October Newsletter 2012

Your Lady Politician info for the month of October: Status of Women @ BCTF, Campaign School Survey, and more! Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.  "Tenacity, Perseverance, and Empathy"  Great advice from the one-and-only Arianna Huffington, on what it takes to run for office, and what women need to do to shatter the glass ceiling and create change. Here's an excerpt from the article on BlogHer: “These qualities," Arianna says, "embody our ability as women to transcend existing paradigms of work, politics and society in general. Yet beyond the cultural, legal & political obstacles are the personal". At times, we are our own worst enemies, letting fears get in the way of our own successes. She encourages all women to push on, knowing fear is essential to success, but creating supportive tribes to help us along the journey. We thought the full article was really enlightening; tell us on Facebook what you thought!  *|FACEBOOK:LIKE|* *|FACEBOOK:COMMENTS|* More Great Women! When last in Toronto, Sandy got together with Leah Eichler, founder of Femme-O-Nomics http://Femme-O-Nomics.com and Saturday Globe and Mail business columnist of Women@work. Leah has created an online networking model that appeals instinctively to women. It’s about time the business world took note of expanded approaches to doing business. YAY! While networking in Vancouver, Sandy had a productive meeting with Sherri Moore-Arbour, the Director of Communications with the BC School Trustees Association (BCSTA). Sandy'd filmed Sherri at the Famous Five installation in Ottawa, back in 2009.  Sherri has offered to help out with our ‘Dancing Backwards’ program (see below) by providing introductions to movers and shakers in BC’s education field. Thanks Sherri. www.bcsta.org                               *|FACEBOOK:LIKE|* From Sandy's Desk On Sept 27, I had the opportunity to present the newest DWtO tentacle - Dancing Backwards – Let’s Get Canada’s Political Women into History! – to the Status of Women group, part of the Social Justice Committee of the BC Teachers Federation (BCTF) in Vancouver. Thanks to Susan Ruzic for inviting me to speak.  BCTF has offered to assist and promote the program and bought a copy of the Hearland Associates' book on the subject. Teachers complain that it’s hard to find any mention in our history books of the women who came before us. Those who fought for a woman’s right to vote, for the protection of family rights, and to be recognized as “persons” under the law. How can we effectively teach students about the courageous acts of these political foremothers? In a nutshell here's the idea: DWtO will assist students as they research and create content to be posted to an online video library celebrating the social history of Canadian women in politics. The goal? To combat youth voter apathy by offering role models that engage young people in the political conversation. The video storytelling – by students for students – will offer an accessible online edu-tool that bridges past and present, awakening girls and boys to politics.  Are you a teacher of any grade interested in participating in this pilot program? Please contact me! Much of September was spent grant writing – thanks for your help intern Hannah! Stay tuned - you might just be asked to vote for us on BC Ideas Changemakers. Friend on Facebook Follow on Twitter Forward to a Friend What we do Dancing with the Octopus is a passionate, entertaining, non-partisan, 8-tentacled media project inviting women of all ages to enter the conversation about the how's and why's of getting more women into politics in Canada and abroad. LadyPoliNews During the month of September we noted: - One Billion Rising: Dr. Mukwege, Godfather of V-Men, Puts Out a Call to Men - Sexism Sells – But We’re Not Buying It – Women’s Media Centre - Lift up women to lift up the world BCTF Status of Women Committee Jody Tetreau, Kristin Quigley, DWtO's Sandi Chan, Susan Ruzic, and Carol Arnold Survey for the Women Voters Congress Hey, how about taking the Women Voters Congress survey? Your feedback can help the Vancouver Campaign School slated to be held the weekend of October 19th & 20th. Click here for the survey and to register. Sandy attended in 2009, workshopping with terrific LadyPolis who helped kickstart the Octopus project. Many who participate don't actually run for office – the training is useful for any kind of leadership capacity.  The key is that you come away with good skills, an awareness of the realities of political life, and an in-depth understanding of the political process and involvement options. As Equal Voice says: “Be the woman, or support the woman!”   Happy Thanksgiving One and All.  follow on Twitter | friend on Facebook | forward to a friend  Contact us to donate or volunteer your talents!  unsubscribe from this list | update subscription preferences