YWCA girlJAM6

Wednesday October 14, 2009
MYTH, 417 Danforth Avenue
Doors at 6:30pm Show at 7pm.
All ages welcome

Beat the drum, break silence, end violence!
Join a stellar line up of musicians, singers and dancers who will sing, step and stomp to end violence.

• Kaya Joubert Johnson
• Julie Kevan
• Allison Long and Sabine Ndalamba
• Songbird
• Amai Kuda
• Headliners: Moeraes Fate

Add your name to the VIP list, email girljam [at] ywcatoronto.org

 

gIRLs Chatroom

The Girls Chatroom is FULLY BOOKED - Due to popular demand, we will be hosting another girls' chatroom event before the mid December.

With the leadership of the YWCA Girls’ Council, and the Miss G Project, YWCA Toronto presents a FREE event by, for and about girls 12 to 14 (Gr. 7 and 8)

The morning will include a panel discussion, screening of public service announcements and excerpts from the documentary “It’s a Teen’s World”. Girls will gather in small groups, share thoughts and ideas on issues that concern them. The discussions will be facilitated by young women. Some topics they could discuss include:

• Positive relationships
• Bullying/harm reduction in schools
• Healthy communication and problem solving
• Internet safety for girls
• Self esteem and body image
• Discrimination and stereotypes
• Preventing violence in the lives of girls

For more details or to register, please call 416.961.8100 ext. 358 or email abc [at] ywcatoronto.org.

A vegetarian pizza lunch will be provided.

-- this is a Power of Being a Girl event --

Common Ground Conference:
Respect for Being a Boy-Power of Being a Girl Conference

 

A free one day conference

Presented by OSSTF District 12
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
CNIB Conference Centre
1949 Bayview Ave. (south of Eglinton Ave) | map

PLEASE NOTE: CNIB is a scent-free environment

save the date:
Wednesday, October 21, 2009	9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
2009 common ground registration form download :	excel | pdf

 

Hosted by YWCA Toronto and the White Ribbon Campaign and presented by OSSTF District 12, Common Ground, a free one day conference, is a response to a broadly acknowledged need to “build common ground” between young women and young men in today’s Toronto, with a particular focus on finding solutions to gender-based violence.

workshops

Connect!

Respect and power, rights and responsibilities, balance in your relationships with your friends, girlfriend or boyfriend, in the hallways, at home, at work.

Listen!

Popular culture today bombards us with images of women as sex objects, songs with derogatory lyrics, movies where heroes have big muscles and bigger weapons. This workshop is an opportunity to discuss how this makes us think about what a girl is, what a boy is, and what standards are for each.

Act!

Learn techniques to express your reality, plan events and campaigns to make change in your school and community. This workshop will use games and exercises to explore youth violence, how people get treated differently for who they are and where they are from, and what it means to be a boy or a girl.

Common Ground Teachers’ Workshop

Get a frame of reference to discuss the constructs of femininity and masculinity as it relates to violence against women. Learn basic facilitation skills to get through difficult conversations and moments. This workshop will prepare you to immediately facilitate discussions with students after their workshops, and get consensus on what the next actions are for the delegation.

The Common Ground Challenge

After talking, its time for action. Is your delegation ready to take on a Common Ground school project? Now that you have learned about power, privilege and gender stereotypes. You will have a better sense of how to create clear messages to tell a story, inform and influence. Whether it is promoting healthy dating relationships, reducing violence, or defining sexual harassment, delegates are encourage to do something at school or in their community to foster peace.

what to expect

Delegates will hear from keynote speakers, participate in discussions across the genders, play a part in interactive workshops, and activities that explore, gender, power and race in an effort to end violence and sexual harassment in schools. It will pay specific attention to the role that unequal dynamics between girls and boys has in the high rates of sexual harassment and sexual assault among school aged girls. 

Your students can be the ambassadors, and this is the conference to prepare them to lead the change in school. 

Registration includes lunch, and snacks. Students will receive six volunteer hours to be counted towards their 40 hours.

We are inviting up to six delegates per school, an even number of girls and boys. Students must be accompanied by a staff person.

Delegates must be selected by the school. 

who should attend

• High School Students Gr. 9-12
• Anyone who can benefit from improving their leadership skills
• Student government/council members
• Empowered Students Partnership students
• Students interested in discussing these topics frankly and safely with the opposite sex 

There will be workshops for teachers happening simultaneously on related topics.

Please note segments of the conference will be closed to teachers, to accommodate student-led discussions.

To pre-register your school or for more information call Raine Liliefeldt at 416.961.8101 ext. 326 or email abc [at] ywcatoronto.org

 

“NEW” YWCA Dance Peace: Dance it Out Campaign

Are you a dancer, dance instructor, dj, nightclub or bar owner? YWCA Toronto is harnessing the power of dance to build peace and raise awareness about violence against women in dance clubs and bars. And we need your help.

YWCA Dance Peace is a campaign that encourages everyone, young and old, to dance out their anger, and dance in the peace. Dance schools are invited to take time during their classes this week to talk to students about using dance as a tool to manage anger. Djs and nightclub owners are invited to examine their venues and ensure that their space is safe place for women. They are encouraged to use the mic to call attention to the Week Without Violence and remind guests about respect and safety.

Promotional posters are available. To find out more or to participate email abc [at] ywcatoronto.org.

 

host your own event

Help end violence in your community! There are lots of ways to get your school, business or community group involved in the Week Without Violence, and YWCA Toronto wants to help.

 

 

take action against violence

Week Without Violence is good for school, workplace, gym, stores, libraries:

Here are four steps to hosting your own event:

1. select an event

Select the event best suited to your community or workplace:

• Connect!
• Listen!
• Act!
• Common Ground Teachers' Workshop
• The Common Ground Challenge

You can also select an event based around the themes of the Week Without Violence:

• Day of Remembrance
• Protecting Our Children
• Making Our Schools Safer
• Confronting Violence Against Women
• Facing Violence Among Men
• Eliminating Discrimination and Hate Crime
• Promoting Wellness: Healthy and Creative
• Alternatives to Violence
• Harassment in the Workplace
• Media Awareness.

2. contact us

Contact YWCA Toronto to register your event. YWCA Toronto will provide support with promotional materials (posters, listings) Your event will be posted on www.weekwithoutviolence.com. YWCA Toronto can arrange a video, or a guest speaker to attend your event. YWCA Toronto provides Healthy Dating Relationships Workshops throughout the city, we would be happy to arrange a YWCA staff to facilitate a workshop in your workplace or school. The trick is to contact us before September 18, 2009 to book a workshop or speaker.

3. hold your event

Between October 18 and October 24, have fun promoting a Week Without Violence! Make sure you take lots of pictures - we're hoping to create an online photo album for all of this year's community events.

4. evaluate your event

Make a few notes on how the event is going, and get some feedback from participants. What would you do differently next year?

For further information, or to host an event at your school, workplace or other organization, contact:
Raine Liliefeldt at YWCA Toronto
416.961.8100 ext. 326
rliliefeldt [at] ywcatoronto.org.