March 16, 1998 No. 57

APPOINTMENTS TO IDRC BOARD OF GOVERNORS

Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy today announced the appointments of Marie Ann Battiste and Paulynn P. Sicam, and the reappointment of Huguette Labelle, to the Board of Governors of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).

Marie Ann Battiste has been an Associate Professor in the Indian and Northern Education Program of the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon since 1993. She is also Executive Director of the Apamuek Institute in Eskasoni, Nova Scotia. From 1989 to 1993, she served as the Mi'kmaq Cultural Co-ordinator of the Eskasoni School Board. Ms. Battiste has held a number of teaching positions, including Visiting Professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco in 1992; Education Director and Principal, Mi'kmawey School, Chapel Island Reserve, St. Peter's, Nova Scotia, from 1984 to 1988; and Adjunct Professor, Native Chair, St. Thomas University, Fredericton, New Brunswick, from 1986 to 1987.

Since 1995, Paulynn Sicam has been heading the Peace and Human Rights Desk at the Benigno Aquino Foundation in the Philippines. Recently, she presided over the development of a curriculum for instructors at Philippine national police training units that integrates human rights into all of the subjects they teach. Ms. Sicam was a member of the Philippine Commission on Human Rights (CHR) from 1991 to 1994. As Commissioner in Charge of Education and Information, she directed the development of the CHR's training program for the Philippine military, police and public school teachers, for which the Commission received the UNESCO prize for Human Rights Education in 1994.

Huguette Labelle has been President of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) since 1993. Prior to joining CIDA, she was Deputy Minister of Transport Canada from 1990 to 1993; Chairperson of the Public Service Commission of Canada from 1985 to 1990; Associate Secretary to the Cabinet and Deputy Clerk of the Privy Council (1985); and Under Secretary of State for the Department of the Secretary of State from 1980 to 1985. From 1973 to 1980, Ms. Labelle held senior management positions in Indian and Northern Affairs Canada and in Health and Welfare Canada. Ms. Labelle is currently Chancellor of the University of Ottawa and member of the Board of Directors of the Export Development Corporation, the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development, and the International Institute for Sustainable Development. Ms. Labelle is also Vice-Chairwoman of the China Council for International Co-operation on Environment and Development.

IDRC is a public corporation created by the Parliament of Canada in 1970 to help developing-country scientists and communities find solutions to social, economic and environmental problems through research. By bringing together people, institutions and ideas, IDRC seeks to ensure that the benefits of this research will be shared equitably among all its partners in both the northern and the southern hemispheres.

IDRC is directed by a 21-member Board of Governors comprising 11 Canadian members and 10 non-Canadian members.

- 30 -

For further information, media representatives may contact:

Debora Brown

Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs

(613) 995-1851

Media Relations Office

Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade

(613) 995-1874

This document is also available on the Department's Internet site: http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca