Prince George, B.C.-  It’s called “Inspiring Women Among Us”  a two week event  that  will not only  celebrate those  women in  our world who are inspiring,   it also  hopes to inspire women.

Starting  November 13th,    numerous events have been scheduled  throughout Prince George leading up  to the  November 25th memorial to be held at UNBC  to remember the women who were gunned down December 6th  twenty six years  ago at Ecole Polytechnique in  Montreal. ( it cannot be held on the actual anniversary date  as  UNBC classes are over for the semester)

“One of my colleagues  was concerned about the decreasing attendance  at the  December  6th Memorial” says UNBC faculty member Dr. Annie Booth.  “So I suggested maybe  we should do something to celebrate women as we  lead up to the day of remembrance, so we decided to  organize an event that would both recognize the contributions women have made in a variety of places  as well as encourage others.”

Speakers and panel sessions have been  planned to take place both on campus of UNBC  and  throughout the community.

The  event kicks off this  Friday  with a lecture by Dr. Leigh Torres of Oregon State University on marine conservation,   then  the weekend  comes alive with  an interactive science themed  event at the Geoffrey R. Weller Library at UNBC. “It’s targeted to  those 18  and under, so younger people  who are interested in science” says  Dr. Booth   “It’s really an opportunity to  get anybody  excited about science and research”.  That  Discovery Centre event  runs throughout the weekend.

While all of the events  planned for the 2 weeks  are  free to the public, Dr. Booth says   donations,  no matter how small,  will be accepted  “We are trying to  establish  an Inspiring Women Among Us award that is really going to be about women who faced some challenges  getting to school but want to do it with a little financial help, there will be an award specifically targeted to them.”

The two week  event is a very  ambitious  project,  Dr. Booth said it couldn’t have happened  without the help  of  so many, including faculty and students “We just really got a lot of  people who are really interested.”

Dr. Booth says the  event isn’t about denigrating the contributions of men, “It’s about recognizing another group that has also contributed  significantly  and also the  way all of us,  as a society, can come together and recognize the challenges that women still face.”

The complete program of  events over the two weeks  can be found here.

Dr. Booth  says  December 6th will always be a sombre reminder of  violence against women,  “I think if we have something positive, something celebratory , we’re showing here’s how we can help women achieve their dreams.”