Jean-Claude Robert, professor emeritus at Université du Québec à Montréal and a member of Université de Montréal’s heritage society, gave a speech on September 19, 2013, at a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the society. He graciously allowed his speech to be tailored for the Campus Montréal blog.

Over the course of the last fifty years, Quebec society has become richer and more secular; the time is right, I believe, to modify our philanthropic behaviour. To do so, Quebecers will need to adjust their traditional approach to donations, volunteering and community service.

Drawing on past philanthropic experiences

Societal improvement represents a significant benefit for the community, as does the democratization and diversification of university education.

The population’s current crisis of confidence in the government’s abilities could also have spin-off benefits for philanthropy by presenting new perspectives and insights. The importance of individual responsibility to ensure the smooth running of governance bodies has been made clear, as we have witnessed lately with the Charbonneau Commission. These new perspectives and insights could lead to a revival of individual responsibility, a notion which – as we know – makes all the difference.

Among other social benefits, let us not forget our deep-rooted tradition of mutual cooperation, which we can still rely firmly on today.

Cultivating a new attitude

In my opinion, the process of changing attitudes with regard to philanthropy has already begun. I am delighted to observe the interest and involvement of young Quebec university graduates in the fundraising activities of university foundations. Government measures can also help in identifying new areas. I found the recent report by the Task Force on Cultural Philanthropy extremely interesting.

The tradition of giving back can flourish in our society, but it will take time and sustained effort. It will also be necessary to adapt established and successful methods, such as those used in the English and Jewish communities.

One important question remains: how much time should we give ourselves to adjust our behaviour and attitudes towards philanthropy?

Jean-Claude Robert
Professor Emeritus

Read Professor Robert’s first post.