Flora Terah-Igoki Selected as Finalist for “Top 25 Canadian Immigants Award”

Flora Terah-Igoki

“A Kenya native has been selected as one of the finalists of the 2013 RBC Top 25 Canadian Immigrants Awards … Flora Terah-Igoki, a women’s rights activist who relocated to Canada from Kenya in 2009 and currently resides in Lachine, Quebec, has become a powerful advocate for non-violence and anti-bullying campaigns in Canada and around the world.

… The RBC Top 25 Canadian Immigrants Awards is a peoples’ choice award that recognizes people who have come to Canada and have made a positive difference living here. Whether it’s a community advocate or volunteer, a successful entrepreneur or a cultural icon, this is the first Canadian national award program that recognizes immigrants’ achievements from all walks of life. The selected 25 immigrants will enthuse and motivate all immigrants as they establish their new life and home in Canada, says the awards sponsor.

Flora is one of 75 finalists, with voting for the Top 25 Canadian Immigrants being done online.  She needs your vote to receive the 2013 RBC Top 25 Canadian Immigrants award. You can vote for her online at www.canadianimmigrant.ca/rbctop25.

Read the full article here.

When Flora first arrived in Canada in 2009, she worked with the CWSE and gave a talk on her experiences of persecution, and torture, and the murder of her son in Kenya. Her story is heartbreaking but powerful. Congratulations Flora, for this much-deserved honour.

The Journey of Nishiyuu arrives in Ottawa today

The Journey of Nishiyuu will arrive in Ottawa today, around 1pm.

… the completion of an epic journey of Indigenous youth that started in the community of Whapmagoostui on Hudson Bay in northern Quebec. 

Hundreds of supporters, Indigenous and non-Indigenous alike, will be on hand today in Ottawa to greet them. Members of the labour movement and other civil society groups will be there to show their support. Some Members of Parliament, from opposition parties, will be there when the group arrives on Parliament Hill shortly after 1p.m. EST today. 

rabble.ca’s parliamentary reporter Karl Nerenberg will be there on the Hill to report on this historic event. 

Stephen Harper, meanwhile, will be in Toronto, rolling out the right carpet for two pandas arriving on loan to Canadian zoos from China. 

In other words, on this historic day where Indigenous issues should have the full attention of the national media and politicians, Harper has skipped town, in order to preside over the carefully scripted culmination of his “panda diplomacy” with the government of China.

Read more here.

Check out the Facebook page for events in Toronto in support of Idle No More.

Watch a livestream of the events until 5pm here: http://www.livestream.com/occupytoronto

Photos from Toronto’s International Women’s Day March (March 9, 2013)

“Status Quo” Documentary Free Online March 8-10

The next meeting of our monthly Feminist Media Studies Circle will be March 18^th. In celebration of IWD, we’ll be discussing the new documentary “Status Quo: The Unfinished Business of Feminism in Canada”.

This NFB film will be available online for free March 8 through 10, so make sure you take advantage and watch it in advance, then join us on March 18 to discuss!

Watch the documentary here.

More details about our March 18th discussion of the film here.

 

March & Feminist Fair for IWD on Sat, March 9

The CWSE is excited to have a table at the annual Ryerson IWD fair, this Saturday March 9.

In celebration of International Women’s Day, there will be a rally on March 9 at 11am at the OISE auditorium, then a march at 1pm, which will start at OISE and end at Ryerson, where there will be a feminist fair from 2 to 5pm at the Ryerson Student Centre (55 Gould St). 

Stop by the CWSE table at the feminist fair and say hi!

This is the facebook event page for Saturday, if you’d like to invite your friends! https://www.facebook.com/events/490398371016665/

Happy International Women’s Day!!

At this time the CWSE is NOT collecting any clothing or toiletry donations. 

If you are interested in donating items, please get in touch with organizations like All Saints’ – a drop-in centre that provides support for women dealing with drug addictions and inadequate or no housing, many of whom are involved in the sex industry. The All Saint’s Drop-In Centre is thriving because of the efforts of so many people, and continued  community support. The All Saint’s Drop-In works from a harm reduction and human rights-based framework, and is trans-inclusive. Please contact them directly to find out appropriate items to donate and where to take your donations.