Grants and Contributions

The Pacific Island Countries are highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change due to their proximity to the ocean and their reliance on it for resources and transportation. The well-being and livelihoods of Pacific Island populations, particularly the poorest who are heavily dependent on land and marine biodiversity, are severely impacted. The Kiwa Initiative works towards strengthening the climate-change resilience of Pacific Island ecosystems, economies and communities by promoting and supporting nature-based solutions for adaptation to climate change.

This project aims to make Pacific Islands ecosystems, economies and communities, particularly Indigenous women, more resilient to the impacts of climate change. 2 regional organizations – the Pacific Community and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme and – International Union for Nature Conservation implement this initiative through its regional Oceania Office based in Suva, Fiji.

The Kiwa Initiative - nature-based solutions for climate resilience is a 7-year (2020 to 2027), $116 million multi-donor Pan-Pacific regional initiative funded by Canada ($16M), France ($61M), the European Union ($30MM), Australia ($2.71M), and New Zealand ($4.49M).

This capacity-building project will build on the successes of earlier work and incorporate important recommendations following the 2015 elections which emphasized empowering traditionally marginalized groups to become engaged in the political process by enhancing the information available in ethnic languages, fostering intersectional engagement between women, youth, ethnic minorities and persons with disabilities and developing targeted civic and voter education. The project will work with local partner groups to leverage opportunities for engagement with voters in non-traditional spaces

The project aims to increase the protection and equal opportunities for children, especially girls, boys, and adolescents, in the contexts of human mobility in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Project activities include: (1) strengthening institutional capacities for comprehensive gender responsive attention to highly vulnerable children, especially girls; (2) developing comprehensive gender responsive protocols and road-maps for case identification and referrals to specialized services for children, especially for girls' protection; (3) piloting alternative gender responsive care models, adapted to the specific and differentiated needs of children on the move, especially girls; and (4) implementing gender responsive comprehensive strategies to shift harmful norms against sexual and gender-based violence.

An Animal Model to Prevent Shoulder Injuries in Microgravity
Shoulder's muscles and tendons combine their activities to provide mobility and stability when we move our arms. On Earth, shoulder muscles must counteract gravity to maintain in position the shoulder. In space, only muscle forces act and astronauts develop shoulder overuse injuries. Our ability to detect early signs of shoulder overuse is limited. As such, soft tissue tears develop unnoticed until they cause pain and serious functional deficits. We propose to study the shoulders of mudskippers, an amphibious fish, as a natural model that mirrors the dramatic changes in motions, gravitational forces experienced by astronauts' shoulders

EFFECT OF INDIVIDUALIZED ARTIFICIAL GRAVITY TRAINING ON CARDIOVASCULAR AND CEREBRAL RESPONSES IN MALES AND FEMALES DURING SUPINE TO STAND TESTS
Wobbly legs, dizzy spells and even fainting experienced by astronauts on return to Earth are serious health and safety concerns. One solution may be to provide artificial gravity from a centrifuge in space. Our group has shown that artificial gravity training on Earth increases standing tolerance, but the reasons behind this increase are not well understood, particularly for women who have not been included as often in previous studies. We will look the posture, cardiovascular and brain blood flow responses to an individualized artificial gravity program in men and women to better understand and use this technique to protect astronauts.

Support aboriginal communities in becoming successful participants in commercial fisheries and aquaculture

Support aboriginal communities in becoming successful participants in commercial fisheries and aquaculture

The objectives of the Labour Funding Program are to:.• promote respect for fundamental labour rights and international obligations through capacity building of labour administrations and exchange of good practice in the areas of labour relations and working conditions; .• develop and transfer knowledge on effective approaches to address the labour dimensions of globalization in Canada and internationally; .• strengthen relationships that foster collaboration, partnership, alliances and networks to address labour issues; .• support the capacity of governments, labour and management, and employers and employees to identify and address labour issues; and, .• promote knowledge sharing through the development, exchange and application of knowledge, tools and resources that address labour issues and/or sustain or enhance labour practices and labour relations. .

The objectives of the Program are: • promoting volunteerism among seniors; • engaging seniors in the community through mentoring of others; • expanding awareness of elder abuse, including financial abuse; • supporting social participation and inclusion of seniors; and • providing capital assistance for new and existing community projects and/or programs for seniors.

The objectives of the Program are: .• promoting volunteerism among seniors; .• engaging seniors in the community through.mentoring of others; .• expanding awareness of elder abuse, including.financial abuse; .• supporting social participation and inclusion of.seniors; and .• providing capital assistance for new and existing.community projects and/or programs for seniors. .