Almas Jiwani to Deliver Keynote Address at the National Day of Remembrance and the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Dec. 4, 2014) - Almas Jiwani, President of UN Women National Committee Canada will deliver the keynote address at the National Day of Remembrance and the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence organized by Arising Women & The Invictus Project to celebrate the survivors and short lives of the 14 young women at l'École Polytechnique de Montréal, and the thousands of lives that have ended violently due to their gender.

This event will be held at the Metro Hall, 55 John Street, Toronto, Ontario from 10:00am to 4:00pm on December 6, 2014.

Following the keynote address, the event will host an influential male-panel entitled "Ending Violence Again Women," in addition to special remarks by several of the survivors and men engaged in the fight against gender based violence.

Almas Jiwani, President of UN Women National Committee Canada, had this to say on the importance this event symbolizes:

"The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign is an important reminder of the many opportunities we have to combat violence against women and gender inequality. 1 in 3 women globally will experience sexual or physical violence in her lifetime; in Canada, 1 woman is killed by her intimate partner every six days. This is unacceptable, and it is preventable," says Ms. Almas Jiwani. "We need inclusive, sustainable and effective solutions to end gender-based violence; to do this, we need to include men as actors in speaking up about, and defending gender equality. Men must raise their voices in equality, not their hands. The HeForShe campaign launched by UN Women is the first endeavor to mobilize men and boys as change makers. The 16 Days of Activism is a great way to learn and recognize that gender equality doesn't just benefit women - it can benefit all."

"Arising Women and the Invictus Project are proud to have Ms. Almas Jiwani, President of UN Women National Committee Canada, as our notable keynote speaker at this very important conference. Ms. Almas Jiwani is an iconic internationally-recognized advocate for efforts to end gender based violence, improving women's economic and political empowerment, and furthering women's rights, and her award-winning commitments to these goals has positively impacted women at home and abroad. We are particularly excited to hear about UN Women's HeForShe campaign, which aims to mobilize men and boys in the development of solutions to end violence against women and gender inequality, and how it relates to the National Day of Remembrance and Canadian efforts to solve these issues," said Ms Annie Kashamura Zawadi, President of Arising Women.

The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, established in 1991 at Rutgers University, is a global campaign that seeks to mobilize communities worldwide and end all forms of violence perpetrated on the grounds of gender.

For more information about this event, visit: http://ow.ly/F54RJ

Join the Conversation: Follow @HeforShe @AlmasJiwani @UNWomen @UNWomenCanada and share your messages of solidarity using the hashtag #heforshe #16days #orangeurhood

All boys and men are invited to join the HeForShe movement. Please take action and pledge today at http://www.heforshe.org/#take-action.

About HeForShe

UN Women's Solidarity Movement for Gender Equality bringing together one half of humanity in support of the other half of humanity, for the benefit of all. www.heforshe.org

About UN Women

UN Women is the UN organization dedicated to Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women. A global champion for women and girls. UN Women was established to accelerate meeting their needs worldwide. www.unwomen.org

About UN Women National Committee Canada

UN Women National Committee Canada is an independent non-governmental organization that supports the mission of UN Women through public awareness initiatives about UN Women and global women's issues, and fundraising efforts to support UN Women programs worldwide.