Former Governor General Adrienne Clarkson to keynote gender equality event
Canada’s 26th Governor General, best-selling author and journalist, Adrienne Clarkson, will headline U of G’s HeForShe virtual celebration on March 10th an event that recognizes gender equality initiatives of students and community supporters.
Clarkson will discuss her various life experiences, education and career and how resilience is about developing the mental, spiritual and emotional muscles to deal with life’s challenges.
“Resilience is all about having the ability to form and re-form your own particular sets of talents and abilities to meet new challenges,” said Clarkson. “And meeting new challenges throughout your life is what resilience is all about.”
Clarkson arrived in Canada from Hong Kong with her family in 1942 and made the journey from a poor child refugee to accomplished broadcaster, journalist, and distinguished public servant. She became Canada’s 26th Governor General from 1999 to 2005 and later co-founded the Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC) which helps new citizens to feel involved and included in Canadian life.
She is the bestselling author of Heart Matters: A Memoir, a biography of Dr. Norman Bethune for the Extraordinary Canadians series, Room for All of Us, and Belonging: The Paradox of Citizenship.
Initiated by the UN, the HeForShe movement is a solidarity campaign for the advancement of gender equality. Its goal is to achieve equality by encouraging all genders to partake as agents of change and take action against negative stereotypes and behaviors.
In addition to Clarkson’s talk, the U of G event will also celebrate students and businesses that are championing gender equality. The following awards will be announced:
- Resilience award: Two $5,000 scholarships awarded to a female business student and a female engineering student who have shown leadership and resilience through adversity. This scholarship is renamed each year to celebrate the leadership of the keynote speaker of the annual HeForShe event at U of G.
- Ally Award: This $2,500 scholarship is awarded to a U of G undergraduate student who has demonstrated through their actions and support of various initiatives that they are an ally to gender equality.
- Impact Award: recognizes a local business or organization in Guelph-Wellington region that is actively promoting and improving gender equity through initiatives that they have championed or supported resulting in positive change within the organization and the community. The winner receives a plaque and a $2,500 donation to a local charity made in their name.
To date, U of G has awarded $40,000 to students that champion gender equality.
The HeForShe at U of G event is a collaboration among the Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics, Gryphon Football, and the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences (CEPS).
In previous years, this event has included keynote speakers from a variety of industries, including Lisa Lisson, president of FedEx Express Canada, and business news reporter Amanda Lang.