In this panel discussion, seven young women share their perspectives on gender equality with over 130 women leaders. The venue is the first national meeting of GENC, the Gender Equality Network Canada, a three-year initiative to identify systemic barriers to gender equality and take collective action. GENC is convened by the Canadian Women’s Foundation and funded by Status of Women Canada.
Learn more about the Foundation: https://www.canadianwomen.org/
YOUTH PANELISTS (in speaking order)
Andrea (Andy) Villanueva is a young-poor-marginalized upcoming female director. This year she won the Horizon Award at the Sundance Film Festival and screened her film at the short film corner in Cannes Film festival. Her films have also been screened in New York Times Square, and in venues in TIFF Bell Lightbox. She’s also known for her successful policy campaign “Project Slut” which has been covered by Buzzfeed, CBC, National Post, and the Toronto Star. Despite adversity she pursues her dreams of directing in hopes to pave way for other Latina filmmakers.
Awo Abokor is a community-based educator and facilitator based in Toronto. She is passionate about working with young women and creating spaces for community-capacity building. Most of her work has been with non-profits and in post-secondary settings, and is guided by the conceptual frameworks of Intersectional Feminism, Afrofuturism and Anti-Oppression practices.
Dvorah Silverman is a young feminist with a passion for furthering anti-oppressive values, challenging violence and working at the community level to affect change. As a community organizer, volunteer and online contributor with 4 years’ experience in the non-profit sector, Dvorah has shown her commitment to amplifying girls and young women’s voices and advocating against gender-based violence from an intersectional lens. This includes her involvement in the development of Data Spark, a girl-centered online evaluation platform, as well as a variety of feminist publications ranging from reports and research reviews to online resources and community-based workshop guides. Presently, as YWCA Toronto’s Volunteer and Special Projects Coordinator, Dvorah acts as a bridge builder between front-line service workers and philanthropy, supporting and addressing the needs of YWCA Toronto’s 32 programs and services.
Nasma Ahmed is a black Muslimah working within the intersections of social justice, technology, and policy. She is a technologist and capacity builder based in Toronto who is passionate about building accessible and inclusive technology for communities she cares about. Currently she works with feminist organizations in Canada focusing on digital literacy and digital security. She recently graduated from the University of Toronto majoring in Public Policy and City Studies.
Sydney Piggott is a graduate student from Montréal, Québec studying Global Affairs at the University of Toronto – Munk School of Global Affairs. She holds an undergraduate degree in International Development Studies from McGill University and has professional experience in corporate social responsibility, gender advocacy, youth leadership, and education. She recently completed an internship working with youth in disadvantaged communities in Cape Town, South Africa as a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholar. Sydney also works as a project coordinator for YWCA Canada here in Toronto assisting with projects related to leadership and community engagement for girls and young women across the country.
Wendy De Souza is a first-generation Canadian and a proud Torontonian with Indigenous roots in Brazil. Her passion for working with vulnerable populations and racialized youth stems from her experiences growing up in a violent and low-income community in the west end of Toronto. Although a brilliant child heavily active in middle school, she experienced much discouragement as a teenager from her teachers and school system. This alienation led her to pursue active learning while creating safer spaces that brought knowledge and resources to community utilizing an art based approach. She has 10+ years experience facilitating popular education style workshops that focus on topics like gender based violence, healthy relationships and youth development. Her mission is to continue creating safer spaces that bridge the ‘hood with academia by making education and learning fun and accessible to marginalized youth.
Cassandra Zaugg-Fraser is a member of the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation. Aanishinabe and Kanienkehaka, Bear clan. A proud mother of two and is a third-year student at the University of Wilfrid Laurier University. Working towards her BA in Law and Society with a minor in Indigenous Studies, Cassandra hopes to one day be a university professor and/or work for her First Nation.
