canadian public, and working with Members of Parliament to advocate for improved Canadian foreign policy such that Canada’s international development programs are more beneficial to rural communities. There are also opportunities to work overseas with EWB, and the chapter generally sponsors two students to work in Africa every summer. Learn more about the U of T chapter at www.utoronto.ewb.ca, or by dropping by the office (GB 131), or email me at amirallana[AT]ewb[DOT]ca.

Some of the members of EWB's U of T chapter on the closing night of the conference.

The Bigger Picture

Looking more broadly, EWB started off in 2001 as a very small group of people: engineers with a preconception that a community-based approach to appropriate technology was an effective way to combat poverty and inequality. Over 10 years, the organization learned from its failures, questioned its approach, and asked tough critical questions that catapulted it to the forefront of the international development field.

Today, with 36 chapters across Canada and 4 strong sector teams working in Zambia, Malawi, Ghana, and Burkina Faso, EWB is a completely different entity. Working with partner governments and organizations in Africa, EWB is helping build the capacity of local institutions to serve rural communities. From public services such as education, water/sanitation programs, to business, entrepreneurship, and agricultural extension, EWB brings technical knowledge/expertise to strengthen systems in developing countries.

EWB Canada's Co-Founder Parker Mitchell addresses the delegation at EWB's 10th anniversary celebration, the closing gala of Kumvana. Photo Credit: Paul Blonde.

In Canada, EWB is pushing for practical changes in Canadian foreign aid practices, working with university curricula to bring globally-minded thinking and problem solving to the stagnating engineering discipline, and empowering Canadians to make smart, strategic choices that have a positive impact on poverty reduction.

EWB believes that innovation and dialogue is desperately needed to combat the inefficiencies that come with working in international development. One way EWB has been operating differently is the release of an annual Failure Report that outlines how EWB failed in the past year and what was learned to improve existing programs. This speaks to the nature of the organization, that is built on strong values and constant humility.

Kumvana had up to 17 different workshops, sessions, panel discussions, and talks occurring at any given time on January 14th and 15th. Topics ranged from agricultural business models to Canadian foreign policy to broader concepts such as systems thinking and taking projects to scale. There were round-tables and cross-disciplinary collaboration that I hope is just the beginning of longer-lasting partnerships.

Interested in learning more? Check out www.ewb.ca and www.conference2011.ewb.ca. Like I mentioned before, please free to email me in person at amirallana@ewb.ca, or get involved with the U of T chapter of EWB by visiting www.utoronto.ewb.ca.

I’ll leave you with a quote from Rural Development: Putting the Last First, a book by internationally-known development expert Robert Chambers:

“A nutritionist may see malnutrition but not the seasonal indebtedness, the high cost of medical treatment, the distress sales of land, and the local power structure which generate it. A doctor may see infant mortality but not the declining real wages which drive mothers to desperation, still less the causes of those declining real wages. Visibility and specialization combine to show surface symptoms rather than deeper combinations of causes. The poor are little seen, and even less is the nature of their poverty understood.”

Journalists for Human Rights is a Toronto-based organization that works to spread and raise awareness of human rights violations, and to make people in marginalized communities aware of their rights. They work in post-conflict African countries such as Liberia, Sierra Leone, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, mobilizing the local media and training local journalists in these countries to more effectively report on human rights issues. It also aims to educate people who may not know what their rights are, how to protect their rights and the rights of others.

The U of T chapter of jhr remains one of the smaller campus groups, but despite this, the organization works hard to raise human rights awareness in the U of T community. Last year, jhr’s U of T Chapter held a documentary festival (known as the Human Rights DocFest) to showcase local talent while educating community members about rights violations that occur both domestically and internationally.

This year, they will continue to spread human rights awareness be creating and distributing monthly newsletters and podcasts within U of T while working with other Toronto-based school chapters to create a documentary. Anybody is welcome to contribute to any of those projects, and in fact, the student group is looking for submissions of photography, writing, or any form of media.

This Thursday, November the 25th, from 5 to 7pm in the North Dining Room at Hart House, the U of T jhr Chapter will be hosting a movie night. War/Dance will be featured, a film which tells the story of three Ugandan refugee children as they compete in a music competition and talk about the atrocities they witnessed. The screening is free and is a great way to educate yourself about human rights violations while learning more about the organization!

To learn how you can get involved, please visit www.jhr.ca or check out their Facebook fanpage.

I have sent and received a lot of emails in my life for work, school, and extracurricular activities (especially for blogUT-related things). Over this time, I have developed many email pet peeves that are not only annoying but waste everybody’s time. These do not only include chain mail type emails with subject lines such as “Fwd: Fwd: Fwd: Fwd: Fwd: Fwd: reply to this or you will die tonight” but other smaller things that a lot people don’t seem to be aware of. I always reply politely of course, but I am grinding my teeth while doing so.

If you are part of a student group, your primary means of communication is probably email. It is less time-consuming than having to constantly meet up, and you don’t have to worry about co-ordinating with each person’s schedule. You also probably use email to communicate with other classmates, say if you are working on an assignment together. Most importantly, you probably email TAs and professors to ask questions about courses or to request letters of recommendation for grad school (you know, if that’s important to you or something). Regardless of who you are trying to contact, you obviously never want to piss people off or waste their time, yet there is a chance that you inadvertently do so. Here is a list of things to watch out for:

Reply to the ENTIRE email. Some people tend to only respond to the last bit of a message, forgetting to address anything in the first bit. This is a huge waste of time for everyone, and incredibly irritating, because the recipient has to then send another email asking them the same questions yet again.

