YWCA Week Without Violence 2009 events | workshops, Behind the Scenes, The Power of Being a Girl Respect for Being a Boy Conference

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YWCA week without violence

October 18 to 24, 2009

Art! Awareness! Education! Action!

Be a part of the Week Without Violence. Help us eradicate violence from homes, schools, workplaces and our neighbourhoods. Join YWCA Toronto in our efforts to stop violence before it claims another victim.

The undeniable increase in school shootings, gang activity, the upsurge of bullying and sexual assaults in all schools indicate a swell of violence, especially gender-based violence in our city, leaving everyone at risk. All of us have experienced violence in our communities, and for many of us it has been too close to home. During the Week Without Violence, October 18 to 24, 2009, we invite the community to address violence in lots of different ways, to help us think about the ways.

Through education, art, empowerment and action YWCA Toronto, in concert with YWCAs across the country and the world will spread a message of peace and non-violence, welcoming communities across the city to host and participate in free events.

common ground

Save the Date

A free one day conference
Common Ground: Respect for Being a Boy, the Power of Being a Girl Conference
Presented by OSSTF District 12

Wednesday, October 21, 2009
9:00am - 4:00pm
CNIB Conference Centre
1949 Bayview Ave. (south of Eglinton Ave)

Hosted by YWCA Toronto and the White Ribbon Campaign, Common Ground is a response to a broadly acknowledged need to “build common ground” between young women and young men in today’s Toronto.

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.

Registration forms will be available at www.weekwithoutviolence.com on August 1st.

To pre-register your school or for more information call Raine Liliefeldt at 416-961-8101 ext. 326 or email abc@ywcatoronto.org

imagine

take action against violence

You can participate in a number of ways. For example, you can make a personal pledge or plan an event in your community. To find out how to host a Week Without Violence event, contact Raine Liliefeldt at YWCA Toronto, 416.961.8100 ext. 326 or email rliliefeldt [at] ywcatoronto.org.

Everyone is welcome to join us in stopping violence!


10 tips for expressing healthy anger.	Are you cool? Is your relationship healthy? Take the relationship quiz and find out!

host your own event

imagine 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:

Expressive Art Workshop
Bring the Peace Story Time
Conflict Resolution
Healthy Dating Relationships Workshop
Lunch and Learns
Peace Pledge
Peace Tree Movie and Workshop
Wen Do Workshop
Yoga, meditation to boost inner peace

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.

download:
FLEW backgrounder [english] | origine de FODF [français]
2009 ywca week without violence guide - coming soon
women's resource funding brief to Ministry of Finance (01/2007)
Senate Commitee on children's human rights brief (01/2007)
Status of Women Canada letter to House of Commons (01/2007)
Cyber Safety Internet (CSI NET)
- a girls' guide to being safe on the internet (4.8Mb)