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Ottawa, Canada, November 30, 2006 – Dr Gordon Smith, Chairman of the Board of Governors for Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), is among seven highly accomplished Canadians named as Trudeau Foundation Mentors. Trudeau Foundation Mentors work closely with outstanding doctoral candidates in the social sciences and humanities fields that have been awarded Trudeau Scholarships.

“I am delighted that Dr Smith’s contributions as a scholar and internationalist are being recognized by the Trudeau Foundation. IDRC’s mandate is built on the foundation of mentorships, peer-to-peer networks and close collaborations between researchers and intellectuals from the North and the South,” said IDRC President Maureen O’Neil. “The Trudeau Foundation awardees will gain immensely from Dr Smith’s wealth of knowledge and experience.”

Selection criteria for Trudeau Mentorships include

• outstanding creativity in policy analysis and implementation in government, business, the voluntary sector, the professions or the arts;
• a strong ability to engage in lively exchange with other policy professionals, researchers and scholars;
• a commitment to work directly with Foundation Scholars; and
• interest in one or more of the four themes of the Foundation, and a desire to contribute to public dialogue around those themes. The four themes of the Foundation are human rights and social justice, responsible citizenship, Canada and the world, and humans and their natural environment.

Dr. Smith is also Adjunct Professor of Political Science at the University of Victoria, Executive Director for the Centre for Global Studies at the University of Victoria. He undertook his education at McGill University and has a PhD in political science from the Massachussetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Dr Smith’s distinguished career in the public service include posts as Ambassador to the European Union in Brussells from 1991-1994, and was a member of the Canadian Delegation to NATO from 1985-1990. His last position in the Canadian government was as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs (1994-1997) and as the Prime Minister’s Personal Representative for the G7/G8 Summits. Dr Smith was appointed Chairman of the Board of IDRC in June 1997.

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About IDRC
Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is one of the world’s leading institutions in the generation and application of new knowledge to meet the challenges of international development. For more than 30 years, IDRC has worked in close collaboration with researchers from the developing world to build healthier, more equitable, and more prosperous societies.


About the Trudeau Foundation
The Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation’s aim is to create a neutral forum to address crucial societal issues and to foster a dialogue between scholars and policymakers in the arts community, business, government, the professions, and the voluntary sector under the four key themes of the Foundation. Since being established in 2002, the Foundation has granted close to 100 major awards, including Trudeau Fellowships to innovative and distinguished researchers, Trudeau Scholarships to exceptional doctoral students and Trudeau Mentorships to outstanding professionals in the social sciences and humanities. For more information visit www.trudeaufoundation.ca.


For information:
Isabelle Bourgeault-Tassé
Senior Media Advisor, IDRC
(613) 236-6163, ext. 2343
ibourgeault-tasse@idrc.ca

2006-11-30

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