Participants listen to Dr Evelyn Mayanja discuss “The Intersection of Resource Extraction and Girls’ Education.” Photo: T. Sison/CJI
‘Speak up for justice’
“Be the voice. Be a person for others. You have a lot of potential in you, don’t let it die. Speak up for justice,” Dr Evelyn Mayanja urged participants at CJI’s Youth for Others Advocacy Symposium in Ottawa.
Dr Mayanja urged students to think about the privileges they enjoy, including the ability to use and enjoy technology that uses minerals such as cobalt mined from places like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where children work in toxic artisanal mines and are deprived of an education and a future.
Studies have shown that exposure to toxic materials leads to developmental disorders, she said. “Their brains shrink. They find it hard to think.”
Millions of Congolese have been forced off their land, pushed deeper into poverty, made ill by mining pollution, and denied access to necessities such as clean water, healthy food, and education for their children, she said. The Global North often “takes resources (from the Global South) without valuing their humanity,” she added.
Wars and conflicts that can involve child soldiers continue in resource-rich countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo because they protect mining companies operating in poor and marginalized communities, she said.
After asking the students how many of them watched television news or read newspapers and noting that only a few hands were raised, Dr. Mayanja encouraged them to think critically and be more aware of national and global events, saying, “TikTok is not news… Do the rigorous work of building your character.”
Dr. Mayanja, an Assistant Professor at Carleton University, spoke on “The Intersection of Resource Extraction and Girls’ Education. Learn more about the issue: https://www.canadianjesuitsinternational.ca/webinar-explores-root-causes-of-mining-misery-in-the-congo/
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‘Not all girls will have the same level of access’
Dr Lerona Lewis discusses the challenges faced by racialized students in Canada. Photo: Tess Sison/CJI
Race, class, socioeconomic status, cultural capital and other factors can affect one’s ability to succeed, Dr Lerona Lewis told symposium participants, as she expounded on the theory of social and cultural reproduction.
Dr Lewis, a professor at the University of Ottawa, spoke about the “Challenges of inclusive education within the Canadian context.” She noted that while girls in the Global South face more barriers to getting an education, racialized girls and boys face their own challenges in Canada. “Not all girls will have the same level of access” and success, even when they are in Canada, she said. She cited the issue of anti-black racism, saying several studies have shown that black students are more likely to be expelled from school, are subject to lower expectations from their teachers, and seen as outsiders. Black girl students experience sexual advances from fellow students more since they are viewed as more mature than they are, she added. Black students often experience school differently in other areas such as curriculum, parental involvement, and police presence, she added. Parental involvement in education is often valued and is a form of cultural capital, and it can put racialized students at a disadvantage because “not all parents can participate,” because they often have to work multiple jobs or there are language barriers.
Dr. Lewis also noted the experiences of other racialized groups in Canada, saying that a girl wearing a hijab in Quebec would not be able to teach there because of Bill 21, which prohibits public servants, including teachers, from wearing religious symbols.
Dr. Lewis emphasized the need for race-based data on education in Canada to identify gaps and challenges faced by racialized students. Without evidence-based information, she said, it would be difficult to effect change.
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During a panel discussion, Noluthando Honono, Dr Lerona Lewis, and Dr Evelyn Mayanja encouraged students to use their education to serve others.
“Love thy neighbour means that it’s our responsibility to care for others and make sure that no one is excluded,” said Dr Lewis. She urged them to continue their studies and conduct their own research that can make a difference.
Dr Mayanja said that the green technology that is being touted as the answer to the climate crisis should not depend on the predatory exploitation of the resources of the Global South.
Honono discussed the importance of ensuring that access to education includes infrastructure development, education for children with diverse needs, and teacher training.
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MP Leah Gazan (NDP, Winnipeg Centre) meets with youth participants via Zoom. Photo: T. Sison/CJI
MP Heather McPherson (NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, meets with symposium participants via Zoom. Photo: T. Sison/CJI
MPs Leah Gazan (NDP, Winnipeg Centre; critic for women and gender equality) and Heather McPherson (NDP, Edmonton Strathcona; critic for foreign affairs and international development) met via Zoom with symposium participants.
Students asked about the progress of Bills 262 and 263, as well as Canada’s official development assistance as they relate to support for girls’ education.
McPherson, who tabled Bill 263, said she has seen firsthand the impact of Canadian mining in Nicaragua and found it “appalling” that people affected by it had no resource for justice.
Bill C-263 aims to give the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) the power to compel Canadian corporations to provide documents and testimonies in response to complaints about actions that violate human rights. Bill C-262 will require Canadian companies to exercise due diligence with respect to human and environmental rights throughout their global supply chains. As a member of the Canadian Network for Corporate Accountability, CJI has been advocating for the passage of these bills. Learn more here: https://www.canadianjesuitsinternational.ca/green-energy-transition-must-not-sacrifice-human-rights-says-jesuit-priest/
Gazan spoke about the impact of mining not just overseas but in Indigenous territories in Canada. She drew a connection between resource extraction and violence against Indigenous women.
Both McPherson and Gazan urged students to make their voices heard and to put pressure on the government to make good on its promise to pursue a feminist foreign policy agenda.
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“What should I do? How can I use my privileges to change the world? What should I do for justice and equity? How can I fight for the rights of children in the Global South and the Global North?”
Fr William Tcheumtchoua Nzali, SJ, a Jesuit from Cameroon studying in Ottawa challenged participants to reflect on what they have heard during the symposium by asking these questions.
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CJI Youth for Others Advocacy Symposium participants visited Parliament Hill.
Thanks to the office of MP Leah Gazan (NDP, Winnipeg Centre) for the warm welcome!
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Noluthando Honono discusses the barriers to girls’ education at a CJI public event. Photo: Jenny Cafiso/CJI
At a public event during the symposium, Noluthando Honono dissected the impact of colonialism on girls and women in countries like South Africa. Colonialism “racialized people based on hue,” and it “gendered language,” she said. South Africans “didn’t really have he or she in our languages,” she said.
Colonialism developed a ranking system based on race, gender and class, with the White man at the top and the Black woman at the bottom, she said, noting that this system determined access to quality education and one’s ability to earn money.
Honono urged participants to “not be complacent in our privilege,” to “move away from the mindless rat race of capitalism,” and to create a world where education for all is “at the forefront of the vision of governments and decision-makers.”
Asked by a male student what role boys could play in promoting girls’ education, Honono said they should be part of advocacy efforts and could also help by creating safe spaces for girls, especially in co-ed schools.
Honono also urged students to “be realistic,” to think “less about the glitz and glamour” of advocacy and more about the “ability to find enough people to create change” within one’s space and to “build it from there.”
