Philip Osano (2006 - 2007)
Kenya
The people I met and interacted with at McGill were always very helpful … my Mentor and I unfailingly compared notes on a range of issues concerning the state of the environment on a weekly basis. The centerpiece of my life in Montreal was of course the Sauvé program. I enjoyed the company, friendship and collegiality of my fellow scholars. The debates we had, the history we shared, the knowledge we exchanged, and the group activities we participated in, all enriched my personal and professional life in very profound ways.
Philip’s interest is in environmental policy, development and international affairs. He holds a BSc in Environmental Science from Egerton University, and an MSc in Conservation Biology from the University of Cape Town, South Africa, where he was also a graduate research student at the South African National Biodiversity Institute, studying financial costs of conservation in the Cape Floristic Kingdom, one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots. The resulting paper won first prize at Cambridge University’s Sixth Annual Student Conference on Conservation Science in 2005.
In 2006, Philip joined BirdLife International African Partnership Secretariat as Co-ordinator of projects on livelihoods and conservation at Important Bird Areas (IBAs) sites in Botswana, Burkina Faso and Kenya, and providing support to BirdLife’s policy work with several Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs). Philip has also served as a consultant to several organizations, including the Center for Sustainability at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.
Following his time as a Sauvé Scholar, Philip has remained at McGill, working with his Sauvé Mentor, Prof. Peter G. Brown, to pursue a PhD in Geography; he recently won the J. W. McConnell Memorial Fellowship and the Neil Croll Memorial Award. He completed his Sauvé Scholars Project - co-editing “Young People, Education and Sustainable Development: Exploring the Principles, Perspectives and Praxis” . A contribution to the UN Decade on Education for Sustainable Development, it was published on Earth Day, 22 April 2009.
Active in several environmental fora, he was the keynote speaker at the 2008 Students Summit on Sustainability. He also co-ordinates the African Edition of the “Youth Encounter on Sustainability (YES-Africa)”. Philip was one of the Emerging Leaders selected to attend the Global Environmental Governance (GEG) Forum 28 June - 2 July 2009 in Switzerland, an experience he describes as "truly inspiring, motivating and challenging". More about the GEG project and Philip's September 2009 interview on the Kenyan Broadcasting Corporation.
Philip is an avid soccer player and is a frequent participant in McGill's Inter-Mural soccer league.
Links
- Statement by MP Marc Garneau about Philip Osano [2010.04.23]
- Seeds of Change sow lasting impressions [McGill Tribune, 2008.01.22]
- A Student’s Perspective: Sustaining the Future [McGill InFocus Magazine - Agriculture and Environmental Sciences Edition, Fall 2007]
Country of origin
Kenya
