March 3, 2008
No. 46
The Honourable Maxime Bernier, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today announced the appointment of Claude-Yves Charron to the Board of Governors of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).
"I am pleased that Mr. Charron will be serving on the IDRC Board," said Minister Bernier. "The Centre will benefit from his extensive experience in international development and communications issues, and his expertise in post-conflict and social reconstruction drawn from his academic research as well as from his work in the United Nations system."
The International Development Research Centre is a public corporation created by Parliament in 1970 to help developing countries use science and technology to find practical, long-term solutions to the social, economic and environmental problems they face. Support is directed toward developing an indigenous research capacity to sustain policies and technologies that developing countries need to build healthier, more equitable and more prosperous societies.
A Crown corporation, IDRC works collaboratively with many federal government departments, especially Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada and the Canadian International Development Agency. Guided by a 21-member international board of governors, IDRC reports to Parliament through the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
For more information on the IDRC, consult www.idrc.ca.
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A biographical note on the appointee is attached.
For further information, media representatives may contact:
Foreign Affairs Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
613-995-1874
www.international.gc.ca/index.aspx
Chantal Schryer
Director of Communications
International Development Research Centre
613-236-6163 ext. 2598
cschryer@idrc.ca
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Claude-Yves Charron, PhD, has been a vice-rector at the Université du Québec à Montréal since 2002. He is the Secretary General of ORBICOM-the Network of UNESCO Chairs in Communications. As of 2006, he has also been a high-level senior adviser to the United Nations Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies and Development. Since 1994, he has undertaken research on international development issues for the World Bank, the UN Development Programme, UNESCO, CIDA, and other such agencies. Mr. Charron is a sinologist, and he worked at the Canadian Embassy in Beijing from 1987 to 1989.
