December 16, 2015 – Ottawa, Ontario—The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

The Government of Canada has awarded 20 inaugural scholarships to graduate students at the masters and doctoral level, in honour of the late Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa and anti-apartheid leader.

The Canada Graduate Scholarships (CGS) to Honour Nelson Mandela were announced following the death of the South African leader in December 2013. They are intended to honour Mandela’s legacy and pursuit of peace, democracy and freedom through learning.

The 10 masters and 10 doctoral recipients are from the following institutions: Dalhousie University, Université Laval, McGill University, University of Ottawa, Carleton University, Queen’s University, Trent University, York University and The University of British Columbia.

The recipients include:

  • Cecilia Jennings, a Master of Arts student studying geography at Queen’s University, who, in partnership with Pictou landing First Nation, will look at indigenous youth expressing their rights and using arts-based inquiry to address environmental injustice.
  • Jordana Waxman, a doctoral student in clinical developmental psychology at York University, who is studying how the behavioural and physiological response to pain and other distress develops in infants, as well as the relationship between distress responses and infant mental health.

Quick Facts

  • The CGS to Honour Nelson Mandela recognizes scholars conducting research in one or more of five areas championed by the former President of South Africa: national unity; democracy, freedom and human rights; leadership; children’s participation in society; and children’s health.
  • Recipients of the CGS to Honour Nelson Mandela were selected by the degree to which the subject matter of their proposed research aligns with Nelson Mandela’s legacy, and the potential of their proposed research to contribute to promoting better understanding of subjects and issues important to Nelson Mandela.
  • The competition is administered by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

Source: The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council