National Day of Action
On February 14th, the National Day of Action celebrates young women who make a difference in their world. We support girls and young women across Canada to create action-oriented projects aimed to raise awareness about issues that affect their lives and their communities.
DAY OF ACTION 2010
Why should St-Valentine’s Day only be for lovers? For the 6th consecutive year, Girls Action Foundation calls on girls and young women from across Canada to commit the most loving act of all, by making a difference in their world. For us, February 14th is the National Day of Action.
View National Day of Action 2010 I Journée nationale d'action in a larger map
On this day, girls and young women veer from the usual Valentine’s Day activities, and unite to create action-oriented projects that raise awareness about the issues affecting them and their communities.
What do we mean by taking action? We mean taking matters into your own hands! Respond to an issue that affects you or your community by getting girls mobilized to work together, bring it to people’s attention, offer solutions, and make a real difference in your world.
Girls Action offers subsidies to network members to make their projects come to life. This year however, to celebrate all of the hard and important work that is going into The Bridge Project, we encourage the creation of action projects that directly involve girls and young immigrant women or those whose aim is to benefit them.
Scroll down to check out the actions happening in your area!
ALBERTA
Calgary, Kay Gallivan
Trivia Contest
Feminism /gender inequality trivia contest We are planning feminism/gender inequality trivia contest on a local radio station. We want to reach out to as many people as possible to spread the message that gender inequality still exists and that feminism is still a crucial movement. Calgary lacks the strong feminist presence that many other urban centers have. We want to start this dialogue and have our voices heard as far and wide as possible.
Contact person: Kay Gallivan
Phone: 403.710.2608
E-mail:
BRITISH COLUMBIA
Vancouver, Girlz Group
10 Women, 10 Nations Art Show
We will be organizing an activity as part of an Art show called 10 Women, 10 Nations. It is an intergenerational collaboration that will feature Aboriginal Women Artists from many Nations.
It will take place at Silk Purse Galleries in West Vancouver as part of their March 2010 exhibit. There will be storytelling and workshops about Art and Culture where most of the women are very established artists.
The goal is for these established artists to be an inspiration and role model for the girlz in our group. The artwork will be Traditional and Political, a celebration of the Diversity within Aboriginal Culture. Our Piece will feature Traditional Arts, Photography, and Painting.
Contact person: Andrea Canales
Phone: 778.782.5248
E-mail:
Victoria, Antidote
Unlabel Fashion Workshop
Unlabel is a fun, creative and inspiring workshop where girls and women from racialized and Indigenous backgrounds explore their complex identities by “un-labelling” clothing, recreating fashion and remaking clothes. It is currently in its 4th year and is open to all members of the community. Participants create new items of clothing by symbolically cutting up the item of clothing and replacing it with material and style that represents their unique identity. The workshop ends with a fabulous fashion show highlighting the day’s creations.
Contact person: Manjeet Birk
Phone: 250.661.4705
E-mail:
LABRADOR
Labrador City, Femmes francophone de l’Ouest du Labrador
Non traditional labor
We want to introduce girls to female role models who have evolved in the non-traditional labor sectors that have predominantly been occupied by men. We are located in an isolated region in a city where the principal industry is iron mining. Therefore, the majority of jobs have traditionally been reserved for men. However, girls too can be interested in these fields. Our activity is for all girls and young women between 13 to 25 years of age. A brunch will be offered during the activity.
Contact person: Kamilia Pinto
Phone: 709.944.7800
E-mail: ffol@nf.aibn.com
Manitoba
Winnipeg, Tolulope Ilelaboye
Conference on issues faced by young immigrant women
I plan to have a conference with young immigrant women to discuss the issues that their group faces and ways to address the problems. I hope to enhance the positives and overcome negatives placed on this marginalized group. I want them to face their own potential by identifying and standing against the stereotypes placed on them.
Contact person: Tolulope Ilelaboye
Phone: 204.298.8658
E-mail:
Winnipeg, The Laurel Centre
Girls Club Reunion
We are planning a girls’ club reunion. We have decided on this action because since November 2008, our program has moved location from a field site in The William Whyte Community to The Osborne Village. Both communities have unique inner city challenges.
Our agency is committed to girls and young women at risk of being sexually abused, and our focus is to provide girls and young women with the tools and skills to confront their unique challenges while providing support, advocacy, and resource information.
The drop-in or open group is available to girls and women city-wide. Developing strategies to bring past participants still at risk to the new site would help on many levels.
Contact person: Kim Melnyk
Phone: 204.783-5460, poste 22
E-mail:
ONTARIO
Ottawa, Hopewell
What is Real Beauty?
