March 31st is the deadline to register for the 2013 Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences at the early-bird rate. More than 1,300 people have already registered. Join us at the University of Victoria from June 1-8, 2013. All the information you need for booking your travel and accommodations is available at www.congress2013.ca under the Plan Your Trip section. What's more, Congress Expo is shaping up to be a great success again this year, with many exhibitors confirmed. Information on how to reserve a booth at Expo is available here.

We have a stellar Big Thinking lineup at Congress this year, including Louise Arbour, Dany Laferrière, and Doug Saunders. As in past years, these events are free and open to the public thanks to the generous support of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada and the Canada Foundation for Innovation. Other Big Thinking sponsors this year include the Royal Society of Canada, the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, and the Centre for Global Studies at the University of Victoria.

The electoral process closed on February 22 with the following results:  Lisa Philipps (York University) acclaimed as Director, Research Policy; Ray Siemens (University of Victoria) reacclaimed for a second term as Director, Research Dissemination; Lyne Sauvageau (Université du Québec) reacclaimed for a second term as Treasurer; Nadia Abu-Zahra (Canadian Association for the Study of International Development) re-elected for a second term as Director, Associations; Dominique Marshall (Canadian Historical Association) elected as Director, Associations; Gayle MacDonald (St. Thomas University) elected as Director, Institutions; Michael Owen (University of Ontario Institute of Technology) elected as Director, Institutions.  In addition, the Board of Directors, upon canvassing the ASPP Academic Council, appointed Anne-Marie Fortier (Université Laval) as Chair, ASPP.  Antonia Maioni (McGill University) will begin her two year term as President following the March 23 AGM; each Director will serve a two-year term, beginning with the first meeting of the new Board on March 24. A sincere thank you to all the candidates who put themselves forward in the electoral process as well as to those who have completed their terms : Karen Grant, Stephen Slemon, Gary Boire, Jean-Paul Boudreau, Lyle Dick, Sukeshi Kamra, Stéphanie Nutting and Rosalie Tung. 

The finalists for the Canada Prizes in the Humanities and Social Sciences were announced last month. Celebrating the best Canadian scholarly books-not simply within a single academic discipline, but across all the disciplines of the humanities and social sciences-the Canada Prizes are awarded to books that make an exceptional contribution to scholarship, are engagingly written, and enrich the social, cultural and intellectual life of Canada. The prizes will be awarded at the Ottawa Marriott on Saturday, March 23. All are welcome to attend. Read more about the Canada Prizes, and see the list of this year's finalists here.

On February 14, Dr. Wendy Craig from Queen's University came to Ottawa as part of the Federation's Big Thinking lecture series. An expert on bullying and children's health, Dr. Craig made a compelling presentation to Members of Parliament, Senators, public servants and local school representatives, which was followed by an engaging question and answer period. Watch the full video of Dr. Craig's talk here: 

Addressing bullying in Canada: What are our options?

 The Federation's next Big Thinking lecture is set for March 21 - join us on Parliament Hill as Dr. Stéphane Bouchard from the Université du Québec en Outaouais talks about the intersection between psychotherapy and virtual reality. Register online now!

The success of the Connections grant has led to unprecedented demand. Consequently, given available financial resources, SSHRC has temporarily put a hold on accepting new applications for the Connection Grants funding opportunity as of Friday, March 1, 2013. Since April 2012, Connection Grants have been funding a range of knowledge mobilization activities for the benefit of Canadians. SSHRC will continue to emphasize the importance of knowledge mobilization activities as a priority through the Connection Program. See the SSHRC website for more information.

The federal government's 2013 Budget is rumoured to be coming down later in March. While the contents of the budget are kept tightly under wraps, the Federation is hopeful that the government will take into account our recommendations around increased student internship opportunities, added funds for SSHRC, and continued federal support for community collaborations. Read our full submission made last summer here. We are continuing to monitor any announcements around the budget - stay tuned to our website for more information and for our response when the budget is announced. 

The Canadian Institute for Advanced Research is hosting an event in Toronto on March 7 featuring Daron Acemoglu (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) in conversation with Doug Saunders, the international affairs columnist for The Globe and Mail and a Big Thinking speaker at Congress 2013. The title of the event is Why nations fail: The origins of power, prosperity and poverty. Tickets are available here.

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About the Federation

 

Representing more than 85,000 researchers in 81 scholarly associations, 80 universities and colleges, and 6 affiliates, the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences is the national voice for the university research and learning community in these disciplines.