...and still we rise 2011

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With its 11th annual ...and still we rise Conference for women, ETFO once again demonstrated its leadership among provincial and national organizations when it comes to social justice advocacy. A number of prominent Canadian women provided updates to a record 495 conference delegates on some of the most pressing social issues facing women and children at home and abroad.

Attendees, including the chairs of every ETFO local Social Justice committee, heard about life and imprisonment under the repressive Iranian regime from Marina Nemat, author of Prisoner of Tehran and most recently  After Tehran: A Life Reclaimed. Following an impassioned address by UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Madame Elizabeth Dallaire, delegates raised over $1100 to purchase “school in a box” kits for children in Rwanda and other countries living with the legacy of war.

Activist and children’s author Deborah Ellis exhorted conference attendees to believe that there could be a world free from war, saying that to do otherwise would negate any hope of change. Ellis, who had just returned from a trip to Afghanistan, shared insights into how women and children in that country are faring ten years after the fall of the Taliban.  Lakehead Elementary Teachers of Ontario president Ellen Chambers Picard described her seven year fight to get lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) policies in place at Lakehead Public School Board to make schools safer for gay students like her son Gabe. She called on educators make LGBT issues a part of the curriculum in all classrooms.

Rounding out the keynotes were War Child Canada Executive Director Dr. Samantha Nutt, and Juno award-winning  Aboriginal singer/songwriter Susan Aglukark. Along with performing several songs, Aglukark spoke about how ill-equipped she and her family were to cope with her sudden rise to stardom, given her beginnings in a northern arctic Inuk community. All speakers fully engaged with participants in question periods and autograph and book signings after their talks.

The next ...and still we rise Conference is scheduled for Feb 8-10, 2012.