For this year’s National Day of Action, we chose to focus on the issue of accepting the size and shape of one’s body. For the second year in a row, Hopewell’s Green Goddesses will take action to promote positive body image among girls and young women everywhere by creating body casts.
Last year, the girls chose to use their casts as a way to highlight how their bodies had been affected by media, peers, family etc. This year, the casts will be used as a means of addressing the question ‘What is Real Beauty?’
The girls are planning to create the real life-size casts of their upper torsos out of plaster, and decorate them to highlight what Real Beauty means to them. The casts will hang in an Ottawa gallery for the entire month of February. A special celebration will be held at the Gallery on February 14th to commemorate the National Day of Action!
Contact person: Jamie Hurst
Phone: 613.241.3428
E-mail:
Ottawa, Maison d’amitié
Healty relationships
Maison d'amitié is an organization providing support, services and shelter for abused women and their children. We are the only francophone shelter within the Ottawa region. February 14th is known to be the international day of love and relationships. We will be giving a presentation accompanied with documentation about "healthy relationships" and what their rights are as young women. For example, they have the right to be treated and spoken to with respect, accepted as they are, right to have their own opinions and interests, etc. The young women will be given a card containing a list of rights and it will also include a list of resources should they need them or know someone who does.
Contact person: Chantale Lavoie
Phone: 613.794.0385
E-mail:chantale.lavoie@maisondamitie.ca
Toronto, New Hope Tabernacle Settlement
Services for Newcomers
Visualize your life at its best – shed your newcomers skin – begin your journey to a diverse multicultural society! Workshops, Information sessions, Skits, Testimonials and Interviews will be offered to girls under the age of 25 to address their needs as newcomers and refugees.
These information sessions will better equip Newcomers to a richer and more rewarding life in Canadian culture. Information will be provided on the following:
- Underemployment and lack of protection
- English as a second language
- Domestic Abuse
- Housing
- Immigration
- Post migration stresses
- Culture shock
- Alone in Canada
Contact person: Jennie Powell
Phone: 416.604.3447
E-mail: newhope@bellnet.ca
Toronto, WORC IT
"We can make a difference" YES WE CAN!
WORC IT (Women of Race Climbing It Together) will be hosting a cultural event at a community centre in the Jane and Finch community that will showcase and explore the diverse ethnic groups that live in the community. During this evening, there will be food from different countries; various traditional clothes will be showcased, along with awesome entertainment! We will also be making the various services WORC IT provides available to the community. Lastly, we want to start the discussion around the elections starting right now and how "we" as a community can let our voices be heard to bring about change. Participants will sign a banner that emphasizes the "we can make a difference" YES WE CAN!
Contact person: Natasha Burfordl
Phone: 647.348.8000
E-mail:
Toronto, Educators Engaged in EDSJ (Equity, Diversity and Social Justice)
Series of workshops
Educators Engaged in EDSJ (Equity, Diversity and Social Justice) is planning to hold an event for people who have graduated from an Urban Diversity Program who are determined to keep diversity and social justice alive in the classroom and community settings.
Our organization is one of a kind as we are networking and bringing together individuals who believe in engaging students, their families - many immigrant families who need advocates to connect with them in the school system and diverse communities.
Our event will invite various educators from all walks of life within the school system and community to participate in workshops focusing on creating important boy's and girl's groups, creating safe spaces for children and youth, and teaching strategies for educators on difficult topics such as tolerance and respect for race, culture, gender and sexual orientation.
Contact person: Sharron Rosen
Phone: 416.738.7423
E-mail: joslo@sympatico.ca
Toronto, Women Stand Proud Aloud (WSPA)
A Spectacular Evening !
The actions that WSPA is planning to have is an evening of informative presentations that include guest speakers from community, social, educational, & support organizations for a spectacular evening which will be catered to single & young mothers & their children.
Contact person: Christine Campbell
Phone: 647.285.0027
E-mail: christinejohn@rogers.com
QUEBEC
Montreal, South Asian Women's Community Centre
Navarasa : Expressing Emotion Through Movement & Media
Artist and community worker Meena Murugesan will join forces with social worker Kamala Sundararajan and South Asian girls and young women living in Montreal to express the 'Navarasas' (eight key emotional states that are described in the Natyashastra, an ancient Indian text on theatre and dance).
From Sringaram (love) to Raudram (fury) to Adbutam (compassion), we will discuss and explore embodying the various emotions and how they affect our lives and the choices we make. Simultaneously, we will use a video scavenger hunt activity as a catalyst to create and film images and interact with the immediate environment. Using simple digital storytelling methods, we will collectively create short video poems.
