Media Advisory, Montreal, Quebec, Friday, August 6, 2010

The first Montreal International Women’s Conference hosted by the Committee of Women of Diverse Origins is set to get underway August 13-16, 2010 in Montreal, Quebec.

For close to a decade a group of Montreal-based women have been working tirelessly to improve women’s lives here and abroad. They are the Committee of Women of Diverse Origins, and as the name suggests, their members have roots in several countries and they take on a number of social issues from migrants’ rights to violence against women. What makes their approach unique are their strong links to and participation in women’s struggles in their countries of origin including the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Iran, Palestine, Pakistan, Mexico, Ecuador, and Mali, bringing militancy and a truly global perspective to their work here in Quebec and Canada.

August 13-16, 2010, the Committee of Women of Diverse Origins will host the first Montreal International Women’s Conference with the theme of Building a Global Militant Women’s Movement in the 21st century. They are joined by co-conveners from the south including Gabriela Philippines, Asian Rural Women’s Network and Action Network for Marriage Migrants Rights and Empowerment (AMORRE).

Tess Tesalona, Conference Coordinator: “The over two hundred women that will be at this conference represent women’s networks and struggles around the world. Many of these women are on the front lines of life and death situations and resistance movements in their home countries. For us, feminist concerns are not in a vacuum but are related to a broader social context.”

For the past nine years the Committee has organized a March 8 conference and demonstration, mobilizing and inspiring women young and old to support and join struggles against war and violence. This conference, honouring 100 years since the declaration of International Women’s Day, will build on past initiatives, bringing together women from 19 countries and f