UPEI Student Chosen for International Seminar in Africa

University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) student Adam Arsenault is one of 20 outstanding Canadian university students who will travel to Botswana in May to participate in a six-week workshop on HIV/AIDS in the Southern African country.

Originally launched in 1948 by World University Service of Canada (WUSC), the International Seminar is delivered through Uniterra, a joint program of WUSC and the Canadian Centre for International Studies and Cooperation. Each year, the 20 Seminar participants are selected from a field of about 100 applicants from across Canada. Students are evaluated on the basis of academic excellence, community leadership, and demonstrated commitment to international understanding.

Arsenault, 26, is originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia, and has also lived in Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Australia. He already holds a degree in business administration, and is one course away from completing another undergraduate degree in political studies at UPEI. His interest in international development issues was heightened while working at the Canadian High Commission in Canberra, Australia as assistant public affairs officer.

While in Botswana, Arsenault will be paired with a local university student and will volunteer with a local organization focusing on HIV/AIDS prevention and care. He is thrilled about the opportunity to gain first-hand experience that could launch his career in international development. He says he is concerned that, because more than one third of Botswana's population is infected with HIV/AIDS, in time there won't be enough physicians or antiviral drugs available to treat sufferers.

"With roughly 33,000 people dying each year from HIV/AIDS, the country's long-term economic capacity could be in jeopardy," says Arsenault.

Arsenault is also actively involved in WUSC's student refugee program at UPEI and is one of two UPEI nominees for the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Master's Scholarship.

Active on over 50 university and college campuses across Canada, WUSC is a leading development agency whose mission is to foster human development and global understanding through education and training. The Uniterra program mobilizes people and organizations in Canada and the developing world to reduce poverty through the achievement of the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals. Visit www.uniterra.ca for more information.