Contact person: Meena Murugesan
Phone: 514.528.8812
E-mail:
Montréal, Girls Action Foundation-Beurling Academy
Media Arts Project
We will support girls to explore their own leadership skills by walking them through the process of developing a media arts project based on a topic that is of interest to them. A ‘zine and photos demonstrating their perspective on the selected topic will be shared with their friends, colleagues, and teachers at the in-school vernissage, co-organized with the girls from Girls Club and the Art Attack program (grade 10-11 girls at their school). The very act of girls voicing their own perspective on a given topic (through ‘zines and photography), challenges their peers to recognize their perspective, which is often rendered invisible. Through ‘zine-making and photography, we demonstrate girls’ strength and capacity to think critically and independently, and to concretely produce materials that give a voice to their unique perspective.
Contact person: Sarah Butler
Phone: 514.948.1112
E-mail:
sarah@girlsactionfoundation.ca
Montreal, Rock Camp for Girls Montreal
Workshop Day
Rock Camp for Girls Montreal is planning a one-day skill-sharing workshop in the name of empowerment and community building for girls, young women and general community members. The day will begin with a skill-sharing discussion by girls that participated in last year’s Rock Camp. The campers will talk about their experiences at Rock Camp. The girls will also get a chance to show off the musical knowledge and skills they acquired during the week of camp. Following this discussion, the girls and young women will co-facilitate skill and knowledge building workshops with volunteers. Various workshops will happen throughout the day. Former Rock Camp volunteers and campers will support people of all ages in interacting with instruments and musical gear in an empowering environment. Some of the activities will include: sound and rhythm workshop, songwriting workshop, women and music workshop, drum instruction, bass instruction, guitar instruction and voice instruction.
Contact person: Aidan Jeffery et Carina Foran
Phone: 514.433.3983
E-mail:
Montreal, Girls Action Foundation
In our words- Fairy tales for today
Club des filles will produce a video capturing the re-imagining of three classic fairy tales in short theatre format. These short plays will reinterpret traditional fairy tales to reflect the realities and experiences of girls from Club des filles, with attention to their experiences as girls in families living the realities of new or landed arrivals to Canada. We will lead the girls to think critically about popular culture, and to encourage them to re-write pop culture on their own terms. The girls will be developing the script, roles, costumes, props and acting out their play which will be videotaped to share. The video will be screened to parents, teachers and friends in an event planned in collaboration with the girls.
Contact person: Sarah Butler
Phone: 514.948.1112
E-mail:
sarah@girlsactionfoundation.ca
Montreal, CASEC
Lunch-Chat
For Valentine’s Day, we are planning a Lunch-Chat to discuss issues faced by young immigrant women and refugees.
We will be inviting Ms Chantal Ismée to facilitate our discussion. We will explore and identify the barriers to integration, because of the lack of information, support and resources available within the community.
We would also like to encourage young immigrant women and refugees to gather together to fight for their rights and involve themselves in Quebecoise society. Finally, we will be sharing experiences followed by a debate.
Contact person: Marie Eunite Clairvil
Phone: 514-382-4655
E-mail: casecorg@yahoo.ca
Quebec, YWCA de Québec-Centre filles
Anyone can be a model !
Two young facilitators will demonstrate their skills during our afternoon for girls. We will proof that there is no age limit to be a model ! This activity will contribute to the participants’ self-esteem by discovering that we can make what we want ourselves.
The activity will be divided into two parts and will take place in the afternoon
- A 10 year old girl passionate about cooking, will show us easy and accessible recipes for all
- A young 20 year old business women and co-founder of a natural beauty products enterprise will facilitate a workshop on how to make natural beauty products with ingredients that can be found at home.
Contact person: Marie-Eve Girard
Phone: 418.683.2155, poste 36
E-mail: marie-eve.girard@ywcaquebec.qc.ca
Sherbrooke, Coalition féministe sherbrookoise
Launch of a feminist review
The magazine committee of the Coalition feministe sherbrookoise produces a quarterly publication, and will publish its third issue this Valentine’s Day. The issues we will raise are the following: sexual relations, pornography, prostitution, contraception, abortion, excision, cultural relativism and many other themes.
We will release 1500 issues of the magazine on the launch date of February 13th. Our wish is to reach a diversity of people with differing opinions, therefore, we want the distribution and the launching activities to be free and to take place in Sherbrooke’s public spaces.
Contact person: Anne Lagacé
Phone: 819.542.5600
E-mail: coalition.comiterevue@gmail.com
