International Women’s Day

Imagine a world that is free of discrimination, bias and stereotypes – a world that is equitable and inclusive, that recognizes women’s rights, equality, and gender fairness.

International Women’s Day (IWD) arose from a conviction in this vision for humanity.   It originated from labor movements in North America and Europe during the early 20th century, and has been commemorated annually by the United Nations and much of the world since 1975.  IWD is a global event and has served as an annual catalyst to move the world from where it is now to where we believe it can be in the near future.

You are warmly invited to a local International Women’s Day commemoration on Tuesday evening, March 8th at 7:30 pm MT, via this zoom link.

Through a panel presentation, we will learn how women from a wide range of backgrounds and interests are putting their beliefs and aspirations for this vision of a fair and equitable world into action. These presentations highlight women’s experiences, achievements and ongoing commitment to working in the field of international development; student advocacy for schools that are safe from gender-based violence; advancing women’s work in the civil service, health care professions and the trades; plus choosing between a continued career or raising your children at home.

We eagerly look forward to your participation – women and men, to celebrate and commemorate women’s achievements to date and to advance our understanding of what is needed to bring us all closer to this vision of a thriving world of the future.

RSVP and connect to the event on Facebook!

2017 CBC Massey Lectures – Payam Akhavan

From the CBC website

A call to action for our times, Payam Akhavan’s 2017 CBC Massey Lectures, In Search of a Better World: A Human Rights Odyssey, is a powerful survey of some of the major human rights struggles of our times — and what we can do about it.

Payam Akhavan

Renowned UN prosecutor and human rights scholar Payam Akhavan has encountered the grim realities of contemporary genocide throughout his life and career. Deceptive utopias, political cynicism, and public apathy, he says,  have given rise to major human rights abuses: from the religious persecution of Iranian Bahá’ís that shaped his personal life, to the horrors of ethnic cleansing in Yugoslavia, the genocide in Rwanda, and the rise of the Islamic State.

But he also reflects on the inspiring resilience of the human spirit, and the reality that we need each other, to set us free from ideology and go about building that better world.

A timely, essential, and passionate work of memoir and history, In Search of a Better World is a tour-de-force by an internationally renowned human rights lawyer.

In Search of a Better World: A Human Rights Odyssey is published by House of Anansi Press.

Links to the CBC pages describing each episode with videos and the full audio recordings: