UN Women Canada To Host a Rare Public Event Merging Gender Equality and Sport Before the TO2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games With a Panel Discussion and Reception in Toronto

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - May 12, 2015) - UN Women National Committee Canada (UNWNCC) is proud to invite the public to a landmark event June 18, 2015, where esteemed panelists from the world of sports, government, media, and more will discuss the empowerment of women and girls in the face of persistent inequalities in sports and to promote the HeForShe campaign.

"Engaging in sports helps women and girls overcome bias, develop leadership abilities, and improve their self-esteem," said UNWNCC President Almas Jiwani. "Our upcoming panel and reception will open an important discussion within Canada about gender and sports. Evening the playing field between women and men in this area accelerates our progress toward gender equality. Our partnership with the TORONTO 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games through the IGNITE program comes at an important time for women's empowerment in Canada."

What: HeforShe & PanAM Ignite Present: Gender Equality in Sports and Beyond

Special video message from The Governor General of Canada, His Excellency the Right Honorable David Johnston.

Moderator:

Scott Russell -A CBC Sports veteran of more than 25 years, Russell has covered 11 Olympic Games including CBC's coverage of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. Most recently, Russell was the host of CBC's prime time coverage of 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™. He has also hosted the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa and the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup Germany.

Bruny Surin: Canadian track & field athlete, winner of a gold medal in the 4×100 metres relay at the 1996 Summer Olympics. In 2008 he was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame as part of the 1996 Summer Olympics 4x100 relay team.

Papito Wilson: Current ParaPan Athlete, Cuban-born Canadian para-rower and well known for his advocacy for parasport

Denise Dignard: Director-Women's High Performance, Basket Ball Canada

Where: CBC's Glenn Gould Studio (250 Front Street West)

When: Thursday, June 18th, 2015, 6:30 pm to 9 p.m.

Cost: $30 / $20 student

To purchase tickets: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/heforshe-panam-ignite-present-gender-equality-in-sports-and-beyond-tickets-16862279532

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1444458162518613/

About UN Women National Committee Canada

The UN Women National Committee Canada (formerly UNIFEM Canada) was founded in 1993 with the goal of promoting equality for all women. The National Committee Canada is an independent non-governmental organization (NGO) that supports the mission of UN Women through public awareness initiatives about UN Women and global women's issues, as well as fundraising efforts to support UN Women programmes worldwide. The National Committee Canada is one of 15 National Committees worldwide. The National Committee raises the profile of UN Women and promotes its work in Canada.

About TO2015

The TORONTO 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games Organizing Committee (TO2015) is tasked with managing and delivering the Games. It is working to bring some of the world's best athletes and artists to the Greater Golden Horseshoe region, giving Ontarians a unique chance to be part of the action, and making the region a hub for sport.

The TORONTO 2015 Pan American Games will take place July 10-26 and the Parapan American Games August 7-15.

Donate to UN Women now! Your generosity today will provide a better tomorrow for girls and women worldwide.
http://www.unwomencanada.org/index.html

Social Media: Follow the work of the UN Women National Committee Canada on Twitter @UNWomenCanada, and the search the hashtag #HeForShe and #beijing20 for updates on our ongoing campaigns.

About UN Women's ongoing Campaigns:

HeForShe is a solidarity movement for gender equality. Gender equality was at one time a struggle for women by women but now is the time for this to change. A movement is building around the world that sees men taking a stronger stand on equality. Canada currently has over 13,000 men who have committed to furthering gender equality within our country.

IMPACT 10X10X10 aims to add corporations, governments, universities and grassroots organizations into the growing movement of equality. Gender equality benefits everyone. IMPACT 10X10X10 builds on HeForShe as a movement that seeks gender equality advocates in every sphere of influence.