Positioning for the Future: OCIC Symposium 2025

Positioning for the future: OCIC Symposium 2025

January 30 – 31, 2025

Welcome to OCIC’s Symposium 2025: ‘Positioning for the Future’, organized in partnership with Humber Polytechnic on the traditional and treaty lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit. Known as Adoobiigok, the “Place of the Alders” in Michi Saagiig language, the region is uniquely situated along Humber River watershed, which historically provided an integral connection for Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, and Wendat peoples between the Ontario Lakeshore and the Lake Simcoe/Georgian Bay regions. Now home to people of numerous nations, Adoobiigok continues to provide a vital source of interconnection for all.

We are delighted to kick off International Development Week (IDW) 2025 with this two-day gathering for OCIC members, associates, partners and youth with interest in positioning for and co-creating our collective future. 

This Symposium presents an important and strategic opportunity to:

  • Take time for reflection and learning, taking into consideration key principles, values, trends, priorities and drivers of change shaping the international cooperation and global education sectors in Ontario and globally;
  • Draw insights from Strategic Foresight work undertaken through the Cooperation Canada and International Development Research Fund (IDRC) ‘Futures Initiative’, Red Argentina para la Cooperación Internacional (RACI) and other relevant initiatives such as the Inter-Council Network (ICN) research focused on More Decolonial, Feminist, Anti-Racist Public Engagement
  • Reflect upon, reconsider and help to refine OCIC’s current Theory of Change and Strategic Objectives to better align with the changing context and emerging needs; and
  • Celebrate our community and collective accomplishments

Date and Time
January 30, 2025 from 10:00 am – 7:00 pm ET
January 31, 2025 from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm ET

Location
Humber College – Lakeshore Campus
17 Colonel Samuel Smith Park Dr, Etobicoke, ON M8V 4B6

This initiative is undertaken with financial support from the Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada, in partnership with Humber Polytechnic and with support from thought leaders from Aid Watch Canada, Cooperation Canada, the Inter-Council Network of Provincial and Regional Councils for International Cooperation (ICN), and Red Argentina para la Cooperación Internacional (RACI).

partners-partenaires-black-en

FULL PROGRAM, AGENDA & BIOS

Program

Thursday, January 30, 2025
9:00 – 9:30

Participant Arrival, Registration & Fair Trade Café

Meet OCIC staff and Symposium volunteers at the doors of Humber Polytechnic’s Longo Center for Entrepreneurship / G Building to get registered, enjoy light refreshments, and network with contributors and participants before our program begins.

9:30  – 10:30

Welcome & Land Acknowledgement

Get to know each other and Symposium hosts and partners Kimberly Gibbons, Susan MacGregor, Jackie Wright and James Parsons as they set the stage for the day ahead.

10:30 – 12:30

Future Scenarios for International Cooperation:
Learning from Global Strategic Foresight Processes

Learn how strategic foresight tools and processes can help reimagine global development cooperation in an era of uncertainty and transformation with Shannon Kindornay, in conversation with Guillermo Correa and Andy Ouédraogo. Better understand how civil society actors across diverse contexts can apply these methodologies to anticipate emerging challenges, foster innovation, and shape a more equitable, sustainable, and inclusive global agenda.

12:30 – 1:45Networking Lunch
1:45 – 2:15

Building from OCIC’s Theory of Change & Impact

Learn about OCIC’s current Theory of Change, strategic priorities and impact, and about our strategic planning intentions in 2025 from Kimberly Gibbons and Molly Grove.

2:15 – 4:15

Thematic Think Sessions Part 1

Share your reflections on the future of the international cooperation and global education sectors in Ontario, Canada, and globally, and the ways your organization and OCIC may build from our strengths and better align with changing context and emerging needs, and facilitative support from Kimberly Bowman.

Contribute to two of the following thematic discussion tables:

  1. OCIC and Members: Our Change & Impact
  2. Demographic change globally and in Ontario
  3. Digital transformation
  4. Poverty in fragile and conflict-affected states
  5. Global power reconfigurations
  6. Transactional cooperation and critiques of aid
  7. Diversity, equity, inclusion and justice, and communities under threat
  8. Declining societal trust
4:15 – 5:00

Plenary

Consider the perspectives of others at the ‘Thematic Think’ Gallery, and hear key takeaways from table facilitators.

