Television Series

cdm photoEngaging the World is a spinoff from Citoyens du Monde/Citizens of the World a six-part educational documentary series directed by Kelly Saxberg.  Ron Harpelle and Bruce Muirhead participated in all facets the project, providing the concept and foundational research for the film series, conducting interviews with leading figures in international development research and advising on various aspects of the production and post-production process to ensure accuracy and the general integrity of the project.

Please note that use of this series in the classroom requires the purchase of the DVD collection from Les Productions Rivard. Contact them for further information.

Themes

The series consists of six documentary films about research for development. They were shot in 15 countries across the Global South. Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America were visited to make the documentaries. The films focus on six themes that are linked together in a chain that explores issues related to research for development. The main themes are water, women, health, politics, ICTs and the BRIC countries, but there are also many sub-themes in the series that reveal much about the complexity and general challenges of international development. The first documentary also provides a short historical introduction to Canadian international development and the work of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is often discussed.

Viewing Options

You may view them in the order below or as individual documentaries. Each film is approximately 50 minutes in length and consists of three or four separate chapters that focus on different regions of the world. Each chapter is about 15 minutes in length, so viewers can also watch self-contained segments that focus on one geographic region or country. For example, the film about water and development consists of chapters that focus on India, Bolivia and Senegal and the film about women focuses on Senegal, Morocco, Guatemala and Palestine. The documentaries were originally produced in French for TFO but the series can also be viewed in English.

The Films

The films can be viewed in either English or French and you can watch them here. 

Water for Life

À la recherche d’eau

The Voice of Women

La voix des citoyennes

The Politics of Exclusion

La politique d’exclusion

Health For Life

Échecs et progrès

Between Citizens

Entre citoyens

New Paradigm — Nouveau paradigme

More Information:

Read More About Citizens of the World