UN Women National Committee Canada Looks Forward to the CN Tower Lighting Its Facade Blue in Honour of International Women's Day, March 8, 2015

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - March 4, 2015) -

Editors Note: There is a photo associated with this press release.

The CN Tower will light its facade the colour blue as of sundown on the night of Sunday, March 8, to commemorate International Women's Day. The UN Women National Committee Canada (UNWNCC) celebrates gender equality and growing mainstream attention to gender issues.

"International Women's Day is a time where we can look back at all we've accomplished, and look forward to all we still can achieve," said Almas Jiwani, President of UN Women National Committee Canada. "It is also a time to be reminded of how far there is left to go before real equality is realized for women socially, professionally, and beyond."

"The iconic CN Tower being lit blue on International Women's Day is a wonderful reminder to Toronto that this day is special," Ms. Jiwani said. "Gender equality is important to Canadians. It's a message we are taking to the government with the IMPACT 10X10X10 initiative, which seeks to empower women within the halls of power of their own countries."

The lighting up of the CN Tower comes against the backdrop of global mobilization as the year 2015 marks the 20th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and the landmark Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Considered the most comprehensive blueprint on advancing women's rights, the 1995 Beijing roadmap was adopted by 189 governments. But 20 years on, the commitments made are only partially fulfilled.

In New York from 9-20 March, the 59th Commission on the Status of Women will review global implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and take stock of where women stand in the world today. From the political to the economic spheres, progress has been made, but not enough.

The CN Tower will be lit for International Women's Day starting at sunset on Sunday, March 8. It will be most visible in the darkened sky approximately 30 minutes after sundown. The CN Tower's standard light show will continue to run for eight minutes at the top of every hour as it does every night.

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.

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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 HeForShe and IMPACT 10X10X10 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.

To view the photo associated with this press release, please visit the following link: http://www.marketwire.com/library/20150304-CN%20Tower%20UN%20Women%20Large.jpg