WELCOME TO THE SPRING 2008 EDITION!

In this issue you will find:

1. A message from the editorial board
2. Our current issue
3. Our new website
4. A call for new board members
5. Announcements
6. E-newsletter subscription information
7. About WEI Magazine
8. Volunteer info

1. MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD

Dear Friends and Subscribers,

The past few months have seen many exciting changes and transitions for WEI Magazine. After an extensive search for new board members, we are happy to announce that our Editorial Board is up and running, with an improved organizational structure and many new members.

WEI Mag's new editorial board is comprised of the following members:

Krista Johnston - Board Coordinator
Kathleen Gamble - Managing Editor
Sybila Valdiviesco - Treasurer
Olga Spearanskaya - Fundraiser
Christina Yee Sit - Board Member at Large
Laura Gass - Media Liason
Jennifer Gartner - Website Coordinator
Anna Stanley - FES Liaison
Karla Orantes - Volunteer Coordinator (returning board member)
Arlene Jardine - Board Member at Large
Alison Bain - York Faculty Advisor

We would also like to take this opportunity to thank the long-term board members who have guided us through this transition and gotten the new board up and running.  We know that Reggie Modlich, Karla Orantes, Gaye-Frances Alexander, Roberta Hawkins and Darlene Kost will continue to provide vital insight and guidance to the new board in a range of capacities.

On July 5, 2007 we gathered to celebrate our return to the Faculty of Environmental Studies (FES) at York University and to launch the issue: “Women and Global Climate Change." Many of you joined us as we enjoyed an evening of exhilarating performances, riveting speeches, and great friendship. It was an inspiring way to welcome new board members, recognize old friends and supporters, and to make some new friends and connections in our new home. Many thanks to the board members who worked so hard to make this event such a success, and to our sponsors at FES. To see photos of the event CLICK HERE.

We are particularly excited to be returning to the Faculty of Environmental Studies at York University and would like to express our heartfelt thanks to FES for their crucial and generous support of the magazine. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank the Institute for Women's Studies and Gender Studies at the University of Toronto for many great years of collaboration and support.

As we settle into our new home in the Faculty of Environmental Studies at York University, we would like to thank our long-time staff person Karen Caballero for all of her hard work and dedication to the magazine, and for ensuring that the move into our new office took place with as little disruption as possible. We'd also like to thank Karen for providing valuable orientation sessions to new board members on the workings of our office and databases.

Here are our new coordinates for your information:

Women and Environments International Magazine
Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University
Room 234, HNES Building
4700 Keele Street
Toronto, ON
M3J 1P3
Phone: 416-736-2100 X21055
Fax: 416-736-5679
Email: weimag@yorku.ca
Website: www.weimag.com

With a rejuvenated board and a new location, we're looking forward to exciting issues and collaborations!

Sincerely,

Krista Johnston and Kathleen Gamble

2. CURRENT ISSUE - WOMEN AND TOXINS

The topic for the current issue is Women and Toxins, and one of the many joys of working with such a topic is the dynamic nature of the term “toxins." The focus of this issue is not only women affected by harmful substances, but also ways in which the health of women (and their families) can be protected from such environmental risks. The contributors of this issue have provided us with extremely thoughtful submissions on the impact that environmental contaminants have on women's health; our thanks go out to them for providing such a broad scope of research, analysis, and commentary on this pressing global concern.

To find out more about the current issue and where you can purchase “Women and Toxins," please visit www.weimag.com.

3.  NEW WEBSITE

WEI is pleased to announce that the magazine launched it's new website (www.weimag.com) on March 27, 2008! The board encourages its friends, subscribers and all those interested in feminist social change to take a look at the new and improved site and see (or relearn) what WEI is all about. A big thank you to Reggie Moldich and Nikos Evdemon for all their hard work and assistance during this transition (we couldn't have done it without you) and to Mary Pat O'Meara, for designing such a beautiful and user-friendly site. The board greatly appreciates Mary Pat's generous contribution to the magazine.
For information on the art and design of Mary Pat O'Meara, please visit marypatomeara.com

4. CALL FOR NEW BOARD MEMBERS

Are you interested in feminist, anti-racist publishing?

Women & Environments International Magazine is seeking new members to join a renewed Editorial Board in our new location at York University (Faculty of Environmental Studies/FES).  With innovative issue ideas, a new web-site and a growing list of subscribers, this is an exciting time to get involved.

Women & Environments International is a unique & progressive Canadian magazine, which examines women's relations to their environments - natural, built, and social - from feminist, anti-racist perspectives. It has provided a forum for academic research and theory, professional practice and community experience, since 1976. Produced by a volunteer Editorial Board, the magazine contributes to feminist social change.

We are looking for individuals with skills, commitment to, and experience in at least one of these areas: 

Board Membership Responsibilities:

Women & Environments International Magazine actively seeks and encourages the participation of First Nations, Black, African, East Asian, South Asian, Middle Eastern, Latin American people; all sexual identities, including lesbians, bisexuals, queer and trans women; women with disabilities, a diversity of backgrounds, jobs, incomes and ages.

Interested Applicants: Please send your CV with a letter of interest by end of March 2008 via mail, fax or email to the address below. 

