SFU Public Square receives honourable mention for MacJannet Prize for Global Citizenship

Simon Fraser University’s Public Square received an honourable mention from the international selection committee for this year’s MacJannet Prize for Global Citizenship. The mention acknowledges SFU Public Square’s work in civic engagement through programming such as its annual Community Summit.

The most recent summit, Confronting the Disinformation Age, held April 10 to 18, focused on the impact of the proliferation of disinformation and how it challenges society’s capacity to make informed economic, social and political decisions.

Fourteen events over nine days addressed topics such as populism and climate change, digital threats to democracy, media and misinformation, enhancing digital literacy and rights, and the philosophy of fake news.

The MacJannet Prize for Global Citizenship was established by the Talloires Network and the MacJannet Foundation to recognize exceptional student community-engagement initiatives at Talloires Network member universities, and contributes financially to their ongoing public service efforts. The prize is open to 388 Talloires Network members in 77 countries around the world.

SFU Public Square launched in 2012 as part of SFU’s strategic vision to become the leading engaged university defined by its dynamic integration of innovative education, cutting-edge research and far-reaching community engagement. The program works to build an informed, empowered, connected and engaged citizenry by fostering reciprocity, trust and knowledge exchange among SFU’s communities and enhancing the community engagement capacity of SFU and its partners.

Each year SFU Public Square produces many events and activities including a Community Summit that addresses a distinct issue affecting society, convenes people for knowledge exchange and co-creation of solutions.