Events and Conferences

CIHR Café Scientifique hosted by the Institute of Gender and Health

Wednesday, September 16, 2009, 5:00p.m.

Buddies In Bad Times Theatre, 12 Alexander Street, Toronto

Young people of all genders and sexualities are sexually active; the average age that Canadians first have sex is 17. So why is it when a girl is sexually active, she can be considered to be easy, but when a guy is sexually active he can be called a stud? How do these gendered stereotypes affect young people’s physical, emotional and sexual health? How do they intersect with race, class, and oppression? In what ways do these stereotypes influence how parents, teachers, researchers and health care providers talk and think about youth sexual health? Join us as we challenge these stereotypes in a lively discussion with experts in the field of youth sexual health.  

The event is free, but space is limited, so please RSVP Monica Penner at: ea-igh@exchange.ubc.ca by September 8th.

The 20^th National Conference of the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) Canada offers opportunities to participate in pre-conference workshops that include such current topics as newborn sepsis, STI's and reproductive health, intrapartum ethics, and research interpretation. You can also chieve professional education requirements by choosing from 36 concurrent sessions and interacting with 28 poster presenters. You will also have the opportunity to become acquainted with the latest in equipment technology and research by discussions with more than 24 industry exhibitors.

For registration information, visit the website.

October 18 to 24, 2009 Jouvence QC

Registration deadline: August 16, 2009

Are you somebody who gets fired up about issues? Do you want to make something happen in your community? Want to meet other young women with a passion for change? If this sounds like you, you should definitely register for the ELLE Project! ELLE Project is a free leadership retreat for young women between the ages of 16 and 25 put on as part of the Girls Action Foundation annual National Retreat. 20 young women from across Canada will be brought together just outside Montréal for 7 days of workshops, skillsharing, and fun times. Topics covered will include anti-oppression, media literacy, making your own media, mentorship strategies and more! For more information on logistics, programming and registration...

Check out our website.

You are invited to the launch of the POWER Study Cancer chapter.

Date: Thursday, August 20, 2009
Place: 2 Bond St., Higgin’s Conference Room 2-010
Time: 1:00 to 3:00 pm

Please RSVP by August 14, to powerstudy@smh.toronto.on.ca  or call 416-864-3041.

The POWER Study (Project for an Ontario Women’s Evidence-Based Health Report) is producing a comprehensive provincial Report on women’s
health. The Report is designed to serve as an evidence-based tool to help policy makers, health care providers and consumers improve the
health of, and reduce inequities among the women of Ontario. The Cancer chapter reports on leading causes of cancer in women, including cancers of the breast, reproductive system, lung, and
colorectal cancer. We report on cancer incidence, survival rates and end-of-life care; and include indicators that capture the continuum of cancer care (prevention, screening, treatment and follow-up, and end-of-life care). We examine performance on these indicators for women and men and assess differences by income, age and geography.

In addition to the presentation of the POWER Cancer findings, this event will provide an opportunity for networking and discussion of how findings can be used to promote women’s health and health equity in the province.

Available on our website for download are Chapter 1, Introduction to the POWER Study, Chapter 2, The POWER Study Framework, and Chapter 3, The Burden of Illness.

The biennial conference of the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse

November 15–18, 2009
Halifax, Nova Scotia

Reduced rate for ‘early-bird’ registration, until September 18

The theme for this conference draws inspiration from the National Treatment Strategy (NTS). Released in November 2008, the NTS sets out a vision and action plan for improving Canada’s substance abuse treatment system. The conference theme explores the personal "pathways to change" that individuals can pursue into and through a tiered model of treatment that strives to ensure services and supports are matched to individual needs, are provided in a timely fashion, and are evidence based. The conference will also examine "system bridges"—some established and others yet to be developed—across the range of services that are important to ensure tightly coordinated care experiences.

Full info on the website.

October 4-10, 2009

Mental Illness Awareness Week (MIAW) is an annual national public education campaign designed to help open the eyes of Canadians to the reality of mental illness. The week was established in 1992 by the Canadian Psychiatric Association, and is now coordinated by the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health (CAMIMH) in cooperation with all its member organizations and many other supporters across Canada. Campaign elements include: a grassroots public education initiative; a nationally-distributed poster and bookmark series; the Annual Champions of Mental Health Awards luncheon in Ottawa and an education initiative with federal Members of Parliament, both in their home ridings and on Parliament Hill.

Visit our website here.

October 27 - 29, 2009 Vancouver, BC

Wounded Souls and the Vulnerable Self is a three-day international conference that aims to address addiction pathology as it relates to traumatic experiences. The conference will examine questions of psychological trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder, concurrent disorders, substance type and route of ingestion, best evidence-based treatment and new discoveries in the area of trauma and addiction. These challenging questions and others will be addressed by an international group of clinicians, researchers, policy makers and students. The conference will be held at UBC at the First Nations Longhouse.

For more information, please visit the website.

Women’s World - a trilingual website launched this month is devoted to a 2011 global feminist event. This signals the start of a countdown to what will likely be the largest women's conference in Canada's history. Women's Worlds 2011 (WW 2011). "Inclusions, Exclusions, and Seclusions: Living in a Globalized World" is the theme of the international and interdisciplinary gathering of and about women to be held in Ottawa-Gatineau, Canada from July 3-7, 2011. Visit the website.

The Building Bridges workshop will be held in North Vancouver on June 3rd and 4th. Building Bridges is a provincial initiative aimed at increasing our knowledge about the links between woman abuse, substance use and mental illness and facilitating cross-sectoral dialogue to improve service provision for women. The Woman Abuse Response Program of BC Women's Hospital and Health Centre is hosting this workshop as part of this year's province-wide training and consultation.

Based on a recent survey, three-quarters of Canadian women don't know how certain diseases and conditions affect them differently from men. Most women can't identify the symptoms they might experience during a heart attack. Most younger women don't know that they're experiencing the biggest rise in diabetes and non-melanoma skin cancer. And most women don't know that they might be taking medication tested predominately on men.  On June 8, Women'sCollege Hospital presents Dr. Virginia Miller, renowned scientist and expert in the area of sex-based differences in cardiovascular disease. The event is from 7:30-9 a.m. at Sutton Place Hotel in Toronto.