Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Women

The 2021 OSSTF/FEESO Status of Women conference, “Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Women,” will take place virtually via Zoom on Friday, May 7, 2021, and Saturday, May 8, 2021. The conference will be a safe space to discuss and share ideas. The goal is to provide information to help strengthen and inspire the local OSSTF/FEESO Status of Women Committees and their work.

The conference opens Friday evening with an Indigenous welcome given by Dawn Maracle, Indigenous educator, followed by our keynote speaker, Sandy Hudson, co-founder of Black Lives Matter, Canada. There will also be a short journey into her leadership experience, shared by Annamie Paul, the leader of the federal Green Party. Our panel discussion, ‘Women in Politics—Taking that Next Step’ features Marit Stiles, education critic, and Laura Mae Lindo, the universities critic for the provincial New Democratic Party, joined by OSSTF/FEESO’s own women leaders Martha Hradowy, Malini Leahy and Karen Littlewood.

There will be a networking suite available for informal discussions in the evening.

On Saturday morning, delegates will choose from a variety of workshops featuring:

• Centre for Research and Education on Violence Against Women and Girls
• Educators Financial Group
• Canadian Labour Congress
• Dawn Maracle
• White Ribbon
• OASIS
• Susan McPhail
• OSSTF/FEESO CPA Department

OSSTF/FEESO Provincial Office will cover the cost of conference materials, meals, and dependent care and, where required, time-release for designated district delegates. The allocation for District-based conferences reflects district FTE numbers.

Delegates must have approval from their District president to attend before registering.

There are spaces available for two additional OSSTF/FEESO members per District who may wish to attend the conference in addition to the designated District delegates. The District will be responsible for all costs associated with additional delegates, including meals, time-release, and dependent care.

The conference registration deadline has been extended and must be submitted online no later than Friday, April 30, 2021.

Please log into the OSSTF/FEESO website to register and get more information. This event can be found in the Upcoming Events section on the Registered Users homepage. A link to the Status of Women Conference 2021 event with the CVENT registration page is located there.