Room 234 HNES Building, Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University
4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON Canada, M3J 1P3
p. 416-736-2100 X 21055  f. 416-736-5679  weimag@yorku.ca  www.weimag.com

For more information about WEI Magazine, visit: www.weimag.com

5. ANNOUNCEMENTS

Petition-5th Women's World Conference by 2010
Just a reminder that signatures are still needed on a petition to demonstrate to UN Government Missions and heads of state in all countries the desire for a 5th Women's World Conference. We encourage everyone interested in seeing this happen to support this grassroots movement by visiting www.5wwc.org - sign the petition and register your group with the the movement.
The December Man (l'homme de décembre)
Berkeley Theatre
April 7 to May 17, 2008

Inspired by the 1989 Montréal massacre, The December Man (L'homme de décembre,) looks at the impact of this devastating tragedy on one family. Jean, Kathleen and Beniot's son was among the men ordered out of the room when fourteen women were brutally murdered at École Polytechnique. At first the parents feel lucky that he was spared, but Jean's young life comes utterly unglued. His only thoughts are of what he could have done to overpower the shooter, what he should have done to save the women. The December Man (L'homme de décembre) takes us back to that fateful day when Jean, the only ray of hope in this working-class
Montréal family, escaped the massacre. Then in a reverse chronological order, Jean, Kathleen and Benoit are drawn through the sequence of events that leads to the tragic, but inevitable, climax of the play.
The Canadian Stage Company is proud to have the The December Man (L'homme de décembre) closing our 07.08 BERKELEY season. The December Man (L'homme de décembre) is a moving account of the impact this kind of tragedy has on survivors and the guilt, rage and despair from which they may never recover. *Pre and post-show receptions are possible as well as Q&A sessions and workshops.*
 
All Previews
Wed @ 1:30 pm
Mon/Tues/Wed/Thurs @ 8pm & Sat @ 2pm
Fri & Sat @ 8pm
*Group bookings constitute 10 or more attendees per show. All group
orders are subject to a one-time $10 service charge.
*For more information please contact Christina Hotz, Group Sales Manager
@ 416.367.8243 x 266 or chotz@canstage.com

The 28th Annual Women of Distinction Awards
Metro Toronto Convention Centre
June 3, 2008

YWCA Toronto's 28th Annual Women of Distinction Awards Dinner presented by SunLife Financial, is being held on Tuesday, June 3rd and you are cordially invited to attend. Join us as we celebrate the achievements of six women and one young woman who have worked to bridge gaps in their communities, broken barriers and opened the door for other women in the city.

We encourage you to reflect on the women in your communities and nominate a woman for a 2008 Woman of Distinction Award who you feel makes a difference in the lives of other women and girls in the city.
Your support of this event helps women and girls achieve equality, economic independence and lives free from violence through the 30-plus programs provided by YWCA Toronto across the GTA.
For more information about this event visit www.ywcatoronto.org/women_distinction/index.htm
New Publication!
 
Gender Action presents the first report—Mapping Multilateral Development Banks' (MDBs') Reproductive Health and HIV/AIDS Spending—on the quantity and quality of all MDB spending for reproductive health and HIV/AIDS. Mapping demonstrates a decline in World Bank and little spending by African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, and Inter-American Development Bank on reproductive health and HIV/AIDS. It charts unmet IFI commitments to reproductive health and HIV/AIDS, and juxtaposes how harmful IFI loan "conditionalities" such as restricting public spending undermine governments' ability to address these public health imperatives. Gender Action plans to expand this project with deeper analysis and especially advocacy.
 
This report can be downloaded by clicking www.genderaction.org/images/Gender%20Action%20MDBs%20RH-AIDS.pdf.  
Please visit Gender Action's website: www.genderaction.org to learn more about their work.

6. SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION

The e-newsletter is published three times a year in March, July, and November. If you have received this e-mail as a forward, please consider subscribing directly by sending your request to weimag@yorku.ca
If you prefer not to receive the e-newsletter, please send an e-mail to weimag@yorku.ca with “Unsubscribe E-Newsletter" as your subject and we will promptly remove you from the distribution list. The e-newsletter is a communication between Women and Environments International Magazine and its readership/community, and does not reflect the opinion or official policy of York University or any of its affiliated colleges, departments, and institutes.

7. ABOUT WEI MAGAZINE

Since its founding at the first UN Habitat Conference in 1976, Women & Environments International Magazine has grown to a well-established magazine with over 2000 readers worldwide. It is one of the longest surviving feminist magazines in Canada. Our writers, readers, and editors are people who inspire and create environments more responsive to women's needs through action, education, and research.
Treat yourself or a friend to a WEI Magazine subscription via our website (www.weimag.com) by simply clicking on "Subscribe to WEI Mag" on the home page.

8. VOLUNTEER

There is an old saying that goes “nobody can do everything, but everyone can do something." The author of this quote is unknown; however, it is a statement that aptly conveys our appreciation for all those who have (and will) volunteer for WEI.

Anyone who is interested in volunteering in any capacity is encouraged to contact the board. We are always looking for volunteers for our upcoming issues, so if you would like to contribute, please write Managing Editor Kathleen Gamble at weimag@yorku.ca. We would love to hear from you, so please feel free to contact us!

For further information about WEI Magazine, please visit www.weimag.com.