Redressing Power Imbalances: Using Research to Transform Gender Relations

Organized by: International Development Research Centre (IDRC)

This event features IDRC’s rich history of participatory and boundary pushing gender transformative research by sharing core principles and best practices that are highlighted in an analytical and reflective paper. Through case studies and practical examples, this session focuses on how gender transformative research supported by IDRC continues to combine critical elements such as root cause analysis, systemic partnerships, intersectionality, and strengthening capacities and processes for sustained change.

Key Changemakers: Women Driving Change

Organized by: UNICEF Canada

Join us for an inspiring discussion with UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Angélique Kidjo, and other women and youth who are working to drive change, through the empowerment of themselves and others. Hearing personal stories from different perspectives, we will examine the shift that happens when we collaborate for change, and the ripple effect that is created across the globe. We each have the opportunity to use our voice, power and influence to make a difference. In this session, we will explore and celebrate the ways in which we can each contribute to driving global change that will lead to a better future for everyone.

Changemakers in Action: Youth Leadership to Harness Digital Innovation for UHC2030

Organized by: Fondation Botnar

Fondation Botnar’s lunch session at the WD2019 conference will highlight the Women Deliver Young Leaders Program and explore best practices of youth leadership in action, particularly as it relates to young people as changemakers to accelerate the application of digital technology, including artificial intelligence for universal health coverage by 2030.

Face to Face with Peter Sands

Gender and the face of HIV

Host: Shahira Amin, Independent Journalist
With Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

The Work is Never Done: Lessons in Being an Institutional Ally

Organized by: Vancouver Foundation

Good isn’t good enough. In this session, Canada’s leading community foundation will share what it’s doing well to be an ally to women and girls. But in a world of rampant inequality, organizations and institutions need to be accountable for doing so much more. Vancouver Foundation is committed to “learning in plain sight” and we’d like you to be part of it. Join us for a provocative conversation with guests who will hold our feet to the fire and tell us what we need to do differently — and better — to ensure our actions match our aspirations.

Men, Masculinity, and A Modern Playbook for Gender Equality

Organized by: P&G

Women’s voices are louder than ever on topics of health, wealth, harassment, safety, and the right to lead, yet progress has stalled.  We must do better. We need a more modern playbook which includes the role of men as we collectively redefine masculinity and re-envision traditional structures.  Moreover, we must create policies and cultural interventions that set an expectation for men to be equal partners at home, in the workplace and in society.

Family Planning – A Best Buy in Global Development

Organized by: Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), Population Council, and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

The right to decide over your own body can improve the lives of women and girls in developing countries and be the catalyst for economic growth and development to reap the demographic dividend. Improved access to family planning information and services and the empowerment of women and girls is a Best Buy in Global Development.

Child Welfare in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside: The Intergenerational and Lifelong Trauma of Child Apprehension

Organized by: Downtown Eastside Women's Network

The apprehension of children by government agencies disproportionately impacts First Nations, Metis and Inuit mothers and families where deep, far-reaching harm is overwhelmingly on women.  Although less than 7% of the population, First Nations, Metis and Inuit children represent more than 48% of apprehended children in Canada. Panel members include women with lived expertise, pushing for system-wide change. Attendees are invited to uncover local and global grassroots feminist strategies that keep women and their children together.

Accelerating Knowledge: Social Entrepreneurs and Family Planning

Organized by: Bayer AG

What role does social entrepreneurship play in accelerating positive change in family planning education and awareness? With a special focus on enabling youth voices, this session will feature social entrepreneurs sharing their experience and innovative approaches to overcoming the barriers they face in accessing education and increasing awareness of family planning. Join us for a fruitful exchange of knowledge, expertise and novel approaches to help support youth-led innovation.

Young Women at Work: Our Commitment to a World Where Young Women Prosper

Organized by: Mastercard Foundation

Join us for an interactive lunchtime event that brings together young leaders and decision-makers, and contests notions of ‘expert’ by creating a space for youth delegates to lead a series of mini-roundtables on how to achieve gender equity at scale. Lindsay Wallace, Director of Strategy and Learning, will close the session by discussing the Mastercard Foundation’s commitment to creating a world where all young women in Africa can pursue the employment opportunities they aspire to.

Round-table discussions will be facilitated by youth facilitators: Joan Nalubega, Alpha Ngwenya, Goodness Adesokan, Tasha Brooks, Fainess Mwakisimba, Mercy Wanalo, Tamara Lottering, Blooming Soyinka and Tracy Keza.

Time's Up: Ending Harassment in the Global Health Workplace

Organized by: Women in Global Health

Gender equality is everyone’s business and should be everyone’s reality. This session will focus on the paradigm shifted needed to achieve lasting and substantive change to create enabling environments for all genders, such that everyone can live free from all forms of harassment, as part of their Decent Work rights in the health sector. Tune in with #TimesUpGH and #WomeninGH.

