THE PIER DEAR
Women’s Gallery now open for nominations
It’s time to honour those important women.
The Cape Breton Women’s Gallery is now accepting nominations of remarkable women from across Cape Breton Island who have made meaningful and significant contributions to their families, communities and beyond.
I would say 2017 and 2018 were ground-breaking years for women’s empowerment. We saw the Women’s March on Washington and demonstrations around the world. We also saw important movements like #MeToo and #TimesUp, where boys, girls, men and women spoke out about assault, sexual harassment and women’s rights.
I believe it was perfect timing for the Cape Breton Women’s gallery to open. It is a gallery dedicated to displaying the stories of women who have lived and loved across Cape Breton Island. The gallery is currently located in the main lobby of the New Dawn Centre for Social Innovation, which is open to the public from 9-4 p.m.
The gallery recognizes women annually through a nomination process. Community members can nominate a woman of their choice who they feel made a difference. It can be anyone from activists, artists, athletes, community volunteers, elders, entrepreneurs, teachers, musicians and politicians. Last year the first four inductees included Alice MacCormack, Sister Rita Clare, Ethel Miller and Carol Kennedy. If you’d like to learn more about last years inductees, you can check out the gallery in person or browse their Facebook page at Cape Breton Women’s Gallery.
This is a lovely tribute to honour the women who make a difference in our communities. It speaks to me in so many ways because I’m all for empowering and supporting girls and women. I look forward to the gallery growing and reading stories about the unsung women who aren’t well-known, who aren’t always in the spotlight. The young lady in your community who’s been volunteering since she was 12 or the two-time cancer survivor who always kept a smile on her face and inspired
her family to live for today.
In the guidelines it states that “there is no minimum age requirement, however the individual that you nominate would
be celebrated because she has worked and or volunteered a great deal of her time towards shaping their community.”
I encourage people to nominate young women. There are plenty of young role models across Cape Breton Island who make a difference in their community daily.
The gallery celebrates women from all walks of life and they encourage the nomination of Indigenous women and visible minorities. Do you know a remarkable woman from Cape Breton Island who you feel should be nominated? Then what are you waiting for? Nominate them today.
Deadline for nominations is Friday, August 31. Nomination forms can be found online at http://www.newdawn.ca/ cape_breton_women_s . If you have any questions regarding the nomination process, contact Savannah Anderson at 902539-8729 Ext. 202 or by emailing her at sanderson@newdawn.ca
Yearly, the Pier has festivals and various events that showcase the cultures in Whitney Pier. These events bring residents within the community and outside of the community together.