EDUCATION | ACTION | ADVOCACY |
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Women Helping Women for a Better Future |
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For more information, contact:
Teri Shaw
Ontario Council Chair, Standing Committee on Advocacy
In this newsletter:
- President's Message
- International Women’s Day
- Elections Toolkit
- Welcome to ARROW
- Carolyn Day Award
- Recognition for Membership
- Recording for Feb 26 Speakers Series
- Club Action for International Women’s Day
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We honour women. We help women. We support women. We raise our voices for women. And we applaud women. On behalf of the CFUW Ontario Council Board of Directors, let me say I am very proud of the work that we do for women.
Take a moment on March 8 to consider all the work you do for women. “It is the pursuit of our essential purpose that satisfies.”
Sandra Thomson
President, Ontario Council
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INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY |
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This International Women’s Day we cry for our sisters in Ukraine, Afghanistan and Syria, whose lives have been disrupted or lost due to invasion and warring factions.
Yet we are so proud of our members and friends who are finding ways to support those fleeing these war-torn countries. Think what your club can do to help, and for those who are meeting the challenge right now with the Afghan refugees and previously with the Syrian women, thank you. You are the epitome of our theme, Women Helping Women to a Better Future.
This year Canada has chosen Women Inspiring Women as its theme, celebrating “all the women and girls who inspire us by demonstrating leadership in the choices they make in their day-to-day lives to contribute to the social, economic, cultural, and political spheres.”
Take a bow, grab a glass or mug of your favourite beverage, put your feet up and smile, just for a few minutes before you go back to saving the world.
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INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY WISHES |
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Today we recognise and honour all the women who have gone before us from all over the world. Each and every one has made a contribution to feminism, big or small, changing society or just making it through.
Covid has set back women's fight for equality, equity and justice. Together we will not only get us back to where we were before the pandemic, we will forge ahead to meet our common goals.
One step to achieve this is to have strong women leaders in our governments and social structures. Support women political candidates. Vote for candidates who have a strong positive gender lens. Make your voice heard.
Have a thoughtful and reflective day.
Sandra Shaw
Chair, Status of Women and Human Rights
CFUW Ontario Council
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Ontario Council’s Election Toolkit – Part 2 Our Issues of Concern. Thanks to members of the Advocacy Committee, our Issues of Concern cover 10 issues which you might find useful in discussion with candidates. Areas covered include:
You can use the links above to view the section of the toolkit pertaining to each issue.
Click here to view Election Toolkit - Part 2 in its entirety.
Click here to download a printer-friendly version of Part 2 in WORD.
Part 1 of the OC Election Toolkit contains information to help prepare you to participate in the election and to make your voice heard.
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Click here to view Election Toolkit - Part 1
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Click here to download a printer-friendly version of Part 1 in WORD
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WELCOME TO ARROW - Assembly of Rural and Remote Ontario Women
ARROW is a new virtual organisation (an E-club) using the Zoom meeting platform to join rural and remote women together, women who have common interests and continuing education goals. ARROW will have an inclusive membership of women, irrespective of age, national or ethnic origin, race, colour, religion, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, disability or degreed education, and who self-identify as living in rural Ontario. Our first meeting will be March 15, 2022 at 7pm with speaker Dr. Belinda Leach.
Membership in ARROW will be briefly discussed before Dr. Leach’s presentation.
ARROW's goals are to:
- Support lifelong education (and re-education) for members through electronic educational presentation and seminar opportunities, especially concentrating on information and actions needed for an equitable, sustainable future
- Support and advocate for equal and equitable rights for women and girls irrespective of location, including and especially the right and access to education at all levels for all women and girls
- Support and develop advocacy initiatives related to building a better life for rural and remote Ontario women (but is not an activist group)
ARROW’s values are to:
- Promote honest, respectful and authentic discourse amongst members (and other women)
- Use consensus based decision making for issues of importance
- Honour and celebrate diversity and inclusion
- Recognise that life-long education (and often re-education) is key to understanding and thus effectively supporting ourselves and others
- Understand the differences between equality, equity and justice for women and girls
- Fight for justice and rights
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1st Meeting for ARROW
New OC e-Club
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ARROW*
(Assembly of Rural and Remote Ontario Women)
Is Excited to Present Its Inaugural Speaker on
March 15th, 2022 at 7:00 pm
Dr. Belinda Leach
“Rural Women’s Lives. Rural Women’s Stories.”
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Dr. Leach will address the rural idyll; gender identities and rural realities; rural women’s lives and economic constraints; rural change in the 21st century; and the importance of stories.
Belinda Leach is Professor in Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Guelph. She held a University Research Chair in Rural Gender Studies from 2004-2009 and led Rural Women Making Change a federally funded Community-University Research Alliance.
Her research interests include rural livelihoods, migration, and economic change. Her published books include: Contingent Work, Disrupted Lives: Labour and Community in the New Rural Economy with Tony Winson (University of Toronto Press 2002) which received the John Porter Award of the Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Association. Negotiating Risk, Seeking Security, Eroding Solidarity (Fernwood 2012) co-authored with Charlotte Yates and Holly Gibbs, Reshaping Gender and Class in Rural Spaces (Ashgate 2011) co-edited with Barbara Pini, and Rural Women’s Health (University of Toronto, 2012) co-edited with Beverly D. Liepert and Wilfreda E. Thurston.
Belinda is part of the team establishing the People’s Archive of Rural Ontario (PARO), a living archive that aims to preserve and make accessible people’s own stories about rural life in Ontario and to contribute to its revitalization.
