Welcome to July's Newsletter!

Past BCCIC sponsored events

Stand Up Against Poverty Planning Day

Tuesday, July 6, 2010 - 9:00am - 11:00am
We will meet at the BCCIC office next Tuesday July 6th at 9am for a couple of hours to talk about what we'd like to do for the SEPTEMBER 18th -   Make Noise For the MDG's Event.

We had discussed the idea of doing a big, musical event - in a flash mob style, conducted by a professional musician such as Sal Ferreras or Bramwell Tovey.

The meeting next week will help us deepen our vision and see if what we are planning has any legs......

Location: 
BCCIC Office - 23 West Pender St, Vancouver

Swing Dance Fundraiser for BCCIC!!

Friday, June 11, 2010 - 7:30pm
Location: 
Maritime Labour Centre

Pakistan Development Forum

Saturday, June 5, 2010 - 10:30am - 3:30pm

Simon Fraser University Surrey
Sponsored by the British Columbia Council for International Cooperation and The Maria-Helena Foundation
A number of organizations are joining hands to display and present their development work in Pakistan, including The Maria-Helena Foundation, The Citizens Foundation, the Human Development Foundation, and the CARE Foundation, Pakistan.
Please join us to learn about our development efforts in Pakistan. Let us work together to make a difference in the lives of millions of underserved, but deserving Pakistanis.

For full program, click here.


Post Forum Synopsis

The all-day Forum was hosted by BCCIC and the Maria-Helena Foundation with participation from The Citizens Foundation, Oxfam Canada, and Care Foundation (Pakistan). It was intended to raise awareness amongst Pakistani diaspora about how they can support development efforts in Pakistan via these charities, particularly relating to education of women, and ending violence against women.

The Forum was well-attended by students, professionals, and families. The Executive Director of BCCIC, Shams Alibhai, articulated the Council’s commitment to support the fostering of leadership and organizational development for the various charities.

Subsequently, Aamir Baig and Abdul Allibhoy from the Citizens Foundation (TCF) showed a TCF achievement video and presented statistics on the current state of education in Pakistan. TCF strives to provide quality education to needy children of Pakistan, and, in the small span of 15 years, has built 660 schools in various urban and rural areas, providing quality education to 92,000 students. TCF only appoints females to its teaching staff, and currently employs 4800 female teachers.

Miriam Palacios, the Oxfam representative, spoke about her organization’s initiative to end violence against women. Miriam, originally from Guatemala, travelled to Pakistan to establish a chapter of the international 'We Can End All Violence against Women' campaign.

Dr. Muhammad Iqbal, President and Founder of the Maria-Helena Foundation (MHF), addressed the importance of tackling the population explosion and poverty in Pakistan. He mentioned education being a key factor in helping alleviate poverty, and emphasized the importance of female education to reduce fertility rates, child mortality, maternal mortality, and violence against women in Pakistan. Tahir Din, also from MHF, addressed the use of social networking to fundraise for scholarships.

The last speaker of the day was Hafsa Ishtiaq, who represented CARE Foundation, (Pakistan). Hafsa highlighted how CARE distinguishes itself from other organizations by adopting government-run schools, and improving their physical infrastructure and human capital. This is achieved by constructing missing facilities such as libraries and science labs and training teachers. In this manner, CARE maximizes existing physical and human capital, making its undertakings efficient and cost-effective. 

Location: 
Simon Fraser University, Surrey 13450 - 102nd Avenue

International Development Drinks

Friday, May 21, 2010 - 5:30pm - 8:00pm

Contrary to the newsletter error, International Development Drinks is occurring on May 21st, the Friday. See you there!

Join us at Ceilis Irish Pub on May 21, 2010 at 5pm for a casual gathering of people and organizations interested in international development. This is an opportunity to chat, debate, socialize and connect with others who are passionate about working, volunteering and learning more about international development.

Theme: Sharing for Social Justice!

Pictures from last time here

International Development Drinks Night!

Thursday, March 25, 2010 - 5:00pm - 8:00pm

BCCIC is excited to announce our next International Development Drinks Night!

Please join us on Thursday March 25, 2010 at Ceili’s Irish Pub and Restaurant , 5-8 pm (670 Smithe Street, Vancouver) for a casual gathering of people and organizations interested in international development. This is an opportunity to chat, debate, socialize and connect with others who are passionate about working, volunteering and learning more about international development. For more information or to RSVP, please contact Nicole at info@bccic.ca.

Location: 
Ceili’s Irish Pub and Restaurant 670 Smithe Street, Vancouver

BCCIC Membership Meeting & Social Media Training Day

Tuesday, March 9, 2010 - 10:00am - 5:00pm

Here is an exciting learning opportunity for all of you who have been wanting to increase your social media skills!

Tuesday March 9th in Vancouver we will have Shauna Sylvester and Kaitlyn Braybrooke from Canada's World showing us how they were able to mobilize and engage a very diverse audience for a National dialogue on Canada's changing role in global politics - in large part due to their success using social media tools.

This will also be a very "hands on" session that will take all of us "newbies" through some step-by-step learning with platforms like Facebook and Twitter - two very important outreach and engagement tools that have proven very successful, particularly in engaging youth participants.

We will also take some time in the morning for a Member's Meeting to discuss recent campaigns for International Development Week.

Please do RSVP to Nicole at info@bccic.ca if you plan to attend. More details attached.

Location: 
YWCA Hotel Vancouver

Women's Voices at the Table

Saturday, March 6, 2010 - 12:00pm - 5:00pm

Each year around the world, International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on March 8. Hundreds of events occur not just on this day but throughout March to mark the economic, political and social achievements of wome.  Join us for the Women's Voices at the Table event on March 6. The rally will take place from 12-1pm at the Vancouver Art Gallery, followed by a conference from 1:30-5pm at the Vancouver Public LIbrary's Alice McKay Room.

Learn more at www.iwdvancouver.ca

Location: 
Vancouver Public LIbrary

An Island Toast to International Development

Tuesday, February 9, 2010 - 5:00pm - 6:30pm

Join BCCIC at Swan's Brew Pub for a casual gathering of Vancouver Island based people and organizations interested in or working within international development.  This is an opportunity to chat, debate, socialize and connect with others who are passionate about working, volunteering and learning about the sector.

View the poster.

Location: 
Swan's Brew Pub, Victoria

Youth Event at the Sid Williams Theatre

Friday, February 5, 2010 - 12:00pm - 2:00pm

World Community and the BC Council for International Cooperation (BCCIC) would like to invite your students to a Youth Event at the Sid Williams Theatre on Friday, Feb 5th. The afternoon will include a screening of the film Garbage Dreams as well as 8 short films (2 min.) that are part of a National initiative designed motivate young people in BC to take concrete action on international development. Zac Whyte from the Comox Valley Regional District will introduce Garbage Dreams. Zac recently traveled to the film site in Cairo, Eqypt and has many stories to tell.

If you would like to take part in this unique event, contact ecarswell@shaw.ca or phone 250.897.0525.

Location: 
Sid Williams Theatre, Courtenay