Advocacy in A Multilingual Context
Background
Because many of the Women's Research Centre's (WRC) projects were conducted on a national--and even international--scale, language was often an important consideration in its work. The WRC often published papers, reports, and news releases in English and French, and also conducted extensive correspondence in both languages. For example, see the 1989 report "Canada's Commitment to Women's Equality: Implementing our International Obligations" to the right.
Translation during presentations and talks was also an important consideration at the national-level conferences and meetings that the WRC participated in. For example, during the 1991 National Conference of the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women, arrangement for translators was a key feature of conference planning and budgeting (Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women Conference translation services, 1991).
Collection Rationale
The records in this collection include all items in the repository that reflect the bilingual, and sometimes multilingual, nature of the WRC's advocacy and education work. Thus, any items such as reports or news releases that were published in multiple languages (usually English and French) have been selected for inclusion. Also, any documentation of the arrangement of translation for live events such as conferences is also included. Finally, any advocacy work done on behalf of those who do not speak the dominant languages of English and French, such as immigrants, have been included in this collection as well.
A selection of items from the collection are included below. To to see all the items in the collection, click Browse the Advocacy in a Multilingual Context Collection below.
Featured Items
376 - Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women Conference translation services
Securing translation services for the 1991 National Conference of the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women, which was hosted in part by the Women's Research Centre and held in Edmonton, Alberta, was a major task in the planning process. These documents include correspondence and price quotes detailing the arrangement of translators for the conference.
123 - Like a Wingless Bird: A Tribute to Survival and Courage of Women Who Are Abused and Who Speak Neither English nor French
This 1993 report, which was prepared by Linda MacLeod and Maria Y. Shin, reflects advocacy for women who do not speak the dominant languages of English and French. The executive summary states that the report tells "the stories of a group of women in Canada who are often forgotten...the many women across Canada who are Canadian citizens,(some have lived in Canada for over thirty years), who are abused by their husbands and who do not speak either English or French" (MacLeod & Shin, 1993, p. 6).
154 - Coordination Committee Women's Studies leaflets and advertisements
This 1989 letter by Marilyn Assheton-Smith, which is page three of this record, gives another example of the intersection between language and advocacy for women.