I want to share an opportunity that may be of interest to some of you. The Alberta Council of Women's Shelters (ACWS) is hosting a conference in May 2023 on the theme of "Inspiring Ethical Spaces in Gender-based Violence Prevention." We are experiencing a rising tide of awareness around intersectionality and systemic discrimination, at the same time as a reversion of the rights and freedoms of women, trans, and gender-diverse people across the globe. The Leading Change™ Summit will create a forum to explore how we can face these opportunities and challenges, incorporate different ways of knowing, and apply new ways of interacting to create lasting and meaningful change in the pursuit to end gender-based violence and transform our culture.

To create a powerful and meaningful event, ACWS is seeking proposals from those working on the front lines in education and awareness, those advocating for emerging and traditional practices in changing social norms, those researching varying modalities for violence prevention, and those with lived experience to share about their work, experiences, obstacles, challenges, and successes.

Potential topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

The intersections of prevention and intervention
Forms and tactics of gender-based violence, e.g. coercive controlling violence
Exploring layered vulnerabilities and intersectional Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion to approaches that support prevention among populations at higher risk of experiencing violence
Indigenous contexts for healing, justice-seeking, and violence prevention
Examples of implementing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action, the Reclaiming Power and Place Report Calls for Justice, and the Alberta Pathways to Justice
Creating culturally safe spaces for clients and staff to promote prevention and healing
Developing responsive and respectful prevention programming in multicultural contexts
Lateral violence prevention and intervention
Transformative Justice and Justice Reform
Economic interventions to help prevent violence (e.g. childcare, education, training, poverty reduction)
Strengths-based and transformative approaches to prevention
Addressing domestic violence in the workplace
Engaging men and boys
The evolving client experience (i.e. who are we serving, what is their reality)
The role of the media in gender-based violence prevention and transforming social norms
Practical assessment tools, practical skills development in creating ethical spaces
Organizational support within the sector (i.e. creating ethical spaces for employees and clients)
Healing modalities and emerging practices to support those working in gender-based violence prevention
Understanding trauma, including the intersection of addictions, mental health, and trauma
The effects of gender-based violence on brain development

For more information, and to submit a proposal, please visit the Leading Change™ Summit website: Circles of Change: Inspiring Ethical Spaces in Gender-based Violence Prevention - Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters (acws.ca).

Miranda Pilipchuk (she/her)

Research and Evaluation Coordinator
Alberta Council of Women's Shelters

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ᐊᒥᐢᑿᒌᐚᐢᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ (Amiskwacîwâskahikan), Treaty 6 Territory

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Edmonton, AB T5J 3L8
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