Archive for June 2012

Reflection on Living Courage in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia – by Sue Deschene

June 29, 2012

  Thank you to KAIROS for bringing the “Women of Courage” tour to Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, on June 12 (and thanks to all who made this possible). By Sue Deschene, Shelburne Claudia, a human rights lawyer and advocate with the…

Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage

Motion Condemning Gender Violence and Rape in Conflict Receives Unanimous Support in House of Commons

June 25, 2012

Last month KAIROS joined human rights and women’s organizations and partners from around the world in endorsing the International Campaign to Stop Rape and Gender Violence in Conflict.  Founded by the Nobel Women’s Initiative, the campaign calls on political leaders…

Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage

Spirited Reflection: Back to the Circle

June 22, 2012

Time and again it comes back to the circle. The first day of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Saskatchewan National Event begins with the lighting of the sacred fire and ends with a round dance. In her poem, “Reconciliation”, Rebeka…

Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, Spirited Reflections

Policy Briefing Paper #31: Whose Green Economy

June 22, 2012

In the twenty years since the historic 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, calls for “sustainable development” have been heard over and over again. Governments, corporations and civil society groups have all used the term, each in its own…

Post filed in: Ecological Justice

Spirited Reflection: Living out our faith

June 22, 2012

We sat in a circle. Lucy from Palestine, Claudia from Colombia, Jill from Penelakut First Nation,  members of KAIROS Saskatoon, Regina and Swift Current, and many others from church and community. The topic was women of courage – women human…

Post filed in: Spirited Reflections

Living Courage in South Brook, Newfoundland – Of Jigg’s dinner, Music, Laughter and Hope

June 19, 2012

I knew it was going to be an extraordinary event the minute we turned off the high way into South Brook, a community of 500.   Hope Rowsell  was waiting for us in the parking lot of the convenience store and…

Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage

The Bridgewater Nova Scotia Leg of the KAIROS Living Courage Tour

June 15, 2012

By Bev McDonal 15/06/12 Lucy loves Tim Horton’s coffee and Claudia sells great soy based cookies! These are  things we learned having representatives of two KAIROS partners among us. The two women and Rachel Warden were waiting for me at…

Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage

Education and action campaign to raise awareness of Inuit food security issues

June 14, 2012

KAIROS Indigenous Rights Circle member-at-large, Deborah Tagornak, and four other Inuit women met in KAIROS’ Ottawa office today to launch an education and action campaign to raise awareness of the impact on the Inuit of the extremely high cost of…

Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, UNDRIP Blog Updates

KAIROS Policy Briefing Paper – Rio + 20: Whose Green Economy?

June 14, 2012

When the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development convenes in Rio de Janeiro on June 20th marking the twentieth anniversary of the original Earth Summit, government delegations and civil society organizations will debate contrasting visions for a “green economy.” KAIROS…

Post filed in: Ecological Justice

Where do you get your courage?

June 13, 2012

What keeps you going? Where do you get your courage? These questions have been asked at every meeting Claudia and Lucy have attended so far in Atlantic Canada. And their answer is always the same: “From people like you. Your…

Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage

We are fighting the militarization of our minds and consciences

June 13, 2012

Antigonish Women Centre, Antigonish, NS June 9, 2012.  Claudia and Lucy met with a group of people, mostly women, at the Antigonish Women’ Resource Centre, including Lesbia Morales from Guatemala’s Highland Small Farmers Committee (CCDA). Lesbia is on a Canadian…

Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage

The Power of Storytelling

June 13, 2012

Following an early flight to Halifax and then a bus to Antigonish, I arrived at the Coady International Institute in time for the start of the Living Courage event. I was glad I didn’t miss anything. After only four days…

Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage

Our Dreams Matter Too

June 11, 2012

On the fourth anniversary of the federal governments’ official apology to the former students of Indian residential schools, KAIROS joined over 500 elementary school students who walked from Victoria Island to Parliament Hill today to call for culturally based equity…

Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, UNDRIP Blog Updates

A Sustainable Energy Policy is Possible

June 11, 2012

In July 2011, federal, provincial and territorial energy ministers called for a public debate on a national energy strategy presenting KAIROS with an opportunity to elaborate on its vision for a just and sustainable energy policy. KAIROS envisions a transition…

Post filed in: Ecological Justice

Transforming the World: An Ancient Vision

June 11, 2012

Micah 4:1-4, Revelation 21: 1-6 Working for justice can make us hungry.  We are hungry for a vision of a world transformed, a vision that can sustain and nourish our efforts.   One place to look for that vision is in…

Post filed in: Spirited Reflections

Halifax event: It’s better to live with fear than to stop living because of fear

June 8, 2012

St. Andrew’s United Church, Halifax, NS. June 7, 2012. The Living Courage tour got off to a great start in Halifax, with 100 people in attendance at a public forum. KAIROS staff member Alfredo Barahona says that hope, resistance and…

Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage

Women of Courage, Canada, and Indigenous rights

June 8, 2012

Canadians do not need to look overseas to witness the impact of violence. This is why the Women of Courage work links North and South and sees responses to violence in one part of the world as contributing to responses…

Post filed in: Africa, Gender Justice/Women of Courage

Why “Women of Courage” and why these countries?

June 8, 2012

Why Women of Courage? Not only are women and children frequently the most common victims of armed conflict, but there are also often hidden impacts on women, including high levels of sexual violence, as we heard during last year’s Living…

Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage

First Living Courage II public event: Halifax

June 7, 2012

Tonight the Living Courage tour launches its first public event! The Halifax KAIROS community has been working for months with many local sponsors on a public forum that brings together voices from Colombia, Palestine and Mi’kmaq territory. Here’s a link…

Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage

It’s time for justice: Civil society groups urge Ontario to respect and uphold the rights of Asubpeeschoseewagong Anishnabek Grassy Narrows

June 5, 2012

Representatives of the Grassy Narrows First Nation are in Toronto this week for River Run 2012, a community-led initiative that continues a tradition of “action for justice – for our people, and for the protection of the water, air and…

Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, UNDRIP Blog Updates

KAIROS Times: May 2012

June 5, 2012

Read the May 2012 issue.

Post filed in: KAIROS Times E-Newsletter

Lettre à PM Harper re. visite au Canada du Rapporteur spécial des Nations Unies sur le droit à l’alimentation

June 5, 2012

Monsieur le premier ministre, C’est à titre personnel et en tant que représentants d’organisations dédiées à la protection des droits de la personne et à l’amélioration de la sécurité alimentaire – au Canada et ailleurs dans le monde – que…

Post filed in: En français

Letter to PM Harper re. visit to Canada of UN Special Rapporteur on right to food

June 5, 2012

Dear Prime Minister, We are writing this open letter to you as individuals and representatives of organizations dedicated to strengthening the protection of human rights and food security, in Canada and around the world. We are deeply troubled by the…

Post filed in: Uncategorized

Women of Courage II ready for the East Coast

June 5, 2012

The Women of Courage have arrived! Today, they are in Toronto.  On Thursday, the tour begins with a public event in Halifax. Over the next three weeks, these women of courage will visit communities and meet with representatives of Indigenous…

Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage