Author Archive

Opportunities and highlights from the Regional Gatherings

December 1, 2021

The three KAIROS regional gatherings – Great Lakes-St. Lawrence, Prairies North, and Atlantic – that happened in November were opportunities to share how the KAIROS network is learning and acting for justice, particularly for reconciliation. You may also be interested in reading Reflections on the Regional Gatherings….

Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, Regional News

Finding your roots in the Treaties: Reflections on the Regional Gatherings

December 1, 2021

The deeper we are connected to our ancestral roots, [the more we find] we are all in the same place because we have all been taught, no matter where we are at or where we come from on this planet, we are being taught…

Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, Regional News

KAIROS denounces the harassment by armed actors against the OFP

December 1, 2021

In the midst of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, the Organización Femenina Popular (OFP), a KAIROS women, peace, and security partner, reports that OFP members as well as the Women’s Centre in the municipality of San Pablo are being harassed through stalking by armed actors.   Harassment,…

Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage

Women, consent, and community consultations #16StoriesofCourage

December 1, 2021

| en español | Indigenous women must be central to decision-making spaces, such as community consultations on potential extractive projects in their territories. In Guatemala, Maya women mobilize their communities in community-wide referendums guided by Indigenous governance.   Community consultations are…

Post filed in: En Español, Gender Justice/Women of Courage

Canada must act now to stop Duterte’s war against the Filipino people

November 30, 2021

I work with human rights defenders and peacebuilders in some of the most dangerous places in the world. I fear for their safety, and sometimes my worst fears come true.  This happened in August last year. Zara Alvarez, a well-known human…

Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage

Economic empowerment to address gender-based violence #16StoriesofCourage

November 30, 2021

Violence against women (VAW) is the most pervasive violation of human rights worldwide. VAW is also an economic issue, which carries significant costs to individuals, households, the public sector and society. In situations of protracted conflict, VAW includes economic abuse – controlling…

Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage

Honouring missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, 2SLGBTQQIA people #16StoriesofCourage

November 29, 2021

There is a strong correlation between the presence of extractive projects and violence against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people. In protecting the land and water, Indigenous women land defenders are also enacting women’s rights and Indigenous self-determination.   “We decided that we’re…

Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage

Women survivors of armed conflict can become women human rights defenders #16StoriesofCourage

November 28, 2021

| en español |  Through psychosocial support, legal accompaniment, and human rights training, women survivors of armed conflict can become women human rights defenders.   Indeed, women are key to peacebuilding in conflict and post-conflict settings.  “I believe that if I had…

Post filed in: En Español, Gender Justice/Women of Courage

Women and post-conflict rebuilding #16StoriesofCourage

November 27, 2021

In times of conflict, women and children make up the majority of the population who take refuge outside their country’s borders. Post-conflict, women’s reintegration and contributions to peace and reconstruction have long been underestimated. Women are a driving force for peace, often on the…

Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage

Women lead gender-based violence awareness raising #16StoriesofCourage

November 26, 2021

| en français | High levels of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), combined with stigmatizing media coverage, have resulted in a presentation of sexual gender-based violence as exclusively part of a military strategy. There are, however, numerous cases of gender-based violence (GBV) committed by civilians,…

Post filed in: Ecological Justice, En français, Gender Justice/Women of Courage

“So much more can be done” – reflections on COP26

November 25, 2021

The dust may have finally settled from COP26, the UN Conference on Climate Change, which ran from October 31 to November 12 in Glasgow, Scotland, but the realities of the climate crisis continue to rage. On the final day of COP, meteorologists warned that extreme weather created…

Post filed in: Ecological Justice

Indigenous women and the protection of Mother Earth #16StoriesofCourage

November 25, 2021

| em português | Indigenous women are at the forefront in the defense of Mother Earth. In Brazil, Indigenous land defenders continue to prioritize Mother Earth despite the dangers of undertaking those efforts—criminalization, harassment, physical attacks, etc.  “And so, all warrior women, land and water…

Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage

16 days of activism – 16 Stories of Courage

November 25, 2021

Beginning November 25 (International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women) and lasting through December 10 (International Human Rights Day), KAIROS will join the international community and partners for the global 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign. To complement local and national…

Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage

Sign the petition: Call on Canada to enact corporate accountability legislation

November 22, 2021

Voluntary corporate social responsibility measures have been proven ineffective in ensuring Canadian extractive companies abroad do no harm. Canada must enact mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence legislation (mHREDD) to require companies to prevent, report on, and face consequences for human…

Post filed in: Corporate Accountability, Ecological Justice

Highlighting stories of courage during #16Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence Campaign

November 16, 2021

2021 marks the 30th anniversary of the Global 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence Campaign. Launched by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership (CWGL) at its first Women’s Global Leadership Institute in 1991, this Campaign has been used worldwide to call for the elimination…

Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage

#KAIROS20 gathering galvanizes network and partners

November 5, 2021

In her keynote address during We are Unstoppable, the KAIROS youth event, author and activist Helen Knott mused on the word “kairos.”  “I think of it like Double Dutch with the two skipping ropes and you’re waiting for that moment to jump in – preparing for that moment…

Post filed in: #KAIROS20 Anniversary

Letter of solidarity with Wet’suwet’en land defenders

November 5, 2021

KAIROS joins representatives of an ecumenical community to register our solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en peoples who are defending their lands in opposition to the Coastal GasLink Pipeline. This pipeline violates the fundamental right of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC)…

Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Indigenous Rights

COP26: A moment for the people, the planet and justice

November 2, 2021

The 26th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is now underway in Glasgow, Scotland.  From October 31 to November 12, the world will be watching to see if world leaders take the urgent and necessary steps for a fair, just…

Post filed in: Ecological Justice

Welcoming new partners to the ETFW project

November 2, 2021

With the next phase of the Empowering Temporary Foreign Workers During COVID-19 Project in progress, KAIROS Canada would like to highlight new partners that have joined us for Phase 2!   The Windsor-Essex Bilingual Legal Clinic/C.A.R.E for International Workers Program assists temporary foreign…

Post filed in: Migrant Justice

A day of thanks for Uxbridge Nurseries farm and its migrant workers

November 2, 2021

It was a beautiful day on October 17 for a drive to the Uxbridge/Brooklin area to partake at a Thanksgiving lunch for migrant workers, hosted by KAIROS’ Community Partner, Migrant Worker Solidarity Program at ACDR (Aids Committee for Durham Region), one of 15 partners of KAIROS’ Empowering Temporary…

Post filed in: Migrant Justice

Congratulations to all the winners of the youth poster contest

November 1, 2021

To mark its 20th anniversary, KAIROS wants to lift up the artistic work of young activists. We asked for original artwork that shares a message of justice, peace and hope – artwork that will help us as a movement and…

Post filed in: #KAIROS20 Anniversary, Ecological Justice, Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Indigenous Rights

KAIROS Times: November 2021

November 1, 2021

Post filed in: KAIROS Times E-Newsletter

Testimonio and Storytelling: Canadian extractivism in territories affected by genocide

October 27, 2021

Join KAIROS, Atlantic Regional Solidarity Network (ARSN), the Department of Human Rights at St. Thomas University, MiningWatch Canada, Atlantic Human Rights Centre, Solidarité Fredericton, NB Media Coop, and Maritimes-Guatemala Breaking the Silence Solidarity Network on Monday, November 8, 2021 at 6:00pm EST for “Testimonio and Storytelling: Canadian extractivism in territories affected by…

Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Indigenous Rights

MEDIA RELEASE: On COP26 eve, For the Love of Creation online Fall Symposium will join people of faith to take climate action

October 27, 2021

(Toronto – Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit) – For the Love of Creation presents its online Fall Symposium, Saturday, October 30, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., inviting people to deepen their  understanding of the climate emergency and advocacy from a faith…

Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Media Releases

KAIROS Mandate Letters to the Prime Minister of Canada

October 25, 2021

Dear Prime Minister Trudeau,  We at KAIROS write to you during a kairos moment, when multiple crises have converged and opportunities arise for transformational change. In our work we advocate for such change in elevating the rights and wellbeing of Indigenous peoples, women, temporary foreign workers, and ecological systems.   The climate crisis and COVID-19,…

Post filed in: Corporate Accountability, Ecological Justice, Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Indigenous Rights, Migrant Justice

Thank you, Mi’kmaq Grandmothers, for protecting land and water through Indigenous self-determination

October 25, 2021

KAIROS welcomes the decommissioning of the Alton Gas Project and honours and thanks the Mi’kmaq Grandmothers for all their efforts in the protection of land and water.   The Mi’kmaq Grandmothers have been steadfast in their defense of the Shubenacadie River system, treaty rights, and their ancestral homelands for years. Despite intimidation, coercion, and criminalization from the part of various governments, companies,…

Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Indigenous Rights

MEDIA RELEASE: KAIROS to celebrate 20 years of spirited action for justice, October 26-28

October 22, 2021

(Toronto – Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit) – KAIROS invites its network, member churches and partners to KAIROS Gathering: 20 years of spirited action for justice, a three-day online event held October 26 to 28 in celebration of KAIROS’ 20th anniversary.   WHAT  KAIROS Gathering: 20 years of spirited action for justice will feature a daily plenary session, anchored by a panel…

Post filed in: #KAIROS20 Anniversary, Media Releases

Christians join social movements in calls for debt cancellation and action on climate change

October 14, 2021

The climate crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic are adding to the debt burdens of countries in the global South.   Many countries need to transition away from use of fossil fuels, as well as to mitigate or prevent damage from severe storms, fires, and floods….

Post filed in: Ecological Justice