Scott Andrews

“While it was outrage that initially sparked my activism, my involvement has built in me an extraordinary sense of optimism that continually inspires and motivates me. It comes from a love for the people and an ultimate belief for humanity.”

 

Over the past four years, 27-year-old Scott Andrews has been volunteering with Oxfam Canada in Vancouver and raising awareness about social justice issues through documentary film screenings, flash mobs, music nights, fundraisers, and direct political action.

 

Last June, he represented Oxfam and chaired the organizing committee for the Vancouver Peoples’ Summit, which was an alternative citizen’s forum to the G8/G20 Summit that was held in Toronto. Along with volunteers from Oxfam and organizations such as Engineers Without Borders, Greenpeace, and Amnesty International, Scott partnered with Car Free Day and held a street festival that spanned four city blocks and was attended by an estimated 10,000 people.

 

Scott’s first engagement with the social justice and sustainability movement came towards the end of his studies at UBC, when he met some inspirational individuals who were involved in local activism, and who challenged his perspective on social justice, human rights, and sustainability: “After uncovering some unsettling truths and questioning some of my existing assumptions, I became outraged.” Scott could not believe some of the injustices that exist in Canada and on a global scale, such as the links between international trade and human rights breaches and atrocities. He realized that he had been raised in an environment that was very sheltered from most of the harsher realities of the world, and that he needed to act in response to his newfound knowledge.

 

Scott found an avenue for this initial outrage and passion for human rights by volunteering with Oxfam Canada in the fall of 2006. He signed onto a campaign to raise awareness for HIV/AIDS locally and internationally and truly connected with Oxfam’s work. After a year of involvement, he was tasked with chairing the Public Services Campaign committee and rallied a group of dedicated activists who decided to meet every week until universal human rights had been achieved: “Needless to say, our group still meets every Monday night.” The group has evolved into the Advocacy and Outreach Committee, and is currently working on Oxfam’s campaign on Women’s Rights and Climate Change.

 

In 2008, Scott decided to infuse his local activism with some international perspective by working with several Oxfam partners on the ground. He first travelled through South East Asia and India, volunteering for five weeks with a community centre in Laos, where he taught computer classes and English lessons, and working with an Oxfam partner in the Gujarat province of India on the We Can End All Violence Against Women campaign. Shortly thereafter, he joined an Oxfam colleague in rural Uganda, where he spent five months as the Program Director for ICEF (The International Community Empowerment Foundation) Canada. Since returning home, he is still acting as the Communications Director and website designer for that organization.

 

In addition to pouring countless hours into his volunteer work with Oxfam, Scott supports himself by working in marketing for Beyond Climate Solutions, and as a part-time English and math tutor. But although his work after graduating from UBC has been primarily in sales and marketing, it’s his volunteering with Oxfam that has convinced him to pursue a career in international development. Scott is in the process of applying into a Master’s program in International Development at SFU, hoping to combine research related to social justice issues with work on the ground with the community development project that he volunteered with in Uganda.

 

After initially engaging in the movement for social justice and sustainability from a place of outrage, Scott’s motivation now comes from the positive changes he has seen happening all around him over the past few years: “Locally, I have seen members of parliament and provincial politicians sign declarations on access to water and women’s rights. Internationally, I have seen youth empowered by access to education and women’s groups organize and empower themselves through income generation projects and literacy programs. I gain inspiration from seeing fellow volunteers empower themselves through action.”

 

To other Canadian youth who are trying to make a difference, he has this to say: “Don’t be afraid to be legitimate about your feelings about the world. If you feel overwhelmed, that’s ok, step back, and if you feel that there’s something wrong with the world, that’s ok. Everyone usually has a bit of a feeling in their gut, so follow your gut. And then from there, step back and organize and realize that it takes a lot of work to accomplish small change. But continue to follow your basic instincts in the pursuit for whatever you feel is right, and after that, be patient. There is nothing more gratifying, there is nothing more life-changing than ultimately getting involved with what you’re passionate about.”