The annual meeting of UNESCO Chairs of Canada took place on June 9 and 10, 2013 in Ottawa. The meeting was organized by the Canadian Commission for UNESCO. The UNESCO Chair in Applied Research for Education in Prison was present and participated in this most valuable meeting. A central focus was the different challenges and difficulties that UNESCO Chairs of Canada have confronted.

On this occasion, we have had the chance to meet with Ms Myriam Montrat, the new Secretary General of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO. Also during the videoconferencing event, Mr David Atchoarena, Director of the Division of Planning and Development for Educational Systems (ED/PDE) of UNESCO invited UNESCO Chairs of Canada to participate in the meeting of UNESCO Chairs, the ICTs in education and the development of teachers, at the headquarters of UNESCO in Paris on September 5 and 6. The UNESCO Chairs of Canada will receive an official invitation in the near future so that they can participate in the meeting.

We would like to highlight the involvement of a number of special guests who made important statements during this meeting: Mr Gordon Platt, Senior Director of Political Strategy, International and Intergovernmental Affairs of Canadian Heritage; Ms Monique Zaloum, Senior Political Advisor in International Relations at the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada; Mr Brent Herbert-Copley, Vice President of the Research Division of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada; Ms Julia Dicum, Acting Supervisor of Human Development and Gender Equality at the Canadian International Development Agency; Ms Anne Rhéaume, UNESCO Affairs Coordinator at the Quebec Ministry of International Relations, the Francophonie, and External Trade; Ms Jennifer Humphries, Vice President of Member Services, Public Policy and Communications at the Canadian Bureau for International Education; Ms. Marie-José Fortin, Program Director of the International Partnership of the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC); Ms Ann Weston, Director of the Special Initiatives Division of the International Development Research Centre; Mr Marcel Courchesne, Analyst of the Council of Ministers of Education of Canada; and Mr Tom Tunney, Senior Manager and Head of University and College Programming at the World University Service of Canada (WUSC). Lastly, we would like to acknowledge the excellent work of the host of the meeting, Mr Budd Hall, Co-Director of the UNESCO Chair on Community Research and the Social Responsibility of Higher Education, at the University of Victoria.