Symposia Series
People act when informed. Raise awareness and generate action around the Millennium Development Goals by organizing an event on your campus. This year’s theme is Achieving Gender Equality – Towards 2015. Let’s make the Millennium Development Goals a reality.Women and Development Symposia
Two WUSC/Uniterra Local Committees are celebrating international development week by organizing symposia on their campuses.
February 6th - Université Laval, Quebec cityTopic: “Aboriginal Women and Development”
From January 31st to February 8th, the Partnership to promote the Milennium Development Goals (POMD) organized a week of activities, kiosks and conferences.
WUSC worked with CECI on this event and has chosen to take on the theme of the role of aboriginal women in community development, in Canada and throughout the South (in line with the 3rd Millenium Development Goal : promote gender equality and the empowerment of women).
Schedule (in French)…
Université Laval’s Local Committee was very active this year in promoting the MDGs. Together with the POMD, they participated in the “Stand Up Speak Out ” campaign for the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. In order to promote the event, members of the committee have participated in the “Droits Devant” programme of CKRL 89.1 FM radio. They have also promoted and selected candidates to participate in the 2008 International Seminar to Ghana. For a week, the committee hosted students from other local committees across Quebec and some francophones from Ontario. They also received, as usual, 2 sponsored students through WUSC’s Student Refugee Program and continued to raise awareness within the community concerning the situation of refugees around the world.
February 7 and 8 –Saint Mary’s University, Halifax
Topic: “Gender, equality and Women’s Empowerment – Afghanistan, A Nation at the Crossroads”
To celebrate International Development Week, St-Mary’s local committee is hosting a conference by Mr. Mirwais Nahzat, an alumni from St-Mary. Mr. Nahzat’s speech focused on Canadian aid to Afghanistan, which included his personal observations from his recent travels in his native country. He also presented how the Technical and Vocational Training Project for Afgan Women, sponsored by WUSC, is giving hope to Afghan women.
In the course of this past year, the local committee at St-Mary’s proved to be very dynamic. For example, on October 17, 2007, the committee hosted the event “Stand up Speak out” where 75 people participated at the university football stadium of the university and 450 students signed a banner in support of the campaign to eliminate poverty.
The committee also wrote many articles to promote the Millenium Development Goals. An International Market was organized during the World AIDS Day, and a student was sponsored throught the Student Refugee Program .
To consult the program…
February 6- Sherbrooke University
Topic: “Gender Equality”
Sherbrooke University hosted its Symposium on February 6th addressing gender related issues in developing countries, as they relate to education. A CECI representative talked about Fair Trade Shea butter as produced by women’s groups. There was also a performance by an elementary school class on the MDGs as well as a banner signing.
February 8th - Lakehead University
In their series of International Development week activities, Lakehead hosted Robin Sitoula from the 8 Goals Speaker Tour on Friday, February 8th. Robin spoke about his experience in working towards the MDGs in Nepal, and how young people can contribute to the achievement of the goals.
February 27th- Algoma University College
Topic: Haiti and the Millenium Development Goals
Location: Great West Life Amphitheatre, Algoma University College, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Time: 7:00pm
Algoma will all be holding their Symposium event on February 27th touching on Haiti and the MDGs. Filmmaker and activist Kevin Pina will be speaking on the subject of Canadian, US and UN involvement in the situation in Haiti, and will be showing his film: “Haiti: We Must Kill the Bandits”.
For more information: mark.allard@algomau.ca
8 Goals Speaker Tour
The 8 Goals coalition, of which WUSC is a member, is hosting a speaker tour with two youth activists from Burkina Faso and Nepal. These speakers will touch on how young people can contribute to the efforts of reaching the Millenium Development Goals.
The tour seeks to create a space where student groups and youth speakers can exchange perspectives on the MDGs and the means used in each country to advance them. It also aims at creating an opportunity for students to reflect on the role they play as Canadian citizens to advance the MDGs and hopes to inspire them to become more active.
In line with the 8 Goals Campaign's overall approach, student groups on selected campuses will work collaboratively to co-organize and co-host the speakers. Stops are being planned throughout International Development Week at:
Université de Montréal - Université Laval - Université d’Ottawa -McGill University - University of Toronto - Carleton University - Lakehead University - York University - Université de Moncton - Campus d’Edmundston
What you can do …
In the spirit of Millennium Development Goal #3, “Promote gender equality and the empowerment of women”, Local Committees are encouraged to organize activities on campus and in the community related to the theme of Achieving Gender Equality – Towards 2015.
Organize an event that resonates with your campus. Use your imagination, yet be realistic about available resources, including potential presenters. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
- Hold a panel discussion
- Host a high profile speaker
- Get creative and use the arts to spark discussions
- Organize workshops, a film night, and/or simulation activities
Ideally, the Symposium is not only an opportunity to learn and share, but a time to take action. Integrate the 8 Goals For A Better World campaign into your event!
Want to get involved?
Using the online My Committee activity sign-up form, your Local Committee must identify a contact person for this activity in order to apply for funds and receive support, tips and tools from other committees and the WUSC campus engagement team.
Timeline
Events are to be held either during the Journées québecoises de la solidarité internationale (Nov. 8-18th, 2007) or International Development Week (Feb. 3-19th, 2008).
Funding
Instead of having one committee per region come forward to host the Symposium, a fund has been created to which all Local Committees can apply to receive up to $1000 to hold an educational event on their campus. Complete the proposal form and submit it to the WUSC campus engagement team.
Supplement this amount by soliciting cash and in-kind donations. There are often funds available at your university or college for such events. Write a letter to the University President, Vice-President, Students’ Union and Deans explaining how your event will benefit the university/college. They will often help you cover expenses.
Don’t hesitate to contact your Regional Campus Engagement Liaison Officer for support when organizing your Symposium!