WOMENWOMEN II N N CITIESCITIES INTERNATIONALINTERNATIONAL

ANNUAL REPORT 2018-2019 TABLE OF CONTENTS

SUMMARY INCLUSION AND MEANINGFUL OUR SEVEN PARTICIPATION PRINCIPLES WomenWHO in Cities WEInternational ARE (WICI) was fou - We work for social justice through 2 EQUITABLE URBAN the creation of inclusive cities and nded in 2002 as a not-for-profit network fo- DEVELOPMENT communities, based on the mea- ningful participation of all women cusing on gender equality, safety and the and girls in all aspects of the go- participation of women in urban planning and 1 We foster and promote the en- vernance of their cities and com- gendering of urban development munities. development. Based in Montreal, WICI grew in its social, economic, cultu- ral and environmental dimen- out of work undertaken by Canadian femi- ACCOUNTABILITY sions, sensitive to the full diversity AND INTEGRITY nists in the 1990s to improve women’s sa- of women and girls. The engen- dering of urban development will fety in urban settings and empower women lead to more equitable urban de- We are accountable for our ac- 4 to participate in local governance and crea- velopment for all. tions to women and girls in cities across the world who struggle on te change within city governments. Since that SECURITY AND SAFE- a daily basis to achieve equitable TY FOR SUBSTANTIVE urban development. Our integri- time WICI has grown considerably and ex- ty is fundamental to this accoun- panded its work at the international level with CITIZENSHIP tability. the support of various partner organizations. SHARING 3 3 For women and girls in all their di- It has embraced a broader concept of safe- versity, cities and communities KNOWLEDGE that ensure a robust experience of ty beyond safety in public space to focus on security and safety create an es- We believe in, and practice, the 6 factors of exclusion and discrimination that sential foundation for substantive sharing of knowledge, conti- citizenship. Without this, partici- nually striving through inno- prevent women and girls from accessing and pation in the life of the city is cur- vative ways to ensure that this tailed and substantive citizenship moving around their city safely. WICI works to knowledge is fully accessible to denied. all women and girls and there- generate and exchange knowledge on wo- REFLEXIVITY fore to all. men and girls’ experiences in urban environ- AND RESPECT SUSTAINABILITY ments, in partnership with various key actors 5 at the local, national and international levels. It As a learning organization we are Our strategies and actions are to 7 committed to reflecting on our create sustainable transforma- supports the participation of women and girls actions, learning from our practi- tion of the social, economic, cultu- in all processes of urban development and ces and continually evaluating our ral and environmental dimensions capacity to achieve our objectives of equitable urban development, governance and believes that if a city is safer fully in line with our values and sensitive to the full diversity of wo- principles. An integral part of our for women and girls, it is safer for everyone. men and girls and to help build reflexivity is to monitor our own the capacity of the organizations practice in treating others with working towards the goal of equi- respect. table urban development.

WOMEN IN CITIES INTERNATIONAL ANNUAL REPORT 2018-2019 AN ACTIVE YEAR FOR VOLUNTEERS AND BOARD IN 2018-2019

Like most years, WICI has been very actively engaged in- ternationally and locally in a range of projects, conferences, and communication and educational activities in 2018-2019. Our dedicated Interns and Volunteers have contributed im- measurably to WICI’s mission as the posts below illustrate.

Board Members too have been invited to take part in a wide range of international events. This has included the UN Wo- men 4th Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces Global Leaders’ Forum held in Edmonton, Alberta Canada, on October 16- 19th 2018. This brought together some 250 people from 25 4 countries to share experiences on creating safer cities and public spaces, as part of UN WOMEN’s ongoing Safe Cities and Public Spaces Global Initiative. President Barbara Holt- mann represented WICI, and Kathryn Travers and Margaret Shaw were invited in their own right. They all took part in a num- ber of panels and workshops (seen above with Suneeta Dhar of Jagori, Dehli and Kalpana Viswanath of Safetipin, Delhi INTRO–India, both part of WICI’s international network of members). Board Member Cathy Hillman (seen fourth from the left in the picture on the next page) represented WICI at the second Happy Cities Summit held in Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh, India from 13-15th February 2019. Amaravati was an extremely DUCTIONambitious development project meant to be the new megacity capital of the state, although a change in government in 2019 halted its development. The project encompasses 29 villages and fertile land purchased by the government along the Krishna riverbank. The goal of the first summit, organized by Andhra Pradesh in 2018, was to focus attention on urban innovation around six pillars of Happiness: governance, built environment, natural environment, economy and livelihoods,

