NSVOW members and friends took their lunch break from our January 21st Local to Global workshop day and joined the Halifax Women Marching on Washington – Halifax demonstration at the Grand Parade.
Women’s March on Washington – Halifax
Local to Global: Building Bridges for Peace
Nova Scotia Voice of Women for Peace Invites you to a free day of interactive workshops
Saturday, January 21st, 9:30-5:00 pm
Women’s Council House
989 Young AvenueHalifax NS
Vegan Lunch Provided –
Please RSVP for Lunch/ Snack purposes to: peace@nsvow.org
9:30 Doors Open for Coffee/Tea and Snacks
10:00 Opening Circle
10:15 Yvonne Atwell: Empowering Women through Non-Violent Communication – Restorative approaches to building Relationships. This workshop will focus on using Circle process and other tools to develop and maintain restorative conversations.
11:30 – 12:15 – Connect to Women’s March on Washington – Halifax and enjoy Lunch provided by Food Not Bombs and Tarek’s
Note: anyone going to the March who would like to carry a Nova Scotia Voice of Women banner, pleases reply to peace@nsvow.org
12:15 Afternoon Opening Circle
12:30 Linda Christiansen-Ruffman, Dr. Nancy Covington and Sarah Morgan: Nuclear Basics and Nuclear Hazards: Historic Local and Global Successes and Current Actions – Sarah Morgan will engage the audience in an interactive exercise on the importance of nuclear issues. Dr. Nancy Covington will present on Nuclear Basics and your Health. Linda Christiansen-Ruffman will discuss her history with nuclear issues over time including some feminist successes. Presenters will engage with participants in a discussion around future challenges and actions.
2:00 – 2:30 Refreshment Break
2:30 Kate Everson with Dawn Penney & Candace Tattrie, PeacmakeHers
Goal-Setting Activity – We will look at our top priorities, how we are spending most of our time, what our ideal life would look like and seeing how we can bring these aspects into alignment. From there, we will create new goals for ourselves to help us get to where we want to be in 5, 10 or even next year.
We are creating a space for you to brainstorm, share and expand on your ideas for a project you may have been thinking about your whole life, the past 6 months or even something you came up with during the goal setting activity. We are here to listen to your ideas and support you in any way you need or want us to.
3:30 – 3:45 Stretch Break
3:45 – 4:40 Project Planning – Clarify your Goal & Action Plan
4:45 – Closing Circle
PLEASE COME AND JOIN IN THIS EXCITING DAY!!!
Conference, Awards Dinner and AGM
Women Taking Action for Peace: Personal, Political, Global
Co-sponsored by Saint Mary’s University, Canadian Voice of Women for Peace and Nova Scotia Voice of Women for Peace. Please join us at Saint Mary’s University, Halifax from November 4 to 6 for the annual Conference, Awards Dinner and AGM.
REGISTER HERE.
Friday, November 4 from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Free Public Panel on Military Sexualized Violence
Location: Saint Mary’s University, Atrium Room 101 (wheelchair accessible) To get to the Atrium take the walkway which is farthest to the right as you look at the campus from Inglis Street. Room 101 is immediately to your right as you enter.
Dr. Shelly Whitman took the post of Executive Director of the Romeo Dallaire Child Soldiers Initiative (Dallaire Initiative) in January 2010. read more click here
Dr. Maya Eichler is Canada Research Chair in Social Innovation and Community Engagement and assistant professor in the Department of Political and Canadian Studies and the Department of Women’s Studies at Mount Saint Vincent University (Halifax). read more here
Tamara Lorincz on the national board of the Canadian Voice of Women and on the international advisory committee of the Global Network Against Nuclear Power and Weapons in Space with Dr. Helen Caldicott. read more here
Speakers and Workshops on Peace Initiatives: Past Successes and Current Challenges
Thanks to a generous donation, Saturday and Sunday Conference events and the Awards Dinner at Saint Mary’s University are now FREE for students and low income and PAY WHAT YOU CAN for anyone else. A light breakfast, lunch and snacks will be provided for Saturday and Sunday daytime events, and a buffet dinner will be provided for Saturday evening. RSVP for Saturday and Sunday events is appreciated but not required. Contact peace@nsvow.org. 902-455-8544.
Saturday, November 5 from 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Light breakfast, lunch and snacks provided.
