Accelerate Action in Nogojiwanong/Peterborough
We’re excited to invite you to our annual International Women’s Day celebrations in Nogojiwanong/Peterborough! This year’s theme is Accelerate Action, and we’ve got two amazing, free community events planned for Saturday, March 8th: a Rally/March and a Community Event.
Come join us!
Registration & space are generously provided by the Peterborough Public Library.
Register Here!
Updates
Kawartha World Issues Centre, Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre, and our many community partners for more than 25 years have hosted a free, accessible community International Women’s Day event, showcasing local and global speakers who embrace our values of social justice, anti-oppressive, anti-racist, feminist and decolonial frameworks. We are grateful to be one of many local celebrations in Nogojiwanong | Peterborough for International Women’s Day.
Rally/March
On Saturday, March 8th (International Women's Day) we will host a rally/march from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM starting at City Hall and travelling along the sidewalks to the Peterborough Public Library. Bring your signs and posters and be ready to chant!
At City Hall, the International Women's Day Declaration will be read.
Featuring: Mayor Jeff Leal, Janet McCue, Mshkiki Gitigaan Kwe - Katelyn Brennan, Peterborough's Poet Laureate Ziysah von Bieberstein, and many others! Please check back again for updates.
Community Event
Following the rally/march on Saturday, March 8th we will be holding a community event from 1:30 PM to 4:30 PM at the Peterborough Public Library - Friends of the Library Community Room at 345 Aylmer St. N. Peterborough, ON K9H 3V7. Doors open at 12:30 pm.
Join us for an afternoon dedicated to community empowerment and driving change. Engage in meaningful activities designed to foster connections and build lasting relationships. Your presence symbolizes a commitment to celebrating the strength and resilience of women and advocating for gender equality through collective action.
Featuring: Alice Williams, Janet McCue, Mshkiki Gitigaan Kwe/Medicine Gardener Woman - Katelyn Brennan, Jill Staveley, Sarah Lewis, and many others! Please check back again for updates.
Free to attend, light refreshments provided. Registration is strongly encouraged. Register here!
The Community
The Artwork
'Waauchipitaau' means 'Together' in Cree, created by Nuin-Tara Wilson ᓄᐃᓐᑕᕋ, Star Daughter Woman
From the artist, "The color Acceleration was used for the outline, while the Cheetah and Leaf Hopper symbolize the top accelerators in their species, alongside the Trout Lily flower."
Nuin-Tara Wilson ᓄᐃᓐᑕᕋ, Star Daughter Woman is a Cree artist in Nogojiwanong who paints pieces that tell stories of the land and her reconnection journey to her culture. To learn more about her and her work, please visit here.
IWD 2025 campaign theme 'Accelerate Action'
"Collectively, we can Accelerate Action for gender equality.
Step forward in solidarity for International Women's Day (IWD) 2025 on March 8 to help #AccelerateAction.
At the current rate of progress, it will take until 2158, which is roughly five generations from now, to reach full gender parity, according to data from the World Economic Forum.
Focusing on the need to Accelerate Action emphasizes the importance of taking swift and decisive steps to achieve gender equality. It calls for increased momentum and urgency in addressing the systemic barriers and biases that women face, both in personal and professional spheres.
So, together, let's Accelerate Action to speed up the rate of progress worldwide.
The aim of the IWD 2024 #InspireInclusion campaign is to collectively forge a more inclusive world for women.
One of the best ways to forge gender equality is to understand what works and to do more of this, faster.
Accelerate Action is a worldwide call to acknowledge strategies, resources, and activities that positively impact women's advancement, and to support and elevate their implementation.
Significant barriers to gender equality remain, yet with the right action and support, positive progress can be made for women everywhere.
As individuals, we can all take steps in our daily lives to positively impact women's advancement.
We can call out stereotypes, challenge discrimination, question bias, celebrate women's success, and so much more. Additionally, sharing our knowledge and encouragement with others is key.
Impactful organizations and groups across the world deliver an array of effective strategies, resources, and activity that help #AccelerateAction in many areas."
Learn more at: https://www.internationalwomensday.com/theme
History of International Women's Day
by Yolanda Ajak (KWIC blog post, 2012)
International women’s day was initially celebrated by and later adopted by the United Nations to be celebrated on March 8th during International Women’s Year in 1975. Shortly after, in 1977 the U.N General Assembly endorsed a declaration to implement a United Nations Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace, to be recognized by nations in accordance with their national traditions. The aims and objectives in implementing this resolution were to increase awareness on the vital role of women in peace efforts and development, with aims to end discrimination and achieve women’s full and equal contribution to the world.