Canadian Coalition for Afghan Peace Development

Mission Statement

CCAPD is a broad-based, non-profit and apolitical coalition of Canadian universities, non-government organizations and individuals who are concerned about the consequences of war and human suffering in Afghanistan and want to contribute to their alleviation. CCAPD's mission is to provide support and advocacy for member groups engaged in projects that further the peaceful development of Afghanistan. 

Objectives 

1. To promote skill training, knowledge transfer, and action research projects that assess and address obstacles and opportunities for peace in Afghanistan through health, education and environmental initiatives 

2. To enhance the performance and impact of Afghan health, rehabilitation and education workers by providing them with training opportunities 

3. To strengthen the capacity of Afghan universities as resources for local development by linking them with Canadian universities 

4. To educate the Canadian public about the current situation in Afghanistan 

5. To inform policy makers and funding sources about the need for Canadian contributions to the peaceful development of Afghanistan 

Background and Projects 

In April 1994, the Afghanistan Working Group (AWG) was established at McMaster University's Centre for International Health (Hamilton, Canada). The aim of the group was to contribute to the reconstruction, development, and social stability of Afghanistan by strengthening the capacity of Afghan universities and assisting with rehabilitation of persons with disabilities. In the fall of 1994, the International Centre for the Advancement of Community-based Rehabilitation (ICACBR) at Queen's University (Kingston, Canada) joined AWG. In the summer of 1995, AWG was joined by Disabled People International (DPI), the Council of Canadians for Disabled Persons (CCDP) (both in Winnipeg, Canada) and the Hugh Macmillan Rehabilitation Centre (now Bloorview-Macmillan (Toronto, Canada). Reconnaissance and partnership-building missions in Afghanistan: In 1994, four health and rehabilitation professionals from McMaster and Queen's Universities conducted a mission to determine potential partnerships and collaborative initiatives in Afghanistan. The team visited Herat, Afghanistan, and key offices of the United Nations and non-governmental organization (NGOs) in Pakistan. In May 1995, a second visit to Afghanistan was made to discuss specific projects with collaborating counterparts in Nangarhar and Herat provinces. As a result of these trips, partnerships with the World Health Organization, the Universities of Herat and Nangarhar and the Organization for Mine Clearance and Afghan Rehabilitation (OMAR) were established. A joint project proposal to strengthen the capacity of Afghan higher learning institutions was submitted to the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance for Afghanistan (UNOCHA) for funding. In March 1996, AWG organized an Afghanistan Workshop and Visits. Attendees included the Afghan Minister of Public Health, directors of WHO-Afghanistan, IbnSina, OMAR and other interested parties from the United States and Canada. The workshop was followed by visits to the offices of DPI, the Manitoba League of Persons with Disabilities (Winnipeg), and CCDP; the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) (both in Ottawa), the ICACBR office and Hugh-Macmillan Rehabilitation Centre. From 1996 to 2001, several consultancy and training visits have been made to Afghanistan and Pakistan by Professor Will Boyce of Queen's University and Dr. Seddiq Weera, Professors Graeme MacQueen and Joanna Santa Barbara of McMaster University. Coordinating Canadian efforts for Afghan peace and development AWG members have extensive experience working in Afghanistan and other war-affected countries. They have expertise in peace building, psychosocial healing, pedagogy, physical rehabilitation, program evaluation and population-based assessments of health, rehabilitation and peace issues. Having this wide range of expertise, commitment to Afghanistan, wide network of partners in Afghanistan/Pakistan and North America, AWG was in a unique position to initiate and lead a coalition of agencies and individuals interested in addressing the diverse development and peace-building needs of Afghanistan. Thus, on April 18, 1999, the Canadian Coalition for Afghan Peace and Development (CCAPD) was born out of the earlier development of the AWG. A coordinating committee and two co-chairs were appointed to oversee the activities of the coalition. 

Focus of Current Projects 

Presently, CCADP is leading a peace education project in Afghanistan. Partners to this project include the Swedish Committee for AFghanistan, Afghan University in Peshawar, Cooperation for Peace and Unity (CPAU) and Research and Advisory Council of Afghanistan (RACA). Projects in development include National Consultation and Common Vision Building; Strengthening Capacities of the Afghan University, Strengthening Peace-building Capacities of the Civil Society, Peace Camps and enhancing quality of education in Afghan schools and the institutes of higher education. 

CCAPD Membership

Canadian organizations and individuals interested in contributing to peaceful development of Afghanistan through collaborative initiatives are eligible to apply for CCADP members. CCADP Contacts Will Boyce, PhD (co-chair) Queen's University Tel: (613) 533-6000 ext. 77405 E-mail:boycew@post.queensu.ca Seddiq Weera, MD, MSc (co-chair) McMaster University Tel: (905) 525-9140 ext. 23175 E-mail:weeras@mcmaster.ca 

Member Organizations 

Center for Peace Studies - McMaster University 

Peace Studies is a discipline that seeks to understand war and peace, violence and non-violence, conflict and conflict transformation, and that looks for ways to promote human well-being through this understanding. Peace Studies is distinguished from other disciplines by its focus, its integration of approaches from varied disciplines, its explicit values and its engaged scholarship. Peace Studies is one of a number of emerging disciplines that explicitly regards certain conditions as problematic and commits itself both to understanding and to changing these conditions. Just as Women's Studies regards male domination as problematic, and Environmental Studies regards some kinds of environmental destruction as problematic, Peace Studies regards war and certain kinds of violence as problematic. This does not mean one must be a pacifist to enter this discipline and it does not mean one must condemn all violence or every call to arms; but it does mean that Peace Studies as a discipline seeks the diminishment of war and large-scale violence and does not pretend to be neutral on the issue of whether these will dominate the human future. Peace Studies is an engaged discipline. This means that the student of Peace Studies will be encouraged to become engaged in practical action in society and to relate this action to what is learned in the classroom. Practical action is crucial to the student's learning (theory and practice are intimately related) and to the empowerment of the student as an agent of change. 

Center for Evaluation of Social Group - Queen's University 

Will Boyce 

Center for Evaluation of Social Group Queen's University
Kingston, Ontario, Canada
e-mail: boycew@post.queensu.ca

Will Boyce is Director of the Social Program Evaluation Group (SPEG) with a joint appointment to Queen's Health Policy Research Unit and the Faculty of Education. He received his undergraduate training in rehabilitation therapy and completed a PhD in Community Health at the University of Toronto, focusing on participation of disadvantaged groups in social programs. He is the Canadian Principal Investigator for the WHO Health Behaviours in School-aged Children study. He teaches graduate courses in program evaluation and has extensive experience in that field with organizations such as the Ontario Ministry of Health, World Health Organization and United Nations Development Program. His current research interests include adolescent health, injuries, smoking, and sexual health, education policy, disability, and community development programs in Central America, South Asia, and Southern Africa. Will Boyce is a co-chair of the Canadian Coalition for Afghan Peace & Development. He is also a member of the Queen's Centre for Social Responsibility and Education.

SPEG is an applied research and evaluation unit within Queen's University, jointly funded by the Faculties of Education and Health Sciences (Centre for Health Services and Policy Research). Supported by contracts and grants since 1980, SPEG is recognized nationally and internationally for its multisectoral applied research and program evaluation designed to inform social policy and programs. Many of these projects are collaborative and involve a variety of disciplines at Queen's, other universities, and the private sector. SPEG is dedicated to the production and dissemination of applied and theoretical knowledge in the education, health, disability, social services, and training sectors.


Department of Community Medicine - University of Manitoba 

Robbie Chase

Information to come.