Location: Saint Mary’s University, Unilever Lounge, Sobey Building, Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, Nova Scotia (wheelchair accessible)
**Schedule subject to change.
8:30 a.m. -9:00 a.m Registration, light breakfast
9:00 a.m – 9:30 a.m. Opening
9:30 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. Tribute to Ursula Franklin
9:45 a.m. – 10:45 a.m “Creating the Successful Grassroots Movement to Ban Uranium Mining in Nova Scot
ia”. Gillian Thomas andDonna Smythe will present on the activism they organized which was instrumental in bringing about a Moratorium which has permanently banned Uranium Mining in N.S.
Donna Smyth is author of several works of fiction and plays. read more click here
Gillian Thomas was a Professor of English and Co-ordinator of the Women’s Studies Programme at Saint Mary’s University. read more click here
10:45 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Break
11:00 a.m – 12:00 pm “Why Human and Legal Inequality Exists for Women and Girls Who Survive Non-State Torture”. Exploring the patriarchal human rights discrimination that has existed at the United Nations level and how this filtered into national political legal resistance and the invisibility of women so tortured.
Photo by Teckles Photography Inc.
Jeanne Sarson and Linda MacDonald are human rights activists, independent scholars, and grass root supporters of persons who have suffered non-State torture. read more click here
12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Lunch provided
1:30 p.m.- 2:00 p.m. “Reframing the Halifax Explosion as an Act of War”. The hundredth anniversary of the Halifax Explosion will be marked in 2017 read more here
Presenter Janet Maybee read more here
2:00 p.m- 3:00 p.m. Break out Groups – Planning for Action
- Janet Maybee -“Making it Real: Storytelling and Street Theatre”
- El Jones -“Spoken Word”
3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Break
3:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. – 3 Mini Presentations
3:45 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Group sessions
Session A -Discussion on the development and implementation of local and international peace education programming. Presenter is Bridget Brownlow, B.A.,M.A., Con. Res. Cert. is the Conflict Resolution Advisor for Saint Mary’s University.bridget-brownlow-biography
Session B -Dr. Nancy Covington –“Nuclear basics in a nuclear age”
– What we all need to know to make informed decisions.
Dr Nancy Covington is a retired family physician, graduate of Queen’s University and lives in Halifax, NS. read more click
Session C- TBA
4:30 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. Report back from group sessions
4:45 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Closing
Thanks to a generous donation, Saturday and Sunday Conference events and the Awards Dinner at Saint Mary’s University are now FREE for students and low income and PAY WHAT YOU CAN for anyone else. A light breakfast, lunch and snacks will be provided for Saturday and Sunday daytime events, and a buffet dinner will be provided for Saturday evening. RSVP for Saturday and Sunday events is appreciated but not required. Contact peace@nsvow.org. 902-455-8544.
“Outstanding Women for Peace” Awards Dinner
Saturday, November 5 doors open at 5:30 p.m. Cash Bar, 6 p.m. Dinner. Program starts at 7 p.m.
Location: Saint Mary’s University, Unilever Lounge, Sobey Building, Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, Nova Scotia (wheelchair accessible)
Awards:
- Muriel Duckworth Award for Peace Activism
- Shirley Farlinger Award for Peace Writings
- Anne Goodman Award for Peace Education
- Kim Phuc Youth Award
Entertainment by Sandy Greenberg, El Jones and Erika Kulnys
Sandy Greenberg is a singer/songwriter/interpreter of songs, accompanying herself on acoustic guitar. She sings about peace, women’s lives and more in her feisty, quirky and energetic style.read more click here.
El Jones is a spoken word activist and teacher. She was the two-time captain of the back-to-back national championship Halifax slam team in 2007 and 2008. read more here
Erika Kulnys “By possessing the ingenious intellect and activist zeal of Ani DiFranco combined with the poetic skepticism of Leonard Cohen read more here
Please email peace@nsvow.org with any dietary requirements.
7:30 – 9:30 pm Awards and Entertainment
The Friday and Saturday events are all open to the public. The Sunday AGM is for VOW members. Women can join on Sunday if they wish to attend the AGM or renew your membership via http://www.nsvow.org/join-us/ or by mail to NSVOW, P.O. Box 33015, Quinpool Centre, Halifax, N.S. B3L 4T6
Future Challenges and VOW AGM
Sunday, November 6 from 9:30 am – 2:00 pm
Discussion of future VOW peace priorities and challenges and plans for the coming year.
National, Financial, Chapter and Camp Reports from across the country.
Election of Board of Director.
