Valued secondary school instructors,

The University Women’s Club of Montreal Inc. (UWCM) is proud to spearhead the second North American competition of Olympes de la Parole right here in Canada.

For the second of this competition, we have set the topic for reflection on the theme of the sixty third session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW63) in New York on March
2019.

«Women’s empowerment and the link to sustainable development»

Students are invited to use team work, critical thinking, parent and community involvement, and innovation to reflect on the following:

Feminization of poverty persists and remains an impediment to the empowerment of women and girls, for, according to UN sources, the number of people living in multidimensional poverty has reached 1.6 billion.

«As the world is getting ready to commemorate in 2019 the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child you, High School student, will analyze the impact of poverty on the empowerment of women and the development
of girls. You will use evidence to explain how access to education can help eradicate a specific dimension of poverty you have chosen to study».

The competition theme will vary each year.

To register for the 2018-2019 competition, your school must:

1. Use the enrollment form on the website to register at https://uwcm.com/olympes-de-laparole/letter-to-instructors/. A confirmation will be sent to the school within a month.
2. Select Secondary 4 and 5 students who will work on the competition theme from September 2018 until May 2019, taking account of the competition rules available at Competition Rules
3. Collaborate with UWCM as the competition progresses
4. Prepare participants for their preliminary evaluation
5. Prepare participants for their final evaluation

Winners will be announced on April 2019. An Award Ceremony will be held in May 2019 and will be open to all UWCM members and partners, personnel of participating schools, participating students and their families, media and political personalities.

Winners will present their project to the public.

All participants will be honoured with a certificate for volunteer hours invested in the competition.

Scholarships will be awarded to the best three projects:
– 1st Prize $2,000.00
– 2nd Prize $1,500.00
– 3rd Prize $1,000.00.

About the University Women’s Club of Montreal Inc.

The UWCM was founded in 1927 by university graduate women involved in the promotion of quality education for girls and women in Montreal. The UWCM Foundation offers scholarships to indigenous and non-indigenous girls and women attending university and college in Montreal. UWCM is a member of the Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW), a non-partisan, voluntary, self-funded organization with over 100 Clubs and 8000 members, located in every province across Canada.

Since its founding in 1919, CFUW has been working to improve the status of women and girls, to promote human rights, public education, social justice, and peace. CFUW has special consultative status at the United Nations and is represented at the Canadian Commission for UNESCO.

CFUW is the largest affiliate of Graduate Women International (GWI), a non- governmental organization located in Geneva, whose main purpose is the advocacy for girls and women’s rights worldwide.

CFUW is also an affiliate member of the International Alliance of Women

Dr. Saôde Savary, Chemist, Ph.D. Public Health
UWCM President