WOMEN IN CITIES INTERNATIONAL ANNUAL REPORT 2018-2019 culture and community, and physical and mental wellbeing. The guiding principles of the 2019 Summit included inclu- siveness, efficiency and sustainability, and dynamic econo- mies. The government aligned development and economic growth with social progress in their vision to make Amara- vati an incubation hub of technology, communication and media. The new megacity provides an ideal laboratory for designing new urban infrastructure, policy and program- mes which support inclusive cities, specifically safer and more equitable cities for all women and girls.

Board Member Margaret Shaw was invited on behalf of WICI to join the Advisory Board for the Global Womanity Award 2018, an award presented by the Swiss-based Womanity 5 Foundation every two years to women’s groups working to further girls’ and women’s empowerment. In 2018 the award was focused on organizations working jointly to share and expand expertise in Creating safer environments for women, and was awarded to Safetipin (India) for a project in partnership with the Soul City Institute based in South Africa.

Our Executive Director Kathryn Travers also took part in a number of international events. This included the presentation of INTRO–the final report on the study undertaken for Metropolis by WICI on Safety and Public Spaces: Mapping metropolitan gender policies (published in Barcelona in 2018 in English, French and Spanish). Kathryn Travers was invited to present the findings at a Metropolis conference in Johannesburg in September 2018. She was also invited to take part in an Expert Group Mee- DUCTIONting with UN Women and UN Habitat in Nairobi in May 2018 on progress on Sustainable Development Goal 11 on making ci- ties and human settlements inclusive safe resilient and sustainable.

The Board also worked on the development of its new Strategic Plan 2019-2023 during the year under review.

WOMEN IN CITIES INTERNATIONAL ANNUAL REPORT 2018-2019 Contract with the Inter-American Development Bank, WSAs in Georgetown, Guyana By Mélissa Côté-Douyon

Women in Cities International (WICI) entered into partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to support its on- going work in Georgetown, Guyana. In late 6 2017, IDB approved the loan “Adequate Housing and Urban Accessibility Program” to be executed by the government of Guyana. In this context, WICI accompanied work related to women’s safety in public spaces and gender responsive urban planning in the neighbourhood of Sophia. WICI designed and conducted Women’s Safety Audit (WSA) walks with women living in Sophia and organized workshops on Women’s Safety for government stakeholders and community leaders. Furthermore, WICI and the IDB decided to pilot the use of a mobile data collection

WOMEN IN CITIES INTERNATIONAL ANNUAL REPORT 2018-2019 tool, the Kobo Toolbox. The women’s safety audit checklist was digitized via the tool, and information uploaded and geo-coded. The tool also allowed the participants to upload photographs to support their observations. In addition to WSAs, WICI led participatory mapping exercises to prioritize specific areas for the women’s safety audit walks, and to identify unused or underused public spaces that could be activated through a placemaking process in the future. The results from the WSAs and the participatory mapping exercises will now be used to inform the design 7 of IDB-funded works in Sophia - taking into consideration the recommendations made by the participants. The government of Guyana expects to deploy the audits methodology in other communities where they are working.

