The Shift into High Engagement
As cherry blossoms herald the arrival of spring all over the University of Toronto campus, UTS is deepening its engagement with pressing global challenges of our time.
Along with the Federal Election yesterday, where many of our students took part in Student Vote Canada’s mirror election, over the last week UTS has been bustling with two major events dedicated to creating solutions to the challenges facing our world – of which there are many to choose from!
Last Friday, UTS hosted the Global Ideas Institute Final Symposium, the culmination of months of effort where 141 students from 21 schools spent the school year developing innovative solutions to the challenge: “How can we bridge the digital divide and ensure equitable access to digital technologies, particularly in underserved communities and developing nations?” In a world where 2.6 billion people remain offline, lack of access to technology means lack of access to opportunity. Students pitched their solutions to volunteer judges targeted at different aspects of this challenge – the UTS team developed an app to make it easier for smallholder rural farmers in South Africa to access technology to support their farms with microfinancing and weather forecasting. A Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy program, the Institute runs in partnership with UTS and the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. High school students work directly with university student mentors from Munk and other University of Toronto departments to prepare their solutions. Also, UTS alum Samaa Kazerouni Shah ’14 is a director of the organization, epitomizing our school’s pillar of impact with integrity with her work.
From Global Ideas Institute on Friday, we dove directly into the 52nd iteration of Southern Ontario Model United Nations Assembly (SOMA) on Monday for three days of diplomacy in action, with our student Secretariat welcoming 600 student delegates from across Ontario. From cybersecurity to tensions in the South China Sea, U.S.-China tariff disputes to affordable housing and much more, students immersed themselves deeply in the countries they represented and put forward resolutions that advocate for their interests, collaborating with other nations to create solutions on model United Nations committees. By doing so, their understanding and empathy for other societies and cultures deepens.
This long-standing UTS tradition is organized by UTS students, with support from our dedicated staff, providing invaluable leadership opportunities for our students to take the helm of a major event, while creating a vital experience for their peers at other schools.
With global tensions on the rise, experiences where young people think deeply about issues of national and global concern, such as SOMA, Global Ideas Institute and Student Vote Canada, are paramount to their education. Skills they develop at events like these such as critical thought, effective collaboration, skilled communication and kindness can prepare them to make a difference when it matters most, wherever their futures might lead.
As for the results of Student Vote Canada, nearly half of our student body voted in the electoral district of University—Rosedale, with a total of 335 students participating. The results were 149 votes for Chrystia Freeland P '19, '23, '27 — Liberal Party of Canada, followed by 81 for Liz Grade — Conservative Party of Canada and significantly less support for the other parties.
See the national results of Student Vote Canada here.
