Lauryn Oates, a human rights activist whose work is centralized in international development, women’s rights, and education in conflict zones, will speak in New Glasgow on May 7.
Oates founded the Vancouver and Montreal chapters of CW4WAfghan and is the organization’s projects director. She is also managing a teacher education program and other education projects in Afghanistan.
She holds a BA Honours in International Development Studies from McGill University, an MA in Human Security and Peacebuilding from Royal Roads University, and a PhD in Language and Literacy Education at the University of British Columbia.
She has been featured in a number of prominent Canadian magazines and newspapers, and was awarded a Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal for community service in 2013. Oates divides her time between her home on Canada's West Coast and Kabul.
The Evening in Support of Afghan Women and Girls is the Atlantic Chapter’s annual public engagement event, also serving to raise funds for CW4WAfghan’s teacher training program. The goal of the fundraising for the evening is to raise enough funds to cover the costs of training 10 teachers, or $4,000 ($400 per trainee).
As well as the keynote presentation by Oates there will be a reception and an Afghan marketplace.
The event will be held at Trinity United Church on Temperance Street in New Glasgow on Thursday, May 7. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
Tickets are $10 and are available through CW4WAfghan members or by contacting [email protected]
FACTBOX
Fast facts about CW4WAfghan
- Founded in 1996 in Calgary
- 13 chapters and affiliates across Canada
- Has raised over $6 million dollars in support of educational initiatives in Afghanistan
- Has trained almost 8,000 teachers since 2008; over 50 per cent in the past six months are women