Hundreds of people from the community came together for one very special day in honour of women at our International Women’s Day Potluck Celebration last week. An array of home cooked and prepared dishes filled the tables, women gave inspiring speeches and performances; and women’s issues trivia and door prize give-a-ways took place.
The official IWD theme this year was Inspiring Change, which speaks to the need to continue advocating for further positive gains in equality for women, everywhere and in every way. Several women took the stage during the evening and encouraged the crowd to influence change for women at different levels – locally, nationally, and internationally – through the leadership they display in their everyday actions.
To open the evening, Manal Farah, Women’s Centre’s practicum student, gave an impassioned speech about women inspiring change around the world. Guest speaker, Autumn EagleSpeaker, an Aboriginal Canadian of Blackfoot heritage and activist for Aboriginal and environmental rights, raised awareness around important issues such as missing and murdered Aboriginal women an girls, and drew attention to environmental concerns and land ownership rights. Musical entertainment was provided by Carla Olive and the Raging Grannies. Together, these women inspired us to think about how women and communities can come together to inspire change.
We would like to provide a special thank-you to all of our IWD volunteers and to the following organizations and groups who helped make our International Women’s Day Potluck Celebration possible:
- Alberta Network of Immigrant Women
- United Nurses of Alberta
- Calgary and District Labour Council
- Public Service Alliance of Canada
- United Food and Commercial Workers
- Red Rose Florist
- COBS Bread (Country Hills)
Thank you everyone who came out to celebrate with us and to share food, entertainment and thoughtful ideas for inspiring change. To see photos from the event, click here.
