One thousand to march on Parliament Hill in solidarity with missing and murdered Aboriginal women

4 July 2011, OTTAWA – Participants of the Women's Worlds 2011 congress will march in solidarity with Native Women's Association of Canada and local activists to keep attention on the alarmingly high rates of violence against Aboriginal women and girls in Canada and the lack of effective response to the crisis.  Women’s Worlds 2011 has over 1900 delegates from over 90 countries in Ottawa from July 3 to July 7.

The march will start from the Ottawa Convention Centre (55 Colonel By) at 11:30 AM on Tuesday, July 5 and march to Parliament Hill beginning at noon*, the march will stop at Centre Block and the program is as follows:

12:00:             Drum circle led by the Nemisak Singers
12:10:             Algonquin Nation Elder Bertha Commanda speaks
12:20:             Thoughts from Laurie Odjick, mother of Maisy Odjick, a young Aboriginal woman who disappeared in 2008.
12:25              Words from Jeannette Corbiere Lavell, President of the Native Women’s Association of Canada.
12:30              Moment of silence, followed by words from Elder Jo MacQuarrie, Metis Nation of Ontario
12:35              Closing statement by Jennie Abell, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa
12:40              Performance by Inuit drummers Linda Brown and Heidi Langille

WW 2011 (www.womensworlds.ca) is an international and interdisciplinary congress that will explore how issues like equality, human rights, economics, labour, education, environment, and development relate to women. This is the largest gathering of women from around the world to ever take place in Canada and aims to enhance women's leadership skills and organizational capacity.

WW 2011 is co-hosted by Carleton University and the University of Ottawa.

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Media credentials
Official program

For details and to arrange interviews:
Caitlin Kealey
Media Relations, Women’s Worlds 2011
caitlin@womensworlds.ca
(011 1) 613 818 7956