The Story of how Gather the Women Canada Came to Be
2003:
April: Dr. Jean Shinoda Bolen, of The Millionth Circle Initiative, accepted an invitation, to present at a Women and Wisdom Conference in Duncan, B.C. She encouraged participants to attend a conference in San Francisco called WEAVING A WORLD THAT WORKS. It was to be hosted by a newly created international women’s movement called Gather the Women.
October: A small delegation from Vancouver Island traveled to this First GTW Conference in San Francisco. The GTW vision of 6 congresses on 6 continents emerged. Following the conference, a grassroots working circle emerged in support of a possible 5th Women’s World Conference.
2004:
In Dallas 2004
Clare Peterson of Canada, and Ann Smith of Florida, represented The Millionth Circle, as NGO Delegates to the United Nations Commission on Status of Women (UN-CSW) in New York, presenting grassroots support for a 5th Women’s World Conference.
The Second GTW Congress was held in Dallas, Texas. Anne Caldwell, Kathy Coster, Mary Martin, Denise Ommenney, Laura Finch and Clare Peterson from Vancouver Island attended. The Canadian delegates were asked to consider hosting a North American GTW congress, the first of the international congresses envisioned on 6 continents through 2006-2007 and building towards a possible 5 the World Women’s Conference before 2012.
2005:
GTW from the United States were invited to a cross border retreat at Glenairley Retreat Center, in Victoria, B.C., to meet Canadian women who were interested in learning more about the GTW movement and to explore the possibility of Canadians hosting the first international GTW Congress in 2006. A volunteer planning team stepped forward, and Gather the Women Canada was born. (GTWC).
Overlapping connections continued with Gather the Women Matrix in the USA, The Millionth Circle Initiative and with the newly formed 5th World Women’s Conference planning circle. (5WWC).
2006:
June: GTWC hosted the sold out GTW International Congress! Over 265 women from Canada and the USA participated in the Weaving a World That Works Congress in June, at the University of Victoria; B.C. Key note speakers included Dorothy Maclean of the Findhorn Community, Scotland, Dr. Margaret Fulton O.C., Dr.Jean Bolen M.D., Jean Crowder M.P., and Kathe Schaaf, co -founder of GTW. Jean Bolen seeded the idea of Canada being a possible host for a 5th Women’s World Conference in 2015.
2006 Conference Planning Circle
November: GTWC workshop: ‘CONTINUING THE WEAVING… SEEDING THE CONVERSATIONS “Gender Equality’ Conversation with Dr. Margaret Fulton O.C. PhD. Dr. Cecilia Benoit, PhD. Professor of Sociology, University of Victoria.
December: GTWC sent congress greetings to the successful Grassroots African Women’s Conference… Women Building Communities.
2007:
January: GTWMatrix CORE LEADERSHIP RETREAT: Phoenix, Arizona. Clare Peterson represented GTWCanada and became a core member of the GTWMatrix.
June: The Margaret Fulton Leadership Series ~Deepening and making visible…women’s wisdom for peace’… Exploring leadership experience through the experience of CRONE, MOTHER and MAIDEN. Women of different generations shared their realities, wisdom and hopes for new ways of leading.
Open circles hosted in Victoria- continuing the Women in Leadership conversations
July: The third international GTW conference was held in Sidney, Australia. A Victoria Congress Planning video was created and sent to connect the Canadian and Australian GTW cores.
October: A second Cross Border Retreat at Glenairley, in Victoria, brought Canadian and American GTW women together again to explore and ground the stories of our intertwined history.
2008:
April 20: ‘Spirit of Multigenerational Wisdom and Conscious Growth Hosted by the young women of GTWC.
July: 17-20 Anne Balding and Clare Peterson drove 2854kms!!! all the way from Victoria to College of Saint Benedict in St. Cloud, Minn. For the GTW invitation “GETTING TO KNOW YOU”…Relationship is at the heart of who we are and who we are becoming.’
Clare attended GTW Circle hosted in Winnipeg by Pam Mason, a great woman who deeply believed in the power and vision of GTW.
On Salt Spring Island 2009
2009:
GTW Seattle Gathering: ‘It’s All About Circle…deepening of relationships, to gain more understanding and practice in using circle in gatherings, and to plant the seeds for deeper collaboration with like minded women’s groups.
2010:
March 7th. In Victoria- International Women’s Day…Woman to Woman…I give you my Hand’. Celebrating the great women who have gone before us and all who continue to make a difference in the world.
August 19-22 GTWC core attended JOURNEY INTO DEEPENING San Francisco Bay Area.
FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS:
We are in the process of creating a proposal for Circle and Circle process at the Women’s World 2011 in Ottawa.
