1.1 – Understanding public engagement and global citizenship

Working definition of public engagement activities

At the moment, Global Affairs Canada uses the following as guiding principles for public engagement (PE):

Public engagement activities aim to promote global citizenship and engage Canadians as global citizens.

More specifically, this means activities and initiatives that must demonstrate:

• The connections between major global challenges and local issues;
• The impact of global challenges on Canadians;
• The ways in which Canada’s international development efforts directly contribute to alleviating these global challenges.

These activities should also take into consideration the concept of the behavioural change continuum about global citizenship, which has three stages:

1. Becoming aware of international development issues;
2. Deepening one’s knowledge on such issues; and
3. Taking action on these issues.

At the moment, the Government of Canada is using the following ultimate outcome for funded initiatives: “Canadians are expected to take action in their own ways and as a result, become global citizens.”

However, some communications activities do not correspond to Global Affairs Canada’s interpretation of public engagement. These include:

• Fundraising

• Annual general meetings

• Partisan political advocacy or lobbying

• Online and social media activities used to promote an organization

• Activities that take place outside of Canada