Next July, Carleton and the University of Ottawa will host an estimated 2,000 women from around the world at the 11th Women’s Worlds congress.
This will be the first time Canada hosts Women’s Worlds, which is held every three years in a different country.
“We have a story to tell and we can hold our heads high because we’re here and we’re doing something to help those who need a helping hand,” said Grete Hale, the event organizer and recipient of honorary degrees from the U of O and Carleton.
The conference, which will take place in Ottawa-Gatineau from July 3–7, was going to take place on the campuses of both host universities, according to Women’s Worlds 2011 communication director Pam Kapoor. But logistical issues, including transportation and space, led organizers to select the U of O as the exclusive venue.
The theme for Women’s Worlds 2011 is “Inclusions, exclusions, and seclusions: Living in a globalized world,” a broad enough topic to inspire a diverse list of presenters, Kapoor said.
Each day of the conference will also have one of four sub-themes, which are “breaking cycles,” “breaking ceilings,” “breaking barriers,” and “breaking ground.”
Women’s Worlds has yet to officially begin volunteer recruitment. But volunteers from around the city have begun organizing their own grassroots contributions to the event.
In addition to around 40 community organizers and business professionals, Hale said she invited Carleton president Roseann Runte to speak at an event leading up to the conference.
Hale said that in addition to recruiting friends and colleagues to volunteer and fundraise, she is encouraging those she sees working to empower women around the city to present at the conference.
Though none of the actual conference will take place on the Carleton campus, Carleton student and Womyn’s Centre volunteer Kate Getliffe said activists at her university also have something unique to offer at Women’s Worlds.
Getliffe said some Carleton student groups such as the Coalition for a Carleton Sexual Assault Centre exemplify the brand of grassroots activism that has developed on campus.
Women’s Worlds’ Kappor said despite the decision to hold the conference at U of O, the support her organization has received from the entire Carleton community “has not wavered.”