British Columbia Council for International Cooperation - Connecting with Canadians

This project is part of the Connecting with Canadians initiative which aims to involve more Canadians especially children and youth as global citizens and agents of change increasing the participation and the support of Canada’s efforts in international development. The British Columbia Council for International Cooperation (BCCIC) aims to increase the awareness and engagement of up to 4.6 million Canadians in international development and key global issues through a series of activities including events organized for the International Development Week (IDW). BCCIC also strives to strengthen the capacity and collaboration of Canadian organizations to improve their development effectiveness and sustainability as well as enrich the results of their Civil Society Organization (CSO) partners by offering nearly 200 opportunities to share best practices. BCCI’s members who are the direct beneficiaries of the Connecting with Canadians Initiative support partners and/or work directly in 61 countries in Africa Asia and South and Central America. The sectors in which BCCIC’s members work include: health; water and sanitation; education; sustainable livelihoods; gender equity; environmental sustainability; and food security. From 2014 to 2019 BCCIC will lead the Inter-Council Network (ICN). The ICN brings together the eight provincial and regional councils for international cooperation that together represent almost 400 diverse civil society organizations from across Canada and provides a national forum for collaboration for improved effectiveness and collective action on common priorities.

The expected intermediate outcomes for this project include: (1) increased engagement by Canadians in international development and key global issues; (2) increased effectiveness of Canadian development partners and 3) better knowledge-sharing among Canadian stakeholders.