Another Successful International Conference

Participant feedback was overwhelmingly positive for our third London conference on children and domestic violence in 2007. Conference co-hosts were our Centre, the Centre for Research & Education on Violence Against Women and Children, and the CAMH Centre for Prevention Science. Highlights were the opening remarks by Governor General Michaëlle Jean and a great slate of plenary speakers including Arun Gandhi, Cindy Blackstock of the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society of Canada, Aldijana Sisic of Amnesty International, and Jackson Katz.

Alberta Project Starts

2009 marks the start of a three-year project with the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters and the shelters in five First Nation communities to collaboratively develop an intervention model for young children who lived with violence at home. Funding comes from the National Crime Prevention Centre in Ottawa and the Alberta government. Five amazing women are now working in the five communities to support families who have left the shelter and hope to stay resident in the local area.

Social Entrepreneurship Nomination

From among 243 entries from 46 countries, the Centre was honoured to be one of 15 finalists named in this Changemakers collaborative competition in 2007. Four judges, representing the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Family Violence Prevention Fund, and the Waitt Institute for Violence Prevention, said the finalists reflected “outstanding demonstration of innovation, social impact, and sustainability.” On their web site, you can find descriptions of the three winners, the 15 finalists and the 243 submissions. Our project was about helping abused women as mothers.

International Visitors

We've recently welcomed visitors from Norway, New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa, Hong Kong, Japan, Brazil, and lots of Swedes and Australians. Our web site gets visitors from 213 countries (we’re still waiting for North Korea). Our publications were purchased from places as far away as Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and China.

Margaret McCain Lecture

The third lecture in this series was delivered in April 2009 by Ben Barry. As a teenager, Ben founded the first modelling agency to represent models of all ages, sizes, backgrounds and abilities, challenging the status-quo beauty ideal. Each lecture in the Margaret McCain lecture series addresses a topic of interest shared by Margaret and our staff, such as the early years and the effects of violence on children. Proceeds go to the Centre's Upstream Endowment campaign, building a legacy for the next generation.

Youth Mental Health Day

In April of 2009, a day-long conference for 300 people at the London Convention Centre showcased local examples of outreach and intervention for youth struggling with mental health challenges. The event coincided with the first anniversary of the Youth Mental Health Court, now renamed the Youth Therapeutic Court.