By Auz Momin
Rapid technology innovations impact all areas of international affairs, making good governance and effective policies more important than ever before. The Balsillie School of International Affairs, with support from the Balsillie Family Foundation, has established the Technology Governance Initiative (TGI) to prepare students to address these rapid changes in the modern world. The Balsillie School’s focus on global governance and international public policy aligns with the Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement’s mission to advance peace through collaboration, creating a connection for individuals looking to contribute to positive change.
The TGI is comprised of several new programs focused on bringing solutions to issues created by rapid advancement in technology, including the Balsillie Scholars Program, student internships, the Technology Governance Summer School, case studies, and an annual survey.
Paul Heidebrecht, Director of the Centre for Peace Advancement, is a member of the TGI Steering Committee that is providing strategic guidance for these programs. “This is an exciting and ambitious effort to build bridges between the expertise we have in our community in both technological innovation and public policy leadership,” he noted. “It will equip students and researchers at the Balsillie School—and partner institutions like Grebel—to directly contribute to broader efforts to address the challenges and opportunities posed by technological change.”
This Winter, Project Ploughshares, a Core Collaborator of the Centre for Peace Advancement, is working with two students from the Technology Governance Initiative program. Saad Hammadi and Roman Vysochanskyy have joined Project Ploughshares as Policy Researchers under Jessica West and Branka Marijan, respectively.
Saad is a Global Governance Fellow and a graduate of the Master of Arts in Global Governance at the Balsillie School. He has been involved in research, reporting, campaign, and advocacy on a broad range of human rights issues including civil and political rights and refugee rights. Some of his notable achievements include winning an independent legal battle against Bangladesh police under the Right to Information Act and leading global campaigns and advocacy for access to education of Rohingya children in refugee camps in Bangladesh. With Project Ploughshares, he is looking forward to “shaping policy discussions related to space governance in line with international law and considerations for human rights and public interest.” Read more about Saad’s achievements and experiences.
Roman is a Master of International Public Policy student with extensive experience in philosophy and the humanities, specializing in areas ranging from Phenomenology to Postcolonial Studies. Roman was an independent scholar and tutor at Ivan Franko National University of L’viv, Ukraine until 2022, when he joined the International Public Policy Program at Balsillie. Read more about Roman.
The Balsillie Scholars program aims to attract top technology governance scholars, researchers, and practitioners to Waterloo for 6 weeks to 6 month-long residencies. In addition to providing generous funding, the Balsillie school will act as a space for the scholars to collaborate and engage with students. Applications for the program are open to global thought leaders from academia as well as the public and private sectors, currently based anywhere in the world, and are being considered on a rolling basis. Paul is hoping this will be a vehicle for bringing connections from his global PeaceTech network to Waterloo in the coming years.
As the world witnesses’ rapid technological innovations, it is important to develop good governance to address the fact that rapid innovations in technology can be a driver for conflict. The Technology Governance Initiative is beginning to fill this gap.