International Women's Day - March 8

On March 8th, YWCA Metro Vancouver marks International Women's Day by recognizing the outstanding achievements of Marnie Marley, who retires as director of employment, Crabtree Corner community and international services after 23 years at the YWCA.

International Women’s Day is celebrated around the world to honour women and their achievements. It is an important day for the YWCA, an organization mandated to achieving women’s equality. For more than 115 years, the YWCA has been changing the lives of women throughout Metro Vancouver.

Over the years Marnie Marley has lead the development of many important programs and services to support women, children, men and youth. Last year alone, the YWCA:

• Provided 23,485 room nights at its hotel for women in crisis
• Served 30,400 hot plates of food to women and children in the Downtown Eastside through YWCA Crabtree Corner
• Supported 127 women in Connect to Success, a program for women entering or re-entering the workforce
• Matched 123 high school girls with professional women through the YWCA high school mentorship program

YWCA Metro Vancouver is widely known for one of the city’s most prestigious recognition programs: the YWCA Metro Vancouver Women of Distinction Awards. This year’s event on May 28th marks the 30th year of celebrating women throughout the Lower Mainland.

2012

A sold-out audience attended YWCA Metro Vancouver's screening of the award-winning documentary film Miss Representation to mark International Women's Day 2012.

Miss Representation explores the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in mainstream media.

The film screening was followed by an interactive panel discussion, hosted by Janet Austin, YWCA CEO, where a group of experts and advocates discussed the film, shared their experiences and considered actions that need to happen in Vancouver to address issues of gender inequality.

This event is a call to action for anyone who believes that the girls of today can grow up to be the leaders of tomorrow!

When: Wednesday, March 7, 6:00pm

Where: YWCA Health + Fitness Centre, Studio One
535 Hornby Street, Vancouver

About our speakers:

Saara Bhanji - Board Member and Researcher, Justice for Girls International

With a passion for social justice and creative arts, Saara is a gifted leader who has already made a tangible difference in the world. At age 21, Saara founded the Association of Women's Action, Research and Empowerment (AWARE), a feminist organization that provides young women with opportunities for self-development, leadership and activism. Through AWARE, Saara strives to be a vocal champion for equality. Saara has also been recognized as a compelling role model for young Ismaili-Muslim women and is a YWCA Women of Distinction award recipient for YWCA Young Woman of Distinction, 2010.

Stuart Poyntz - Assistant Professor in the School of Communication at Simon Fraser University

Stuart Poyntz's research interests include children, youth and media cultures, theories of the public sphere and young people's historical thinking, particularly in relation to digital media technologies. He has an extensive background in the history of media literacy, nationally and internationally, and has written on Canadian cinema and the relationship between film and historical representation. Stuart co-authored Media Literacies: A Critical Introduction, which traces the history of media literacy and grapples with the fresh challenges posed by the convergent media of the 21st century.

Louise Watson - President, Adura Strategy

Passionate Strategist. Career marketer. Facilitative Parent. People who know Louise know that she rarely stops questioning in order to find simple solutions to complex challenges. She rose through the ranks to become a senior executive on the leadership team of Western Canada's best-read dailies. Then, in 2007, Louise made a life-changing move to accept an opportunity to start her own business and consult for organizations with major Winter Olympic files including 2010 Legacies Now and the Canadian Tourism Commission. And, through it all, Louise strives to apply her best facilitative skills in parenting her 14- and 10-year old boys.

Emily Polak - Graduate Instructor and Doctoral Candidate, University of British Columbia, Counselling Psychology department

Emily is from the Chicago area where she provided social services for various populations and then moved to study at the University of Minnesota where she continued her education in counselling psychology. Today, Emily Polak is a doctoral candidate in the counselling psychology program of the University of British Columbia, currently finishing her dissertation research on adolescent body image development. She is also involved in teaching, counselling and psychological assessment. Emily has a strong passion for women's mental health, adolescent development, body image, gender, sexual health and prevention.