Urban Economy Forum's Collaborative Initiative to Commemorate "International Women's Day 2024

Women and Urban SDGs

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Hon. Marci Ien

Marci Ien is Canada’s Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth, and the Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre – a community she has proudly represented since 2020. She is a passionate advocate for underserved communities in Canada, and around the world, with an award-winning journalism and television career spanning three decades.


As Minster, she remains focused on improving the lives of women, girls, youth and 2SLGBTQI+ communities across Canada.

Time Organization Event Topic
08:45 - 09:00am Urban Economy Forum Opening Remarks
09:00 - 09:15am Hon. Marci Ien Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth Keynote Speaker
09:15 - 09:20am The Daniels Corporation
09:20 - 09:25am The BlackNorth Initiative
09:25 - 09:50am Multicultural Action Group for Orphans (MAGO) Empowering International Racialized Women in Sistan & Baloochestan
09:50 - 10:20am Mothers to Daughters The Value of Intergenerational Mentoring
10:20 - 10:30am Break Break
10:30 - 11:30am Centre of Learning and Development (Regent Park) The Power of Community Engagement: A Conversation Between Women Creating Change
11:30 - 12:15pm Bank of Montreal (BMO) Empowering Women: Navigating the Financial Landscape
12:15 - 01:00pm Lunch & Networking Lunch, Networking & Live Music
01:00 - 02:00pm WeirFoulds LLP Women's Impact and Leadership in the Legal Sphere
02:00 - 03:00pm Women's Healthy Environment Network (Canada) Women’s Health and the Environment
03:00 - 03:15pm Break Break
03:15 - 04:00pm Silm Centre for Mental Health Radical Self-Care: Caring for Ourselves while Caring for Others
04:00 - 04:30pm Urban Economy Forum Group Conversation on Reflections and Conclusions

The concept of equity has become increasingly important in recent years, as we recognize that a just and sustainable world requires more than just equality. Equity involves ensuring that everyone has access to the resources and opportunities they need to thrive, regardless of their background or circumstances. This includes addressing historical and systemic barriers that have disproportionately impacted certain groups, such as women. 


Women's inclusion is a key component of achieving equity. Hence, cities have a key role to play in promoting gender equality and equity, and empowering women and girls to be active members in all aspects of society. This is critical to achieving the United Nations’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 5 – gender equality and SDG 11 - sustainable cities and communities.


UEF is dedicated to advancing the economic, political, and social inclusion and empowerment of women in urban areas, making gender equality a top priority at the global scale. In alignment with this commitment UEF, with collaboration of the World Urban Pavilion (WUP) , has established the program “Women and Urban SDGs” to collaborate with women’s organizations and leading urban actors to build new capacities for an equitable and just society where women are equal partners in realizing the SDGs.


International Women’s Day 2024

Join us in celebrating International Women’s Day on Friday, March 8th, 2024 to rally behind the call to “Invest in women: Accelerate progress”. The United Nations Women announced there are five key areas that need our joint action to ensure women are not left behind. 

1. Investing in women: A human rights issue

2. Ending poverty

3. Implementing gender-responsive financing

4. Shifting to a green and caring economy

5. Supporting feminist change-makers


Let’s come together to transform these challenges into opportunities. Women’s voices and perspectives are essential for establishing cities that are inclusive, just and equitable and achieving the urban SDGs.


Participation Benefits

The benefits in partnering with UEF on this initiative are numerous.

  • Using of WUP space (in person and virtually)
  • Bringing resources together
  • Sharing knowledge and expertise
  • Sharing of organizational logos as promotional tool
  • Breaking silos
  • Creating new avenues for communication, locally and at the global scale
  • Expanding networks
  • Building connectivity and inclusivity




UEF International Women's Day Program

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