• Past Events
• Alumni Gallery
• Foundation Istitute Photos 

Past Events

Vandana Shiva

Dr Shiva is known internationally for her influence and passion as an environmental activist. She was first educated as a physicist and then completed her PhD in philosophy at the University of Western Ontario in 1978. She has described herself as an ecofeminist, arguing that feminism and environmentalism are inseparable.

In 1982, inspired by non-violent movements, she started her own Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology in her hometown in the foothills of the Himalayas. This organization is now called ‘Navdanya’ meaning ‘nine seeds’ and focuses on saving and distributing native seeds to local farmers as well as continuing grassroots networking on environmental issues. Using participatory research approaches, she and herorganisation address the concerns of biodiversity, conservation and small farmers' rights. She is also the Vice President of Slow Food International.

Click here to listen to her speech at Stfx university called "Just Food"
Navdanya website
Navdanya facebook page
Navdanya International

Youth Activism and International Social Justice Conference

The Development Studies Program at St. Francis Xavier University, in collaboration with Dalhousie University's International Development Studies Department as well as the Coady International Institute, hosted a two-day (March 9 & 10) conference on Youth Activism and International Social Justice. This conference, supported by a grant from the Canadian Association for the Study of International Development (CASID), is a regional Maritime event designed to bring faculty and students interested in youth activism and international social justice issues from the various Maritime Universities together to learn, share and build bridges between our various institutions/programs/departments. Maritime based social justice organizations are encouraged to join in this conversation as well, as are young activists.

The rise of global activism, most recently evidenced through the interlinked movements of the Arab Spring, as well as the Occupy movements, has depended heavily on a younger generation committed to making change happen. At the heart of these movements is a response to global capital accumulation, and the rampant inequalities associated with it. Somewhere in the background is the ambiguous notion of international social justice, a term that sounds appealing but can be redefined in so many ways that it runs the risk of becoming meaningless. This conference aimed to add a Maritime conversation to these global shifts and changes, and takes place in the home of the Antigonish Movement, itself a response to an earlier wave of major capital upheaval – the Great Depression.

Youth Activism Facebook page

Alumni Gallery

Erin Stewart

Erin Stewart, an avid lifelong learner, has worked in the field of adult and continuing education for more than 30 years. She is a graduate of the University of Winnipeg, the Sorbonne, and St. Francis Xavier University. She also completed a certificate in counseling at the University of Manitoba. Erin is a skilled facilitator and administrator with expertise in the areas of adult education, interpersonal communication, and human resiliency. Erin is Dean of Professional, Applied and Continuing Education at the University of Winnipeg.

Sandra Moore

Working in international development made it difficult for me to find time to complete a Master's Degree. However, after hearing about the M.Ad.Ed program at St. FXU from some colleagues I decided to learn more about the program. I was instantly attracted to the self-directed concept of learning that the program is centered around and decided to apply. Dr. Elizabeth Lange became my professor in January 2010 and introduced me to the qualitative form of research known as authoethnography. It was the perfect fit for me as my BA is in Cultural Anthropology and I was able to complete my Master's research project on my own learning and reflections on my work with the organization I was working with in Vanuatu. I loved the flexibility of the program that allowed me to focus on what I wanted and needed to learn. In May 2011 I graduated from the M.Ad.Ed. program and later presented my research at the St. Mary's University International Development Graduate Student's Conference in March 2012. Currently, I am working as an independent consultant (www.sandramooreconsulting.com) specializing in organizational capacity building and evaluation for non-profit organizations in Canada and internationally.

Elizabeth Townsend (Baglole)

The SFX M.Ad.Ed opened so many doors for me. When I enrolled I was working in a community mental health centre and living on a farm in PEI. Distance education was my only option to move forward, and Teresa MacNeil was a great supervisor to enable me to succeed. To start, with this degree I landed a faculty position at Dalhousie as a founder of the Atlantic School of Occupational Therapy. Not only was I able to use the M.Ad.Ed for admission to a Dalhousie PhD in Education but it gave me enough research background to successfully achieve tenure and promotion to Associate Professor, given that occupational therapy faculty at that time were still evolving with masters degrees. With the M.Ad.Ed. from SFX and a PhD in Education from Dalhousie, I finished a 28 year career at Dalhousie as Professor Emerita. I now offer my adult education background as Director of the UPEI Centre for Education Research, bringing perspectives that link health and education especially around issues of enabling equity and justice when people with mental health issues need support from integrated programs that cross the education, health and other 'silos' of today's institutions.

Foundation Institute Photos