Menno Simons College Blog

Exploring connections through international development

Posted by CMU Staff  |  Thursday, August 27, 2015 @ 12:04 PM

A trip to Rwanda with World Vision sparked MSC student Evan Roberts’ interest in the topics of development and human rights.

Roberts says the almost month-long trip, on which he was a World Vision Youth Ambassador, was an opportunity to “go overseas and experience development firsthand.”

He credits the trip with shaping and guiding his interests and studies since then. Roberts is an International Development Studies (IDS) major at MSC and Human Rights (HR) major at the University of Winnipeg Global College. Through his studies, he’s developed a particular interest in addressing the human dimensions of climate change.

Earlier this year, Roberts was an Artic Youth Ambassador for the organization Global Vision, which engages “enterprising young Canadians through education and hands-on experience to develop as leaders that can and do make a difference in their communities, to Canada and the world.”

MSC provided Roberts with a travel bursary to join 50 youth from northern and southern Canada in Iqaluit to discuss opportunities and challenges facing Canada’s northern communities. He had the opportunity to meet with those affected by climate change and says hearing their stories helped change his perspectives on the topic.

“Save the polar bears is what we’ve been shown publicly,” he says. “Now I’ve had the chance to see the human dimensions of climate change.”

Studying both IDS and HR has provided Roberts with several angles from which to view climate change.

“The human rights program has afforded me the chance to look [at climate change] through the lens of a legal context or a human context,” he says. “IDS talks about building up communities affected by climate change.”

Roberts hopes his MSC practicum placement and future work can focus on the effects of climate change on people—perhaps working with environmental migrants or climate refugees. Environmental migrants are those who have had to leave the region where they live because it is becoming increasingly inhospitable due to environmental changes such as desertification, drought, or rising sea levels or extreme weather events such as floods or hurricanes.

International development students at MSC have the option of completing an international or a local practicum placement, which offers them the opportunity to gain work experience related to their studies.

“Having travelled internationally and being a human rights and IDS student, I see the world through an international lens and global perspective,” says Roberts. At the same time, through his experiences in Winnipeg, he also understands the importance of local work.

While studying, Roberts has worked with the Winnipeg Jets True North Foundation, whose vision is to create “opportunities and conditions for young people to improve the quality of their lives.” He’s provided instruction and support for young adults both on and off the ice—teaching hockey skills, providing academic support, and leading activities during a summer program.

“It’s been a phenomenal experience to work with the Jets and the True North Foundation,” he says. “It’s been nice to work with the students for three or four years because you can see kids grow—how much they’ve grown as a person, as a hockey player.”

Roberts is excited about two conferences he’ll be attending later this year: the Young Leaders of NGOs and Social Projects week of the Terra Scientia conference in Russia and the Human Rights Plenary Session of One Young World in Thailand, which brings together young people over 190 countries to make connections and develop solutions to world issues.

For those considering studying IDS, Roberts highlights the interdisciplinary nature of the program: “There are so many connections that exist [in IDS], that you can really make it your own to explore,” he says.

With work and study opportunities in Canada and Rwanda, and upcoming ones in Russia and Thailand, Roberts has found ways to explore those connections at home and abroad.

Ellen Paulley is the Writer and Social Media Coordinator at Menno Simons College