International Council for Canadian Studies

International Council for Canadian Studies

The International Council for Canadian Studies (ICCS) is a non-profit organization of 21 national and multi-national Canadian studies associations and 6 associate members in 40 countries. Founded in 1981, the ICCS's mandate is:

• to contribute to the creation and development of an international community of experts on Canada;

• to promote and produce quality scholarly activities related to the study of Canada;

• to disseminate, in Canada and abroad, the results of research, study and other scholarly activities undertaken by experts on Canada: and

• to promote public awareness among Canadians of the international interest in the study of their country, their society, their values and their cultures.

To carry out this mandate, the International Council for Canadian Studies offers a series of programs and awards; publishes the peer-reviewed International Journal of Canadian Studies (IJCS), special reports and conference proceedings, as well as newsletters for its members and for a wider audience; organizes seminars, forums, conferences and other scholarly activities; and makes available through its website databases related to the study of Canada. To manage such activities, the ICCS has a permanent secretariat located in Ottawa.

ICCS member associations bring together more than 7500 scholars, who - on a yearly basis - publish hundreds of scholarly books and articles on Canadian topics; organize state-of-the-art colloquia, seminars and conferences on Canada; and through their teaching and seminars expose more than 150 000 students to Canadian culture and affairs. As these international scholars interact with their Canadian colleagues and counterparts, they also forge international university linkages, thus increasing the internationalization of Canadian education while also enhancing awareness within Canadian institutions of international standards of research and teaching.

Operating in their own countries, the scholars who comprise the international Canadianist community contribute to a better understanding of Canada, serving as consultants for policy-makers and the media, thus contributing to an increasingly "informed" view of Canadian affairs. As a result, a growing number of experts across a range of positions in the public and private sectors around the world have become receptive to and knowledgeable of Canadian concerns.