The Under-Recognized Power of Women in the Health Workforce

Organized by: Johnson & Johnson

Are women health workers under recognized? If so, WHY? Is it because they are women? Is it because society under value "care giving"? This session brings together health workers and health workforce leaders to uncover the answers to these questions. It is part of the "Power of We" series from Johnson & Johnson.

Women Together. Conquer Stigma. Perinatal Substance Use.

Organized by: BC Women's Health Foundation

Women Together. Conquer Stigma. Perinatal Substance Use. will call attention to perinatal substance use and the foundational principles of Indigenous cultural safety, women-centered, trauma-informed practice and harm reduction that allow us to engage women, and ensure women are empowered by choice, connection and communication. Women with lived and living experience will share their unique perspectives and journeys to conquer stigma.

Meet the Filmmakers

An exclusive opportunity to meet the filmmakers and commissioning organizations for the films featured in the Women Deliver 2019 Conference Film Festival.

Shaping an Empowering Narrative for Financing for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment: The Role of the Private Sector

Organized by: Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA)

Despite of signs of progress, investments that are critical to achieving the SDG’s remain underfunded, while significantly more and better public and private investments will be required to achieve gender equality and empower women and girls. While Official Development Assistance remain an essential source of financing for gender equality and women’s empowerment, especially in the Least Developed Countries, a new way of thinking about financing for sustainable development is needed. But are investments making a transformative and lasting change in the lives of women and girls? Does private and blended finance catalyze investments for gender equality? How do we ensure that no one is left behind and that our approach is rights-based? What are the innovative approaches that can inspire us to scale up?

Candid Conversation

What is the role of gender equality in climate justice?

Host: Shahira Amin, Independent Journalist
- Farwiza Farhan, Forest, Nature & Environment Aceh (HAkA)
- Fleur Newman, Gender Affairs Officer, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

Film Screenings: Mental Health

Not Carol (15:00)
> On the afternoon of May 20, 2014, cries of terror shattered the quiet of West 223rd Street in Torrance, CA, when Rudy Coronado entered his bedroom to find that his bloodied wife had just stabbed their three daughters - Sophia, (2 1⁄2 years), Yazmine (1 1⁄2 years) and Xenia (10 weeks) - killing them all. Thirty-year old Carol Coronado, a beautiful young mother, committed the most unspeakable crime that afternoon, and her acts – although despicable – represent the extreme result of undiagnosed postpartum psychosis. NOT CAROL examines the scourge of postpartum psychosis through the tragic prism of the Carol Coronado murder case. In a judicial system riddled with archaic laws and chronic misunderstanding, Carol’s story shines a light on a public health epidemic that is enormous in scale and no one is talking about. Director(s): Eamon Harrington and John Watkin

Doubts (3:14)
> "Don't believe everything you think." DOUBTS, a poem by Julie Flanders with animation by Phoebe Cavise, is both a light and serious reminder to believe in something better than your uncertainties. Conveyed with love and whimsy this short film is meant to shift and elevate the spirit of the viewer. A seamless marriage of word and image, DOUBTS is a philosophical amuse-bouche designed to please the mind and delight the senses.

Vicarious Resilience Trailer (2:48)
> The documentary follows three Hudson Valley residents over the course of a 10-week TMI Project storytelling workshop presented at The Mental Health Association in Ulster County (MHA). Along the way, the participants experience the transformative power of true storytelling; they face mental illness, childhood neglect and addiction head-on; and, ultimately, share deeply personal stories about love, loss and triumph. Director(s): Eva Tenuto

God Knows Where I Am Trailer (2:16)
> The body of a homeless woman is found in an abandoned farmhouse, and a diary documenting a journey of starvation and the loss of sanity lies next to the body. For nearly four months, Linda Bishop, a prisoner of her own mind, survived on apples and rain water during one of the coldest winters on record. As her story unfolds from different perspectives, we learn about our systemic failure to protect those who cannot protect themselves. Director(s): Todd Wider and Jeb Wider

Hope Trailer (1:00)
> Based on a true story. When a widow with mental illness attempts suicide, she survives only to find herself homeless and unable to reconnect with her son. After a year of living in a shelter with no hope of overcoming her situation, she has a chance encounter that changes her life. Director(s): Katie Damien

Take a Deep Breathe (4:27)
> This is a short animation about a day of a woman who lives alone. In this day she wakes up in the morning and goes to kitchen for making breakfast. After hearing bad news about a girl (who has died because of violation) in radio, she remembers her bad experiences about the rape of her privacy. She remembers how some men look at her just sexually. She is afraid to go out but finally changes her mind and decides to go out again and be brave. Director(s): Zahra Safdari Shadloo

Harnessing the Power of Data for Gender Equality: Presenting EM2030 2019 SDG Gender Index

Launch of the EM2030 2019 SDG Gender Index and Plan International’s Taking the Lead Report

Innovation Ecosystem Panel

As part of this fast-paced intergenerational dialogue, leaders from across sectors will share insights on the #PowerOf innovation to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically SDG5 (gender equality).

Youth Zone