To register for this important presentation, send your email address to sandras@fifthelement.ca by March 13th, 2022. Put ARROW in the subject line. You will be sent the link.
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Applications for the Carolyn Day Award for Environmental Action are now being accepted. This award for environmental action was created in honour of Carolyn Day, who was OC's Environment policy adviser for many years. To request an application form, please contact advocacy@cfuwontcouncil.org. Carolyn Day Award recipients will be recognized at the OC AGM on May 15, 2022. |
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Recognition for Membership Strategies
at the OC AGM!
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As announced at the February Speakers Series, the OC Membership Committee is sponsoring a contest! During the last 2 years, many Ontario Council (OC) clubs have used a number of strategies to attract and retain members and the OC Membership Committee is looking to discover what has worked, and what can be shared with all OC clubs. There are two contest categories--recruitment and retention--and a prize of $300 is up for grabs in both categories. it's simple to enter. Answer 5 questions for recruitment and/or 5 questions for retention in 250 words or less for each category. Create a Word document with your answers and send in your response to Anne Cordon by April 15, 2022. Click here for the brochure and application form! Winners will be recognized for their successful recruitment and retention strategies, at the OC AGM on May 15.
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February Speakers Series was Recorded |
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The latest Ontario Council Speakers Series took place on February 26 th. The topic was COVID, Children & Beyond: Social Determinants to Eduction. The speakers were Dr. Tracy Vaillancourt, University of Ottawa, and Mohamed Ahmed and Shanaz Ali from Success Beyond Limits. The February 26th session was recorded. To request the recording link, please click here.
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March 8 is International Women's Day
Club IWD Events
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March 8 @ 10 a.m. CFUW Aurora/Newmarket 11th Annual IWD Event
Canadian women helping women from Afghanistan speak on International Women's Day
This year's 11th annual event will include a panel presentation about the plight and courage of Afghan women and how Canadian women can help. The panel includes Fran Harding, CFUW Ottawa and member of University Women Helping Afghan Women, Roya Gharji, who immigrated to Canada to study at the University of Ottawa, and her sister Najiba Sanjar, who left Afghanistan in September and now lives in Sweden. All three speakers will share their insights so our members and the community may learn more about how we can be advocates for change. All are welcome to attend this virtual presentation. To register, contact CFUW Aurora/Newmarket at cfuw.info@gmail.com. |
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March 8 @ 10 a.m. CFUW Owen Sound & Area CELEBRATING INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY
Plan to join CFUW – Owen Sound as we celebrate International Women’s Day with presentations by two of our very own eminent women, Jan Chamberlain and Janet Glasspool, TUESDAY, MARCH 8 at 10:00 a.m. by Zoom. To request the ZOOM meeting link please contact info@cfuwowensound.com.
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March 8 @ 10 a.m. CFUW Georgetown MARCH ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY
Please join CFUW Georgetown’s celebration of International Women’s Day on March 8th @ 10:00 a.m. by marching with us. We will begin the march at the Old Seed House Gardens parking lot, 135 Maple Avenue, Georgetown. We are marching for: A world free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination. A world that is diverse, equitable and inclusive. A world where difference is value and celebrated. Together we can forge women’s equality.
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March 8 @ 1 p.m. UWC Toronto - IWD ZOOM Event
UWC Toronto is delighted that Katherine Govier will be speaking at their IWD ZOOM event on March 8th at 1 p.m. Katherine is a novelist and an activist. She has published 10 novels, three collections of short stories, and two collections of travel writing. She has served on the boards of the Toronto Arts Council and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, and was made a member of the Order of Canada in 2019.
Katherine is also the founder of The Shoe Project. The project mission is to provide programs, courses, workshops and seminars to immigrant women and refugees to develop their English writing and speaking skills.
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March 8 @ 7 p.m. CFUW Welland & District IWD BREAK THE BIAS
CFUW Welland & District invite you to join them for a discussion forum about gender-based bias. Join the conversation! For the ZOOM meeting link please contact CFUW Welland. Learn more about gender-based bias by checking out the resource list at cfuwwellandanddistrict.ca.
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March 8 CFUW Cambridge 10th Annual IWD Breakfast
Guest Speaker: Dr. Winnie Lee
Dr. Lee is currently the Interim Chief of Staff at Cambridge Memorial Hospital and a practicing Radiologist. She is a Clinical Professor, a wife, mother, daughter and proud resident of Cambridge. Dr. Lee is a physician and community leader. She holds undergraduate and master’s degrees as well as an M.D. with a specialization in Radiology. She has shared her expertise throughout the pandemic in her role at CMH and in the community. Dr. Lee’s journey as a young woman entering university, medicine, clinical practice and now hospital administration will inspire us all.
The link to view the IWD Breakfast will be posted on the CFUW Cambridge website on March 8th. The event will be available to view for a number of days.
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March 11 to 13 CFUW Aurora/Newmarket - LUNAFEST
JOIN US AT THE MOVIES – March 11 to 13! CFUW Aurora/Newmarket and the Soroptimists of York Region present LUNAFEST, films by and about women. The 2022 Season features eight short films with a total running time of 80 minutes. The stories reflect the diverse perspectives of the filmmakers and their subjects. NOTE: Some may contain content that is not suitable for children.
Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students, plus a service charge of $2.05 per ticket. You may also purchase a ticket as a gift for a friend.
Click here to purchase a ticket for your front row seat. Proceeds will support CFUW outreach projects.
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Women Helping Women
Our vision for Ontario Council can be summed up in the following key words:
Education. Action. Advocacy.
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SAVE THE DATE!
Ontario Council AGM May 13 & 14
RECONNECT RENEW REINVIGORATE
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