| 
  • If you are citizen of an European Union member nation, you may not use this service unless you are at least 16 years old.

  • You already know Dokkio is an AI-powered assistant to organize & manage your digital files & messages. Very soon, Dokkio will support Outlook as well as One Drive. Check it out today!

View
 

Asia Pacific case study

Page history last edited by Kristina Ong 14 years, 4 months ago

 

NOTES FOR THE ASIA PACIFIC CASE STUDY

 

CLICK EDIT AT THE TOP OF THIS PAGE TO GET STARTED 

AND DON'T FORGET TO SAVE YOUR WORK EVERY 10-15 MINUTES

SO VIRTUAL PARTICIPANTS CAN SEE YOUR UPDATES :-)

 

...and feel free to play around with text colours, fonts, sizes etc! You can really do anything on here!

 

 

How do we put Asia on the mental map of Canadians?

 

Professor Paul Evans, a “recovering foundation official” now an instructor in UBC, makes an introduction on the case study.

·      What Canadians are thinking of Asia, and how are they looking at Asia?

·      Addresses it as the “mental map” issue

·      Many Canadians acknowledge Asia, but in the wrong way

     o      Asia is now closer to them than they used to be

     o      Daily presence: food, clothing, etc.

     o      Views are thin, not entirely formulated

·      Government is at the midst of a “full court press”

     o      We need to think what is beyond the “full court”

     o      Strategies with the governments, universities, communities on what to do with that part of the world (Asia) that is changing our global balance 

 

 

Pau Woo introduced the term “mental maps”

·      Change the terminology from “mental maps” to “virtual maps”

     o      CBC show last night…….

     o      The coverage of Wikipedia entries was highly uneven

     o      Coverage on Africa and Asia was very scant while those in Europe, USA and North America are vast

     o      Wikipedia is a trusted and ready reference, it represents our way of looking at the world—our “virtual map”

     §       It is inadequate, it does not cover a large part of humanity

     o      We have to be selective of the tools that we use if we want to improve our outlook on the world

·      Bodies of water, connections of the bodies of water represent a kind of image of an ocean that they have had for many years that have instrumented in shaping the history of Canada

     o      Not seen as a barrier or obstacle to connect us to the United States

     o      Those from Ontario see this as a way of linking ourselves to the great force that is the United States and also to European countries

·      “Great lakes” idea:

     o      To think not of the Pacific Ocean as the ocean at the west coast

     o      If we can conquer the great lakes of the east, through making connections by using technology and such surely we can conquer the great lakes of the west

 

Hank Bull

·      Cultural diversity and biodiversity

·      Canada was one of the architects of the international agreements on multicultural agreement of UNESCO

·      UN: spearheaded by Kofi Annan “We the people”

     o      Who makes the decisions in the UN?

     §       Individual voices, NGOs, etc.

·      How to put Asia on the virtual map of Canadians?

     o      It’s not about Asia, it’s about Canada and its people

     §       Canadians are changing

     §       More people going to Asia, more Asians migrating to Canada, more video games, etc.

     §       Not happening on the political level

     §       In order to change this virtual map, we need to put more Asian representatives on the political sphere

     §       Institutional electives, it is a political issue

·      Grant to commission an artwork

     o      Locative mapping experience of Chinatown and downtown Eastside

     o      Surveying people from those neighborhoods (videos, photographs, to be posted on the internet)

     o      This is one way of putting Asia on Canada’s mental map

 

 

Robert Badeski

·      Parallels on Russia vs. China

·      Trade in military weapons, China’s growing hunger on fossil fuels

·      What is security?

     o      Human security as longevity

     o      Prolong life, and postpone death

     o       Layers of human security: Individual, society, and the state

     o      We take the sovereign nation state for granted

     o      In Asia, the sovereign nation state is in a work of progress

     §       China observing Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Mongolia

     o      North Korea a state with maximum national security and abysmal human security

     o      Japan non western industrialization and high human security

·      Social Confucianism

     o      As education is a personal responsibility

     o      Patron client relationship with US

     §       Security dependence at the time of military need vs. Korea 

 

Eleanor Guerrero-Campbell

·      CEO of the Minerva foundation for BC Women

·      Diverse grassroots organizations

·      People who have migrated “look to home”

·      How to we put Asia, our home, on the mental map of Canadians?

·      Ethnic and geographic diversities are sewn together in a Canadian mosaic

·      Many migrants are isolated to those that are reminiscent and “home-like” from Canadian life

·      Foreign policy: what do Asian-Canadians need to do to improve foreign policy?

     o      What does Canada need?

     o      Decline in population, labor shortage, skilled worker shortage

     o      How can we put Canada on the mental maps of our cultural diversities?

     o      Maybe this question too may help improve diversity

 

Urban Planning

·      Embodies the sense of how Asia is coming to Vancouver

·      Suburbs transformed by people and capital

An Atlantic Centered Mental Map

·      How much this map controls our thoughts on foreign affairs

·      Represents a legacy

·      Represents Canada in the world

·      Canada formed by immigration in 2008 (from China and the Philippines)

·      Canada accepts 1% of its population in immigrants per year

     o      This is the remarkable change in Canada and somehow cope in it

·      How do you re-center the map?

     o      Look at the side that centers the world from the Pacific Ocean!

