International Women's Day; A Growing Celebration

Whether it's a Web cast from the United Nations, a luncheon in Amherst or a concert at Pier 21, International Women's Day, will be marked Saturday, March 8, with an incredible variety of events all over the province.

"We were delighted with the response to tickets for the concert in Halifax," said Rita Warner, chair of the Advisory Council on the Status of Women. "We're totally sold out, and the auditorium is filled to capacity."

Originally a little-known special day, first celebrated in 1911 to honour women workers, International Women's Day received official recognition from the United Nations in 1977.

Now, the Advisory Council on the Status of Women Web site, www.gov.ns.ca/staw , shows programs planned in many communities to mark and celebrate the day. With increasing anxiety about the risk of war, activities to promote peace have particular prominence this year.

"We should remember that the 1977 UN Declaration was for a day to mark Women's Rights and International Peace, so the links to the peace movement were there from the beginning," said Ms. Warner.

The Celebrating Women concert in Halifax is the grand finale of the 25th anniversary celebrations of the Advisory Council on the Status of Women. It was developed in partnership with the Aeolian Singers. Sponsorship from the Atlantic Centre of Excellence on Women's Health, the Nova Scotia Community College, the Nova Scotia Teachers Union, the CBC and many individual donors will allow all proceeds from the concert be used for the benefit of girls and women in Afghanistan.