Welcome to our special year-end edition of the CanWaCH newsletter! Sit back, grab a hot beverage, and reflect with us on the moments we gathered, resources you may have missed and stories we’re reading from the CanWaCH membership.
Thank you for your support, collaboration and engagement over the past year. From all of us at CanWaCH, we would like to wish you and yours a very happy holiday season!
From May 14 to 15, the Healthy World Conference brought together over 300 people to unpack the interconnected nature of climate, health and gender equality. Held on the traditional territory of the Kanien’kehà:ka Nation, also known as Montréal, Quebec, sessions were grounded in an interactive and dialogue-forward approach and featured a blend of workshops, structured discussions, open conversations and networking opportunities. View photos from the conference here!
The day before the conference, over 50 participants gathered at the Global Health Impact Summit to tackle the complex intersections of climate change, health disparities and gender equality. Through the theme “Rising Tides: Measuring Climate Impacts on the Health and Rights of Communities in Crisis,” participants presented active projects and openly shared both their successes and challenges. Read a summary of key takeaways here!
Our in-person member dialogues also continued this year, with events in Calgary, Toronto and Vancouver! In August, we hosted a virtual member coffee chat focused on “Empowering local voices: Navigating best practices and challenges in localization”.
Class was back in session from November 19 to 22 with the return of the CanWaCH Academy! With a wide range of trainings and workshops, our goal was to provide practical takeaways and spark new ideas. Couldn’t make a session? The recordings are now available to watch here.
As part of our programming through September to mark World Sexual Health Day and Gender Equality Week, CanWaCH hosted an engaging panel discussion on Connecting the dots: Data for advancing SRHR. Featuring global perspectives, the discussion unpacked why and how data is essential for measuring, tracking and driving progress in our efforts to achieve sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) for everyone. You can watch a recording here.
In 2024, CanWaCH took on its new role as the Coordinating Centre for the Pan-Canadian Women’s Health Coalition, an initiative supported by the Canadian Institute for Health Research and Women and Gender Equality Canada. The Pan-Canadian Women’s Health Coalition, comprising 10 hubs across Canada, is dedicated to advancing critical areas of women’s health research and practice. As the Coordinating Centre, CanWaCH is enhancing collaboration among the hubs to expand their reach and impact, raising the profile of women’s health research in Canada. Learn more here.
The last two weeks of November saw us in Calgary for the start of the 15th edition of WickFest! One of the most celebrated hockey events for young girls in the world, the festival embodies the ways sport can unlock leadership, empowerment, health and well-being for girls. It was inspiring to engage with the next generation of gamechangers, including a fantastic team of U13 girls from Ukraine. Watch this video to learn more about our partnership and check out our Instagram for photos from the festival!
We’re delighted to have welcomed Fòs Feminista Canada, HelpAge Canada, Journalists for Human Rights (JHR), Cross-Border Impact Ventures, Fora: Network for Change and Kore Global to the CanWaCH membership this year! Meet and learn about the work of our 100+ members by visiting this webpage.
CanWaCH participated in and contributed to various moments through the year, including International Development Week, the Commission on Status of Women 2024 (CSW68), Budget 2024, the 57th session of the Commission on Population and Development (CPD57) and the 7th OECD World Forum on Well-Being.
Following our time at the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 79), we shared a recap and key takeaways. It considered the major themes and discussions, significant announcements and standout speakers and sessions.
Released in May, our 2024 Global Health Impact Report considers the increasing effects of the climate crisis and the disproportionate consequences of climate change on the world’s most vulnerable. With an emphasis on climate data, the report highlights Canadian engagement on a global scale and considers the challenges and opportunities of measuring impact at the climate and health nexus.
We continued producing our At a Glance series throughout 2024, sharing tips, tricks and tools in quick guides you can easily digest and put into practice. The series has covered various topics ranging from ChatGPT to productivity tools for non-profits.
Despite making up the majority of the agricultural workforce, women farmers in rural Ghana earn less income, own less land and face greater barriers to growing their businesses. Led by Canadian Feed the Children, and implemented in partnership with a strong network of local organizations, the SHINE (Sustainable Development, Human Rights, Inclusion and Equality) project is supporting them in efforts to boost their yields, earn a higher income and make their families more food secure. Our video in partnership with Canadian Feed the Children brings you stories of the people at the heart of the project, sharing its impact on their livelihoods, family and community.
In July 2024, CanWaCH’s Public Opinion Research Working Group (PORWG) commissioned Abacus Data to refresh its 2023 polling on Canadians’ views toward international development and Official Development Assistance (ODA). Building on the same questions from the previous year, the findings highlight what Canadians believe matters most and where they think their government should focus its efforts. Read the full results here.
We were pleased to publish a range of stories from voices in global health this year, here are a few to check out this holiday season!
Dive deeper into our past year with our annual report! More interactive than ever before, we invite you to take a dynamic look back at a year marked by purposeful action and collaboration. Learn how, together with our members, we looked deeper, reached further and turned new ideas into impactful realities.
Have an opportunity that you would like to share with us? Please contact us at [email protected].
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