IEF 2007

Biography
Jen Avaz completed graduate level research in her MA in International Education (’94) from University of Ottawa on the relationship between the spiritual crises typical of affluent societies and the environmental crisis. She presented the case that both types of crises originate from inaccurate beliefs about how the world works – beliefs that science no longer supports. She also suggested that all levels of our own well-being (physical, intellectual, emotional, spiritual, etc.) are nourished from our relationship with the planet and that our will to respond to the environmental crisis – or not – stems from our own sense of identity in relation to the planet. For the past seven years Jen has been managing the CIDA-funded University Partnerships in Cooperation and Development Program at the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada. She has also worked for the International Development Research Centre earlier in her career. She holds a B.A. in Political Theory (‘81) from McGill University, and speaks English, French and Spanish.