A year ago Amanda Todd took her own life because of cyber bullying. Author and child activist Raffi Cavoukian has written an article featured in The Star. Please read the article here: For more information about cyberbullying and Raffi, please visit his website:...
In one of our Grade 10 Respectful Relationships workshops this past week, we spoke with youth about our 5-month social justice youth facilitator training that we do on Monday evenings after school. Our R+R Youth Team co- facilitate sessions with the Adult Facilitators...
Author Masha Gessen is leaving her home in Russia and moving to the United States with her partner and three children. Gessen is the courageous author of the book entitled The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin and has been the only openly gay...
The SWOVA library recently added a film to its collection. “Fat Body (In) Visible,” is a short film by Margitte Kristjansson and a fascinating insight into the lives of two fat activist women, Jessica and Keena. The norm in our society is to believe that fat is bad,...
The eleven young women who make up the Youth Advisory Council for the Salish Sea Girls’ Leadership Project (SSGLP) will be joining the ranks of off island commuters over the next few weeks. In order to explore what their peers from Galiano, Mayne, Pender and Saturna...
A clear vision, a number of passionate and engaged youth, inspiring performers, and many generous community donations, make up the Sparkfest recipe for success. The vision comes from Kate Maurice – Mentor/Supervisor of SWOVA’s Pass It On program - and from amazing...
I feel that the SWOVA youth team has impacted my life in such a dramatic way that it would be an injustice to fail to recognize it. As a graduating member of the Respectful Relationships Youth Team, I can say with confidence that the future is in good hands. Working...
In my life, the mentor's I've had have always been people I've recognized after the fact. I think it's rarer when we find ourselves in intentional mentoring. In either direction — to have the confidence to believe you could be a mentor to someone or conversely the...
This following image was chosen by the Obama campaign to be the image that came up when they declared their victory in November. It went on to become one of the most liked photographs of all time (it was an image actually taken last August). Someone commented that it...
The recent tragic suicide of Amanda Todd is front-page news in Canada. Cyber-bullying and other forms of bullying are the topic of many conversations. What seems to be missing from the conversations is the desire to look at the systemic violence, attitudes and...
Social and emotional learning are as important to our children as learning to read and write. They are skills for life that will support our children to become successful and caring adults. They are the skills that build community and our relationships with each...
I literally read this book over 48 hours. “A Walk Across the Sun”, by Corban Addison, is a compelling novel following two young South Asian girls who are betrayed by people that they trusted and sold into slavery, after losing their family in the 2000 Tsunami. ...
Statistics tell us that one in three women and one in six men will experience some form of sexual violence in their lifetime, while less than one in ten assaults are reported to the authorities. Most sexual assaults happen by someone the victim knows. (Stats Can 2004)...
Read Canadain Women's Foundation Blog Post "Day 8: How SWOVA is Helping BC Teens Develop Respectful Relationship Skills"
"Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow is yet to come. We have only today. Let us begin." Mother Theresa During the month of October and November Christina Antonick and I were in the classes of primarily grade 3, 4 and 5 students delivering the Peace Kids program....
"Together we can face any challenges as deep as the ocean and as high as the sky." - Sonia Gandhi- In early October, I was blessed to travel to Calgary for a national meeting of Canadian Women's Foundation's 17 Teen Healthy Relationships Grantees - of which our...
I find that definitions can be limiting and problematic, and I’d like to see if I can encourage you to think for yourselves about what this word, or movement, or ideology might mean to you. Instead I’ll start by providing a few different definitions I’ve come across...
On May 25th girls from the Salish Sea Girls' Leadership Project and recruits from grade 12 at GISS (Gulf Islands Secondary School) entered the high school to talk to the grade 11 students about sexual health and consent. In my own experience, and in speaking with...
Sparkfest is the annual SWOVA fundraiser that the youth from Pass It On organize. This year on April 30, they really outdid themselves: Music by Ashleigh Ball from Hey Ocean, Tara Maclean & Suzanne Little, spoken word from Morgan Klassen, and the GISS imrov team....
As the last months of Pass it On pass by, I am confronted with the word commitment. We all practice commitment in our lives, more often unconsciously. We are the most committed to our lovers, children, friends and habits, following through in our support without...