     o      Where our immigrants are coming from, where our goods are going

     §       2 Billion dollars in Australia.. More exports in other parts of Asia

     o      Our future is in Southeast Asia

     o      Canadians also migrate to Asia (Hong Kong, Thailand)

     o      Economic, social, cultural opportunity for which Canada can work on this challenge

     o      Bono “the world needs more of Canada”

     o      All countries in the world are facing how their countries are changing

Where a new mental map begins? On the streets

·      Shows photos of Chinatown’s events: Lunar New Year Parade

     o      Embracing our pacific past

·      Contextualizing the last 125 years of Canadian History

     o      Colonialism, racism…

     o      Abomination towards our relationships to the Pacific

     o      Our Asia-Pacific legacy is not new, we have been trading ever since

     §       Simply needs a renewal and reminder

 

 

Alden Habacon

·      Conceptually mapping identities of Canadians

·      We are living in our own minds about identities

·      Importance of ethnicity to identity and choosing a spouse

     o      Ethnicity on identity is more important to people

·      People already DO have Asia on their mental maps!

     o      When Asia is going through difficult situations, Canada is also affected

·      Otherwise, what would it take to reach Canadians that don’t have Asia on their mental maps?

     o      Imagination: where the mental maps are rigid or flexible

     §       Will our families have other ethnicities in it?

o      Intermarriages: culturally married as well increasing each spouses’ mental map

 

DISCUSSION:

·      Asia as the banker for Iraq war shows irony

·      The recession in Asia is not very visible

·      We don’t see stories in media about Canada’s connections with Asia

·      Canada doesn’t have a blank slate as a mental map for Asia

     o      Difficult and deep history

     o      It’s fundamentally confronting and changing our old mental maps

     o      Social-cultural-economic challenge

·      Asia is the “Far East” but is in fact West, “the Orient”

     o      Such Eurocentric terminology that is embedded in our language

·      The US sees China as a threat to world dominance

 

·      Asians usually come to Canada during high school

     o      They automatically have cliques however it is difficult to move past language and cultural barriers between Canadians and Asians 

 

·      Difficulties may be solved by generations

     o      Time and patience are vital keys in making a change

·      Public service does not reflect Canadians

     o      Policies and approaches and mental maps are also important for change

 

 

·      Urban-Rural divide can show lack of awareness or having Asia on Canada’s mental maps

     o      Experience with Asians can change outlook

     o      How these translates to elections for Asian political representatives

·      To recognize shifts in history in order to change how Asians are seen by Canadians

·      Language barrier: French language barrier in Ottawa

     o      Fundamental shift in our international identity

     o      Richmond: Chinese-French immersion schools are emerging

     §       Because parents want children to be involved in Canadian public service 

 

 

·      Relationship between French and English Canada

     o      Inherently nested into this deeper politic of Quebec-French and French –English

     o      Attempt to build a fortification between a sense of identity NOW

     o      Canada is not a mono-cultural state, diversity is part of our identity

     §       Canada: English, French, First Nations

     o      Art galleries with diverse artworks are “cool!”

·      Look deeper into history to find more immigrant history

     o      Interactions, story-telling, reclaiming of history to inform new generations of Canadians 

  •  Where can we find it? Urban areas? In Vancouver? 

 

 

What would you do with 100million dollars?

 

·      Create and Asian gateway/center, but include Canada’s name in the title (CanadAsia?) 

     o      Canada’s Asia is different from American and European Asia

     o      Input from history, media, arts and culture, business and finance, political

     §       Development of leadership

     §       Toronto city summit: develop multicultural leadership

     o      A meeting place: it’s about gathering and bringing people together 

 

 

Raising awareness:

·      Commissioning books and films would make a bigger impact in the long run as opposed to cultural events as they make a lasting impression

  • Do more to influence public views on Asia 
  • They speak many languages but the don't speak "public"
  • Consider the electronic world: all of these issues having an e-impact throughout Canada 
    • Maybe investments should be made on internet sites 
    • It is also vital to have a physical space that represents the site
  • Those participating in these ways of awareness are included in creating a step towards global democracy
  • How can we build on it? What can be done? What needs to be done? 
    • Make an effort to change the way people believe 
    • Create an image that captures the eye of the public 
    • We have to have interest and passion for this issue 
  • It's not just about the way Canadians think about Asia, it's also the way Asia thinks of Canada 
    • White Spot in Hong Kong 

 

Money towards research for NGOs 

Create a foundation that identifies intelligent students in Asian countries, and provide scholarships for them

  • channeling of spreading interest and creating relationships 

 

Create a new translation: 

  • We have failed in trying to connect these worlds 
  • The Asia-Pacific foundation is a good tool in teaching us on how to "talk better", understand each other better. 
  • Greater encouragement for professors to educate the audience/public

 

Engage immigration agencies in China for example

  • People who are living here: share pros and cons of their lives in Canada
  • Language classes to help with a transition in immigration

 

Border problems between provinces:

·      Make Canada more uniform before worrying about others; provincial issues

·      What to do with the money: invest in education

     o      Interaction between people: learning languages to bridge gaps, shared events and new places such as Chinatown and its Lunar New Year

  • Improve curriculum in public and private schools

 

Is South Asia part of Asia???

·      India and Pakistan is a part of Asia

·      Canada has to be aware with its position in Asia

     o      It is not in the position to dictate anything with Asia as Asia can dictate its position to Canada

     o      Cultural events to raise awareness however it has limits

     o      Possibly by 2020 we wouldn’t be able to recognize the world map 

 ·     Reach out/reach in issue

     o      It’s time that we take the Vancouver experience outward

     §       TV shows?

  •     Canada as a travel destination 

 

 

Comments (0)

You don't have permission to comment on this page.