Conference
IWCH holds an annual conference that brings together leaders and learners from various disciplines and fields that are committed to global women's and children's health, and facilitates the presentation and discussion of contemporary issues in this area. Once organized by faculty, the conference is now student-led to foster leadership, interdisciplinary collaboration and scholastic achievement.
The global theme of the 13th annual International Women's and Children's Health Conference is "Confronting the stigma: a global and multicultural perspective on the mental health of women and children”. Our principal objective is to provide students, professionals, and community members with a positive, educational and interdisciplinary environment in which they can interact with, learn from, and inspire one another.
SPECIFIC AIMS
Expose
Through this conference, delegates will be exposed to individuals, organizations, ideas and opinions that may challenge them to confront their own beliefs about mental health, and to consider it from the perspective of a woman, mother, child, refugee, immigrant, Canadian and global citizen.
Educate
Through small group workshops with an emphasis on the four sub-themes listed below, we plan to help delegates gain greater knowledge and awareness of the state of mental health in general, and more specifically, as it relates to our sub-themes:
- Mental health of immigrant and refugee women
- Relationship between culture and mental health
- Effect of poor maternal mental health on children
- Mental health of LGBTQ women
Equip
We hope to ultimately enable delegates to become active in initiatives within their own local communities or the greater global community, by providing necessary tools in the form of personal connections, ideas, and resources.