ONWA’s 53rd AGA & Leadership Conference “Collective Voices – Healing · Intention · Community”

ONWA’s 53rd AGA & Leadership Conference “Collective Voices – Healing · Intention · Community”

Thunder Bay, ON – The Ontario Native Women’s Association’s (ONWA) 53rd Annual General Assembly (AGA) & Leadership Conference is taking place September 13-15 at the Best Western Plus Nor’wester Hotel & Conference Centre in Thunder Bay.

Every year, ONWA Membership gathers from across Ontario to highlight and reflect on the accomplishments of the past year and plan for the coming year. The theme for this year’s AGA is “Collective Voices – Healing · Intention · Community”. The AGA & Leadership Conference provides a platform for membership to engage in discussions on Indigenous women’s current priorities, wise practices, and change opportunities.

Indigenous women are stronger together. Harnessing the power of our collective voices is the essence of ONWA. This year we celebrate our wisdom and embrace opportunity. We work together to carry forward our experience and knowledge to keep community well and safe. Sessions in this year’s agenda involve leveraging our traditional teachings to guide us, establishing our current priorities, and preparing for our leadership journey ahead.

“Indigenous women’s voices must be centered in all conversations about community well-being and approaches to dismantle systemic structures that lead to gender-based violence. Indigenous women and girls are the experts in their own lives; they carry inherent traditional knowledge about how to care for community and Mother Earth. They are uniquely positioned to speak to the challenges Indigenous women and girls face and contribute to establishing sustainable solutions to ensure their safety, healing, empowerment, and self-determination.” – Cora McGuire-Cyrette, Chief Executive Officer, ONWA.

ONWA will also be signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ontario Municipal Social Services Association (OMSSA). ONWA recognizes the importance of establishing and maintaining a relationship between Ontario’s municipal service system managers and Indigenous women’s organizations to meet the needs of Indigenous women and their families in urban and rural communities across Ontario. This MOU signifies a first of its kind relationship between OMSSA and an Indigenous women’s organization – a gap that will be filled through meaningful dialogue and actions that are mutually beneficial and have positive collective impacts.

For more information and media inquiries, contact:

Andre Morriseau

Communications Manager,

Ontario Native Women’s Association (ONWA)

Email: amorriseau@onwa.ca

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