Statement of Social Engagement

Statement of our commitment to social engagement

We, members of the student community, professors and teachers of Université Laval and its extended community,…

• Taking the values of Université Laval to heart—namely, solidarity, responsibility, respect, courage, integrity, and inclusion—as well as the values of equity, care, diversity, and humility;
• Bearing in mind our current global crises—as well as their underlying social, economic, ecological, political, cultural, and healthcare issues—that influence our priorities, our perspectives on the world, and our relationship to it, while also calling us to action and provoking critical reflection;
• And aspiring to serve our ideals and the causes that speak to us, in order to contribute to a healthy environment, harmonious coexistence of diverse communities, social justice, as well as the greater well-being of people, communities, and humankind;

Declare our will to be actively socially engaged…

• Through our actions—whether big or small, behavioural or knowledge-based, within our university or beyond it, locally or internationally—by devoting time, expertise, money, reputation, or material assets, or by adopting a socially engaged position that influences all of our actions;
• Through our words, by contributing to the transfer and democratization of knowledge, by contributing to others’ awareness of various contemporary issues, or by communicating the reasons behind our commitments;
• Through our dialogue with civil society, by considering its needs and knowledge in the definition and fulfilment of our teaching, research, and community service activities, thereby increasing their social impacts;
• And through mobilizing collectively with other members of the university community, by encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration and modes of inclusive discussion and sharing that foster participation;

And our commitment to foster social engagement…

• By building on the university’s mission, particularly by the advancement and transfer of knowledge about social engagement, by the adoption of engaged research and teaching practices, by experiential learning in the community, and by service to the community;
• By contributing to the promotion of social engagement, its importance, and the various forms it may take, and by imparting opportunities for engagement, engaged initiatives, and their impacts;
• And by acknowledging and supporting the social engagement of members of the student community, staff, professors and teachers of Université Laval and its extended community, in its various forms both on and off campus, through work or studies or beyond both;

While showing kindness to both others and ourselves.

• By being sensitive to the economic, social, and cultural vulnerabilities within our university community, which may serve as either hindrances or motivations to action;
• By giving ourselves the necessary time as well as the right to experiment, by aiming to do better rather than to do more, and by respecting the voluntary nature of social engagement.

By our signature, we commit to disseminating this declaration, to inviting other members of our university community to sign it, and to embodying it as much as possible and to the full extent of our means.