Check your spelling, grammar, and punctuation, dammit. This one is pretty obvious, but there are still people who seem to type up emails as if they were casually IM-ing with a friend. Doing this basically tells the other person that they aren’t important enough to you that you can’t take two minutes (or less) to read over your message before hitting Send. It is actually insulting, especially if the recipient is a professor or someone that you should be a little more respectful towards. On that same note…

For the love of God, check that you spelled the recipient’s name correctly, whether it be an organization or a person. We get messages all the time to “U of T Blog” and my (mental) response is “Do you not know who you’re writing to?”

Use BCC and CC correctly. Don’t hit Reply All if the people CC’ed and BCC’ed don’t need to read what you said. Conversely, make sure that everyone who does need to read your message (but doesn’t need to reply) gets CC’ed or BCC’ed.

Don’t send a new message as a reply to an old one just because you’re too lazy to look for the person’s email address and copy and paste it into a new email. You’re starting a new topic that doesn’t have anything to do with the one in the old email, which doesn’t make sense.

Use a proper email address. You are not sixteen years old anymore (unless you are a child prodigy attending university, but even if you are this applies). x_bubblegum16_x@hotmail.com is NOT a professional-looking email address. Use your @utoronto.ca address if anything.

If you liked this post, check out this rather hilarious webcomic entitled If you do this in an email, I hate you.

Fo’Real is an urban dance collective based within the St. George Campus of the University of Toronto, seeking to keep hip hop and street dance alive within the academic world of one of Canada’s top universities. Since its establishment in 2004, Fo’Real has grown to become a recognized name in and around the campus, performing annually at U of T’s Festival of Dance and UTSU’s Orientation Day, for example.  Fo’Real has also been given the privilege of sharing the stage with notable performers such as Bag-o-Trix, Soul Power Crew, Rukus, DoDat Entertainment, and Tommy the Clown. The group also had the honour of performing as opening acts for Melissa Reyes (Search for the Next Pussycat Doll) in 2008, SoReal Cru (America’s Best Dance Crew) in 2009, and for YouTube star, David Choi in Kollaboration Toronto in March 2010 (where Fo’Real was a finalist and awarded Best Artist).

This month, Fo’Real is representing U of T (St. George campus) at the Ontario Universities Competition for Hip Hop (O.U.C.H) 2010 – the main dance competition that Fo’ Real participates in every year. O.U.C.H is an annual non-profit hip hop dance competition established in the name of friendly competition amongst universities/colleges in Ontario. Tradition holds that the winning team will have the privilege of hosting next year’s competition. In 2008, Fo’Real came in third place at O.U.C.H. In 2009, Fo’Real was only four points away from taking home first place (click here to watch last year’s performance)! This year, the crew is hoping to take the prestigious O.U.C.H title and being able to bring the competition to Toronto for the first time!

Fo’Real hopes to gain support from the U of T community at O.U.C.H. Cheer them on and see which school will ultimately reign O.U.C.H 2010! It will be taking place at 7pm on Saturday, November 27th at the Great Hall in Hamilton Place. Guest judges include Tatiana Parker (SYTYCD Canada), Derek Rice (Blueprint -ABDC), and Brian Puspos (SoReal Cru-ABDC). Tickets are $18 and proceeds from O.U.C.H will go towards FREE THE CHILDREN organization. Message Fo’Real for tickets and for more info, check out their Facebook page.

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What do you get when you mix together a group of students looking to make a tangible difference in the community while at the same time forming real friendships? Eyes of Hope!

Eyes of Hope (EOH) is a club on campus that is aimed at alleviating poverty in both the local and international community, while developing leadership skills and having fun at the same time! The organization is currently involved in a number of different initiatives on the local level with a focus on homeless outreach. Taking part in sandwich runs to provide homeless individuals with food and nutrition, painting umbrellas with homeless youth as a means of therapy and self-expression, and volunteering at homeless shelters and food banks, EOH works to understand the issues and destigmatize homelessness.

Even more impressively, EOH has had a number of successes working and supporting large non-profit organizations. For instance, EOH has raised a whopping $8500 for Free the Children to build a school in Sierra Leone and also raises funds to provide school supplies and teacher training in developing nations. The club is also sponsoring two children through World Vision. Finally, EOH started the U of T Habitat for Humanity Campaign and soon other campus clubs joined in the effort to raise $80,000 to sponsor a U of T Habitat home, 30% of which has already been raised.

Eyes of Hope supporting Habit for Humanity

Success at EOH, however isn’t just defined by how much money is raised for these various organizations, it is also equally important that members can do what they enjoy by getting involved in whichever EOH initiatives they are interested in and develop their leadership and interpersonal skills at the same time. EOH provides a rich experience and friendships that our textbooks just can’t provide!

For a taste of EOH’s work, be sure to check out the following events:

• Umbrella painting – Tuesday evenings at Knox Church. You can sign up here if you’re interested.
• Sandwich run (Fri Nov 5, 5-8pm, GB117): You can sign up here if you’re interested.

So if doing good is something you’re interested in (and we hope it is!), consider getting involved with Eyes of Hope. Send an email to eyesofhope@utoronto.ca or visit their Facebook page or website for more information.

Calling all U of T student hackers, developers and entrepreneurs!

The Web Startup Society and U of T Entrepreneurial Society are looking for students who would like to have the opportunity to deliver a 5 minute demo on personal projects, particularly web & mobile applications and startups at their second annual DemoCamp U of T.

If you are unfamiliar with DemoCamps, they are “unconferences” held monthly in Toronto and other Canadian cities. They offer a great chance to get instant feedback and network with people who are passionate about startups. To get an idea of what you could demo, check out who last year’s presenters were.

If you are interested in showing off your stuff, send an email to democamp@webdev.skule.ca indicating your name, email, tentative topic of presentation, and website URL (if applicable).

The deadline for registration is Nov 3, 2010.