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The University of Winnipeg

Institute for International Women's Rights

The Institute for International Women's Rights - Manitoba (IIWR-MB) provides opportunities for research, learning, dialogue, and action on Women's Rights in collaboration with groups and organizations within the university, such as the Institute for Women's and Gender Studies, and in the larger community, such as the Winnipeg branch of UNIFEM. 

The IIWR-Manitoba supports educational, economic, social, legal and health opportunities that help to increase respect for and implementation of the human rights of women locally and globally. The IWR-Manitoba is dedicated to promoting women's human rights, global women's health, women's peace and security in conflict zones and post conflict reconstruction areas.

Youth Speak Out

Side event at the Commission on the Status of Women in New York

Students of Global College attended the Commission on the Status of Women's 60th session in March 2016, the IIWR-GC hosted Youth Speak Out side event featuring two Global College students, Katrina Leclerc and Breanne Lavalee-Heckert.

  • UNPAC

UNPAC (United Nations Platform for Action Committee) came into being in 1996 after 45 Manitoba women attended Beijing for the UN Fourth World Conference on Women, most on their own dime, participating in both the UN conference and the parallel NGO Conference in 1995. They returned with a commitment to see the recommendations in the Platform for Action  - the roadmap for equality that was agreed to in Beijing by Canada and 188 other nations - implemented.

The Platform for Action identifies 12 Critical Areas of Concern regarding the main obstacles to women's advancement. The areas are: poverty, education and training, health, violence, armed conflict, decision-making, institutional mechanisms, human rights, media, environment, the girl child and the economy.

Through the years, UNPAC found creative, interactive ways to encourage Manitobans and their elected officials to implement the recommendations of the Platform for Action here at home.

In June 2014, UNPAC closed its doors after almost twenty years of innovative projects supporting women's equality and empowerment through community action and education.

Through the services of Internet Archive, the content of the former domain name unpac.ca has been archived for future access. The link can be found below:

https://web.archive.org/web/20151020022855/http://www.unpac.ca/

  • Girl Ambassadors for Peace

Girl Ambassadors for Peace is a program by the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders which was piloted in the Democratic Republic of Congo in August 2014 and is now implemented in South Sudan. Part of the curriculum for the program was co-authored by two students, Janna Barkman and Jazmin Papadopoulos. Two other students, Claire Paetkau and Katrina Leclerc, translated the materials into French for launch in the DRC. This video was presented at the Canadian Mission in New York City in March 2015 as a side-event of the Commission on the Status of Women's 59th session.