Films depict struggles here and beyond

The local chapter of the Canadian Federation of University Women will mark the United Nations International Day of the Girl with a series of films highlighting the struggles of girls at home and abroad.
The screenings will take place on Oct. 11 at the Guelph Public Library and will run from noon to 5 p.m. The following are brief descriptions of the four films that will be shown:
Shannen’s Dream is a film about Shannen Koostachin and her belief that every First Nation child should have the right to go to a safe and ‘comfy’ school.
A Walk to Beautiful is an award-winning feature-length documentary telling the stories of five Ethiopian women who suffer from devastating childbirth injuries.
To Educate a Girl, filmed in Nepal and Uganda, two countries emerging from conflict and struggling with poverty, addresses the question “What does it take to educate a girl?”
Mohawk Girls is a film by Tracey Deer, who left Kahnawake as a teenager, using government subsidies to attend private school in Montreal. Now a graduate of Dartmouth University, she returns to Kahnawake to play a role in the evolution of her community.
For more information about the film-screening event, contact Cheryl Ambrose at 519-826-9987 or email communicationscfuwguelph@gmail.com.

U of G hosts keynote speaker

The University of Guelph will be celebrating the first International Day of the Girl on Oct. 11 with a day of workshops and activities for local high school students.
The event, for students in Grades 10 and 11, will celebrate “what it means to be a girl” and examine issues from diverse perspectives and contexts, a news release said.
It marks the first Day of the Girl, a designation given by the United Nations General Assembly. The day is intended to be an annual opportunity for discussing gender stereotypes, discrimination and opportunities for girls and women, the release said.
“This will be an annual event that engages resources from the university community as well as other local agencies that facilitate and mobilize social change to enhance the human rights of girls and women across the globe,” said U of G’s BetterPlanet Project special projects manager Emily Perreault in the news release.
Highlights of the event will include keynote speaker Kim Crosby, an artist, activist and facilitator who will discuss “what it means to be a girl,” the release said.
For more information or to register, visit www.uoguelph.ca/dayofthegirl.