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Letter from the President

Dear ACSN-members,

Together with 30 other national associations, ACSN is a member of the International Council for Canadian Studies (ICCS). I attended the ICCS Annual General Meeting in Moncton, New Brunswick, last month. ICCS promotes and supports Canadian Studies activities in universities worldwide and administers, through a contract with DFAIT, Canadian Studies programs and awards. The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade has been split into two distinctive Ministries: Foreign Affairs Canada (FAC) and International Trade Canada (ITD). As from now we are dependent on grants and budgets from FAC and I urgently request you to let me know your Canadian-content courses so that ACSN can serve you as appropriately as possible. The present ACSN board tries to find means to involve young Canadianists in their activities.

I draw your attention to the ACSN 2004 seminar, which is devoted to Canadian films. It will take place in Groningen, on October 29, 2004 and the programme will certainly interest students.

In 2005 a two-day conference will be held in Middelburg, on June 4-5, to commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands from German occupation. Canadian forces played an important role in establishing peace in our country. I was in Canada House, London, last week, where Canada and the Second World War was the topic of their conference and many different perspectives were shown. Our ACSN conference next year aims to examine Building Liberty: Canada and World Peace, 1945-2005 from a strongly interdisciplinary angle: military and diplomatic history, politics, sociology, media and communication studies, conflict analysis and human rights, law, literature, art, film and popular culture. You will find possible themes for inclusion on our website and in the September issue of the ACSN Newsletter.

I wish you a good summer both in public and private life.
Best wishes,
Conny Steenman-Marcusse