Reports from three VOW members on activities of the past year:
- Tamara Lorincz will report on the submission she did on behalf of VOW for the Canadian Defence Review, entitled, “ From Preventive Diplomacy to Sustainable Peace”,
- Yusur Al Bahrani will report on her stay in Jordan, where she researched and wrote about women activists there
- Lyn Adamson will report on her recent trip where joined 150 women activists from India and around the world gathered for a four day conference on peace and nonviolence.
Sunday, November 6 from 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm
Reception at Black Cultural Centre in Cherry Brook
REGISTER HERE. If you would like to register under our “Pay What You Can” option, please email peace@nsvow.org, with the events you would like to attend.
PRE-CONFERENCE ACTIVITIES
Wednesday, November 2, 5:00 – 9:00 pm Potluck
VOW members and friends are invited to a potluck supper to meet VOW National Coordinator, Sandra Ruch, and VOW Toronto member Linda Feldy, who will be in Halifax in preparation for the national VOW Conference, Awards Dinner and AGM. Contact peace@nsvow.org for location and details.
Thursday, November 3, Tamara Lorincz
Peace activist Tamara Lorincz will present a free lunch hour public talk, co-sponsored by NSVOW and the Dalhousie Centre for Foreign Policy Studies. Entitled “A Climate for War? A Critical and Comparative Examination of Western Militaries’ Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Defence Expenditures” The talk will be held at Lord Dal Room, Henry Hicks Building, Dalhousie University from noon to 1 pm. The Henry Hicks building is in the middle of campus with the quadrangle in front of it.
Partners for Peace Documentary film and moderated discussion at Paul O’Regan Hall in the Halifax Central Library from 6-8:30 pm about a delegation from the Nobel Women’s Peace Initiative that went to Israel and Palestine to speak with women there. Facebook event
Friday, November 4 from 12:00 to 1:00 pm
White poppy vigil in front of the Halifax Central Library .
Global Day of Action on Military Spending: Halifax Votes!
GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION ON MILITARY SPENDING (GDAMS)
Held annually in April, NSVOW joined thousands of people around the world in calling for reallocation of Military budgets to social and humanities needs.
The local event was held outside the Central Library and provided the public with an opportunity to choose where they want their tax dollars spent by placing a provided quarter in the jar of their choice. Here’s how people voted:
Health & education: 31%
Environment 24%
Women & Children 18%
Peace 13%
Arts & Culture 11%
Military 3%
Since 1997, the Canadian military budget has climbed from $8 billion to $23 billion. The federal government spends more on DND than any other department. (See Public Accounts graph below.)
Source: Public Accounts of Canada, 2015: http://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/recgen/cpc-pac/2015/pdf/2015-vol2-eng.pf
See more event photos in Gallery.
Sustain Her – PeacemakeHers to UN Commission on the Status of Women
WHEN: SATURDAY MARCH 5, 2016, 6 – 9 PM
WHERE: VEITH HOUSE, 3115 Veith Street, B3K 3G9
WHAT: Music! 50/50 Draw! Silent Auction! Appetizers & Desserts! and
Stories from the 2015 PeacemakeHers Campers
Six inspiring young members of NS Voice of Women for Peace plan to attend the first week of the United Nation’s 60th Commission on the Status of Women [CSW60] in New York, March 13 – 24 as delegates with Canadian Voice of Women for Peace.
The CSW60 2016 Priority Theme is Women’s empowerment and its linkto sustainable development.
Excitement is building. Camper Erica Fraser says:
Connecting with other women and fem-friendly folk holds so much potential for catalyzing positive change on our planet. For this upcoming gathering at the UN, I’m most excited about learning from people who are working to build healthy communities in creative and effective ways, hoping to harness some of that energy and bringing it home to Nova Scotia.
The PeaceMakeHers Leadership Camp for Young Women, held annually at Thinkers Lodge in Pugwash, is an initiative of the Nova Scotia Voice of Women for Peace. Campers have the opportunity to receive a small bursary towards education about and experiences of peacemakers at a global level.
Meghan Doucette, who plans to attend PeacemakeHers 2016, says:
I am excited to delve into the themes of women’s empowerment and sustainable development at CSW60 in a few short weeks. This will be an amazing opportunity to meet other women who are focusing on these issues all around the world.
Funds raised at Sustain Her will assist with travel and accommodation costs for these peacemakers of the future.
A big thanks to the supporters of our Sustain Her event
– Frank Taussig
– Sharon Collins
– Treechild
– Theresa Thomas
– Shirley Robb
– Sandy Greenberg
– Amos Pewter
– Trident Cafe
– Twin Cities Boxing Club
– Seamist Studio
– Birdsall Worthington Pottery
– Best Western Glengarry
– Sobeys