Thank you.
I'm a professor of communication studies and multimedia at McMaster University. I'd like to speak about communication today and communication as a tool for peace.
The vast majority of wars in today's world involve conflict within states. In the west, majority groups bemoan a loss of national identity, while minority nations press for devolution or for independence. Religious conflict once again looms large. At the heart of the resolution of these conflicts, quite often, is the need to develop effective critical awareness, as well as skills and training in communications and communication management.
Canada has had a founding and powerful voice in the world of communications, both as an academic discipline and as an industrial innovator. Consider the seminal musings of Harold Innis on the relationship between empire and communications and the bias of media. Consider also the works of Marshall McLuhan on the effects of electronic media on society, culture, and economics. Canadian corporate innovators such as Research In Motion have transformed our lives as global citizens through the BlackBerry device and analogous devices. In general, Canada's moderate and well-thought-out regulatory media and communications policies have kept our media and communications representatives thriving and innovative.
From the perspective of negotiating different points of view and multiple perspectives, Canada is also at the forefront. We have a very successful multicultural mosaic model, an open and free media, and a government that communicates its intentions and activities fairly transparently to its citizens.
Canada is uniquely positioned to deploy its expertise—academic, commercial, and not-for-profit—to help developing and war-torn countries, particularly those experiencing internal ethnic conflict. We can transfer the knowledge that we have about our Canadian model—getting along multiculturally and communicating effectively among ourselves and to the exterior.
So what do I think Canada can do for Sri Lanka? While media and a lack of communication can lead to violence, free and organized communication can be a solid step towards binding together a national identity and creating bridges between diverse communities within a nation. We propose that the Canadian government envision a pilot project whereby Canada would deploy Canadian communications expertise to accomplish three things.
One, we should link up institutions in Canada and Sri Lanka through academic faculty and student exchanges. We should encourage professional twinning—and it would be quite innovative—between professional communicators in Canada and Sri Lanka, while increasing collaboration between NGOs interested in communications as a tool for economic development and working toward peace.
Secondly, we could offer a Canadian communications course or set of modules that would highlight the tolerant Canadian model and the vigilant Canadian model for freedom of speech and communications through agreement with a leading educational institution in Sri Lanka, such as the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies, or a course or set of modules on communication management through a leading school of management or commerce.
Third, we might offer a set of modules on various aspects of communications that could be made available to public servants, parliamentarians, non-governmental organization workers, and public relations professionals in Sri Lanka.
Right now you are probably wondering, why do this? This project would provide academics, politicians, and communications professionals with the analytical tools to examine problems of national, ethnic, and religious conflict in a communications context from a Canadian perspective, which is a perspective of tolerance, respect, and negotiation. It would present national, ethnic, and religious conflicts in a broader context, drawing on research in comparative politics, history, sociology, cultural and genetic anthropology, political theory, and international relations vis-à-vis Sri Lanka, its communities, and its international relations. Communications is an interdisciplinary field. It should also provide insight into the post-1980 literature on nationalism and ethnic conflict by yielding a wealth of real-world case studies covering every corner of the globe.
This project would develop the capacity to analyze political debates in a critical manner, while improving teamwork and both written and oral communication skills. It would create knowledge repositories to locate and analyze, for both qualitative and quantitative analysis, data on nationalism from printed and electronic sources on Sri Lanka. There would be a sense of what's available, what has been said by whom, and to what effect.
It should raise awareness to provide citizens and members in the political ethnic playing field with a good foundation from which to create positive resolutions concerning nationalism and ethno-religious conflict and the ethnic conflicts in Sri Lanka, with a special focus on the aftermath of the war.
In conclusion, Canada has been very good at delivering products to developing countries--media products that are very effective and products that highlight distinctions among class divisions within countries and distinguish between groups that oppress and groups that are oppressed.
But Canada has not transferred expertise, because it is a difficult and challenging thing to do. Canadians are among the best communicators around. I think this is an incredible bridge possibility for Canadians to transfer that knowledge and expertise, rather than simply transferring products.
Thank you.