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The Annual International Development Conference jointly present, Ontario International Development Agency (OIDA) and International  Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Law  at Laurentian University: Centre international de recherche interdisciplinaire sur le droit (CIRID) providing a  inter-disciplinary forum on global sustainable development for practitioners and academics. Serving as a forum to foster dialogue among various stakeholders, including senior level policy makers, academics, and practitioners, the conference proposes multidisciplinary strategies for economic, sociopolitical, cultural, and institutional changes.
Isabelle Solon-Helal, Rights & Democracy, Montreal, Quebec; Dr. Henri Pallard, Professor Law and Justice, Director, International research centre on law and human rights at Laurentian University: Centre international de recherche interdisciplinaire sur le droit (CIRID), Sudbury, Ontario; Dr. Marilyn Orr, Associate Professor, Humanities and Interdisciplinary studies, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario; Anne Boulton, MA Student - Humanities and Interpretation and Values; Sophie Rondeau - Coordinator, Rights & Democracy Network, Montreal, Quebec; Dr. Aurelie Lacassagne, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario delivered the presentations. International Development Conference provided an opportunity to share experiences with experts with one-to-one basis. Brief description of the speakers and programs as follows.
 

Keynote Speaker: Isabelle Solon-Helal, Rights & Democracy, Montreal, Quebec. 

Nairobi Declaration on Women's and Girls' Right to a Remedy and Reparation
Reparation must go above and beyond the immediate reasons and consequences of the crimes and violations; they must aim to address the political and structural inequalities that negatively shape women’s and girls’ lives.

Isabelle has been working on the issue of reparation for women who are survivors of sexual violence in situations of conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Rights & Democracy supports a coalition of women activists working in developing countries who have come together to address the issue of rape as a tool of war. DEEPLY CONCERNED that gender-based violence, and particularly sexual violence and violations against women and girls, are weapons of war, assuming unacceptably alarming proportions as wars, genocide and communal violence have taken their toll inside and between countries the world over within the last two decades; BEARING IN MIND the terrible destruction brought by armed conflict, including forced participation in armed conflict, to people’s physical integrity, psychological and spiritual well-being, economic security, social status, social fabric, and the gender differentiated impact on the lives and livelihoods of women and girls; TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION the unimaginable brutality of crimes and violations committed against women and girls in conflict situations, and the disproportionate effects of these crimes and violations on women and girls, their families and their communities; ACKNOWLEDGING that gender-based violence committed during conflict situations is the result of inequalities between women and men, girls and boys, that predated the conflict, and that this violence continues to aggravate the discrimination of women and girls in post-conflict situations. 

Speaker: Dr. Henri Pallard, Professor Law and Justice, Director, International research centre on law and human rights at Laurentian University: Centre international de recherche interdisciplinaire sur le droit (CIRID), Sudbury, Ontario.

Ethics of International Development Aid: Rethinking the Role of Foreign Institutions:
What we often refer to as "development" can at times harm the very communities that it is meant to benefit. Policymakers, donors, and project managers are often faced with moral questions in their work, and there is growing recognition of a need for ethical reflection in approaching development goals and strategies. Critics of conventional North-South aid structures argue that development imposed from outside is ineffective or detrimental, while others say aid constitutes an acceptance and continuation of underdevelopment. This speaker seeks to discuss some of the following questions from the perspectives of both critics and proponents of conventional international aid: What should the role of foreign development agencies and workers be in the developing world, Who should be responsible for change in a society, and who should decide the ends and means through which this change will occur? Is it possible for aid agencies to be fully accountable to the communities that they serve?

Speaker: Dr. Marilyn Orr, Associate Professor, Humanities and Interdisciplinary studies, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario.
Anne Boulton, MA Student - Humanities and Interpretation and Values

Our experience in Reaching the Unreached project, Tamil Nadu, India.
Both Dr. Marilyn Orr and Anne Boulton will discuss their experience with Reaching the Unreached Project Tamil Nadu, India. 
Reaching the Unreached is a non-partisan, secular voluntary organization working in partnership with the rural poor of Tamil Nadu, India. The organization was founded by Bro. James Kimpton in the year 1974. Its whole aim is to outreach poor in the greatest need. It is concerned for the neighbors as dignified individuals who have the right to a better life especially women and children, old, sick, homeless, unemployed and those in need of houses or water. Reaching the Unreached is a partner of OIDA Ontario Village Global programs in India. 

Speaker: Sophie Rondeau - Coordinator, Rights & Democracy Network, Montreal, Quebec

Strengthen democracy and promote human rights in developing countries.
Rights & Democracy enjoys partnerships with human rights, indigenous peoples' and women's rights groups, as well as democratic movements and governments around the world with whom it cooperates to promote human rights and democracy. It is therefore uniquely placed to facilitate dialogue between government officials and non-governmental organizations in Canada and abroad. It is one of the very few organizations with the necessary credibility on both sides to play this bridge-building role. It initiates and supports projects that advocate the protection of human rights and the strengthening of democratic development, and facilitates the capacity of its partners to do the same
 

Speaker: Dr. Aurelie Lacassagne, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario.

Micro-perspective of improving of foreign aid

The point is to engage in a discussion about reducing poverty through decentralized aid delivery mechanisms. The presentation takes a micro-perspective on the question of how to improve the effectiveness of foreign aid, presuming that poverty is in large measure a micro-economic phenomenon. The effectiveness of foreign aid has been questioned and there is a disappointment with centralized, top-down, state-led development efforts. I would like with you to think about the positive aspects of decentralized cooperation. I will discuss the way decentralized cooperation was implemented in France in order to see what are the required conditions for such an approach. then we could discuss the positive as well as the negative impacts of it. 

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