5:00 – 7:00

International Development Week 2025 Networking Social

Connect with and celebrate the wonderful and diverse international cooperation community in Ontario and beyond. Throughout the evening hear reflections from Sarah Judd, James Parsons, Muzhda Akbari and Bella Lam, and enjoy live music with guest artists Gabriel Henriquez and Julio Henriquez as you mix and mingle with OCIC members, partners and friends.

.

Friday, January 31, 2025
9:00 – 9:30

Participant Arrival, Registration & Fair Trade Café

Meet us for a light breakfast and time to network at Humber College – Robert A. Gordon Learning Centre / K Building.

9:30 – 10:00

Welcome

Start the day with a warm welcome and introduction to the sessions ahead from hosts Shehara Athukorala and Helena Shilomboleni.

10:00 – 12:00 

Parallel Dialogues 

  • Strengthening GAC’s Financial Transparency and its Support and Engagement with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs)

Join Kagwiria Muturia, James Parsons and Brian Tomlinson in a session focused on research, evidence and discussions that have been undertaken by the Financing Transparency Workstream Civil Society Policy Group (CPAG), with both Canadian civil society and GAC members. This work has focused on current policy and practices relating to GAC funding modalities for civil society. 

Brian Tomlinson will present relevant evidence on trends in CSO financing, as well as some key areas and rationale for reforming current practices, and a number of draft recommendations, which are now open for discussion with the diversity of Canadian civil society, including small and medium organizations (SMOs). Participants will then have the opportunity to discuss and provide feedback on the recommendations and questions in small groups, and bring key suggestions and ideas back to workshop participants and CPAG members.

*Most relevant to leaders and senior managers of CSOs that work or seek to work with Global Affairs Canada (GAC) funding, and would like to contribute ideas for increased transparency and support. 

  • Exploring Feminist, Decolonial Public Engagement

Join Sarah Judd, Pragya Tikku and Judyannet Muchiri to learn about the ICN’s body of work exploring decolonial, anti-racist, and feminist approaches to public engagement (PE). 

In this session, Judyannet Muchiri will share strategies PE practitioners use to incorporate these frameworks, the challenges they face and how they navigate them, and the conditions that support the meaningful application of these approaches. Using key lessons learned from ICN research, participants will discuss practical ways in which organizations can enhance PE through these three lenses, ensuring efforts are responsive to evolving social and political contexts while fostering solidarity. Additionally, you will explore how these approaches can be integrated into organizational practices to create more inclusive, equitable, and effective engagement processes, ultimately leading to impactful and transformative outcomes.

*Ideal for PE practitioners, program and project managers, communicators, planners, facilitators and those interested in and/or responsible for community engagement and mobilization. 

  • Challenges and Opportunities for Civic Space: Reflections on the Current Scenarios (K Building – Plenary)

Join Shehara Athukorala, Efemena Ozugha and Guillermo Correa in an engaging session exploring the evolving dynamics and unpacking key concepts of civic space and enabling environments for CSOs, with insights into RACI’s perspective on their new strategic plan.

Participants will learn about global trends affecting civic space, as well as internal and external challenges CSOs may face in advancing their missions. Through interactive discussions and a hands-on exercise, participants will reflect on how these challenges and opportunities resonate with the Canadian context, identifying common trends and actionable solutions. The session will also share lessons learned from RACI’s action plan to navigate these challenges effectively.

*Ideal for CSOs engaged in locally led development, advocates for civic engagement, and individuals interested in and/or passionate about fostering inclusive civic spaces

12:00 – 1:00Networking Lunch
1:00 – 3:00

Thematic Think Sessions Part 2

Deepen your reflections on critical issues shaping the international cooperation and global education sectors. 

Building on insights from morning parallel sessions, with direction from Kimberly Bowman and Namrata Mahboobani, share experiences and explore practical ways forward in addressing challenges and opportunities. Join table discussions focused on: Youth Perspectives; The Future of International Cooperation; and Civic Space.

3:00 – 3:30

Closing

Wrap up the Symposium in community, with closing remarks from Aysha Dawood, Kimberly Gibbons, and Lisa Swainston.