WOMEN IN CITIES INTERNATIONAL ANNUAL REPORT 2018-2019 The project was designed to carry out safety audits around the three metro stations in La- val: Montmorency station, de la Concorde sta- tion, and Cartier station. This pilot project was conducted in collaboration with the Société de Transport de Laval (STL), , and the City of Laval. 8

As a first step, before the safety audits were carried out, data was gathered through user surveys conducted at each of the three me- tro stations in Laval, and members of WICI also made field observations at these - loca tions. This provided an overall assessment of the specificities and challenges of each site. In the Autumn 2018, safety audits were conduc- ted with women from Laval and others inte- rested in the project. By Julie Julie Martin By Laval Safety Audits

WOMEN IN CITIES INTERNATIONAL ANNUAL REPORT 2018-2019 Those taking part in the audits were invi- the lighting system would be beneficial. At ted to evaluate their feelings of safety and the , users highli- security in the predetermined routes arou- ghted a lack of security personnel. At the nd the stations. This helps in understan- Montmorency station, users noted the ab- ding the specific concerns and needs of sence of appropriate urban design. For all women, minorities and other disadvanta- three stations, women users’ sense of sa- ged groups as they move arou- fety was quite high during the nd the environment. day, but dropped drastically af- The ultimate goal ter dark. Observation charts (qualities was to promote a and weaknesses of the sites) The project evaluated the sen- for each of the three metro sta- safer and better se of safety at these metro tions provided an overall pictu- adapted public stations and made recommen- re of all three environments: the transport system dations to the Société de Trans- 9 days and hours of high traffic, de Laval (STL) and to the the movements and behaviors for all users, and City of Laval and other partners. of their users, user profiles, etc. especially for Suggested solutions are con- Users of the three stations, for women crete and easily feasible, and example, were reasonably sa- low cost. The ultimate goal was tisfied with the cleanliness of the sites, but to promote a safer and better adapted pu- dissatisfied with the lack of street and tra- blic transport system for all users, and es- ffic signs. At the Cartier ,- al pecially for women. The recommendations though users appreciated the presence of can be found in the project’s final report, security personnel during the safety audit, which was published by WICI in February they did underline that an improvement of 2019.

WOMEN IN CITIES INTERNATIONAL ANNUAL REPORT 2018-2019 By Mélissa Côté-Douyon CAFÉ SERIES & Marine Delor

In 2018, WICI organized several forums in Two forums were held in 2018. The first in Fe- Montreal on the theme of the “Feminist City”. bruary 2018 was on the topic: “What are the in partnership with the Conseil des Mon- issues for racialized women in Montreal?”. Pre- tréalaises. These events were inspired by a senters included a member of the Conseil des Café Series project carried out in Vancouver Montréalaises and a community organizer at by Women Transforming Cities, which gene- Femmes du Monde in Côte-des-Neiges. The rously shared with WICI tools for organizing second forum in September 2018 focused on: these events. WICI took over this project by “Women and Girls’ Safety in Montreal”. Presen- 10 transposing it and adapting it to the context of ters included the Vice-President of the Con- Montreal. seil des Montréalaises and a member of the Centre d’éducation et d’action des femmes During these participatory forums, WICI invi- de Montréal (CEAF). ted local community organizations, resear- chers, specialists, students and women from The events were very successful and WICI is all communities to participate and discuss wo- grateful to the partners, stakeholders and the men’s issues in public space in Montreal. The- 56 participants for their participation in the two se events took place in two phases in order to forums. highlight the work of organizations committed to improving the status of women in the pu- blic space in Montreal, and secondly through a series of round tables, give voice to citizens.

WOMEN IN CITIES INTERNATIONAL ANNUAL REPORT 2018-2019 WICI’s Blog By Nancy Mitchell Click here to read WICI’s blog November 2017 marked the re-launch of Wo- men in Cities International’s blog developed and managed by Nancy Mitchell, a communi- cations volunteer at WICI. The re-launch was carried out with the goal of posting a new pie- WICI was also proud to feature an interview velopment Bank, the FIA Foundation, Women 11 ce monthly submitted by WICI staff, members with Holly Kearl, founder of Stop Street Ha- Transforming Cities, and the Womanity Fou- of our communities, our online audiences, and rassment and Anti International Street Ha- ndation. WICI’s blog posts have been adver- members from other like-minded organiza- rassment Week, on our blog. The interview tised on our Facebook page and continue to tions. The blog re-launch began with a piece published in April 2018 was conducted by draw traction and positive responses from written by Nancy Mitchell titled “What Makes Nancy Mitchell and highlights the growth of members of our community and our online Women Feel Safe In Public Space?” which ga- Kearl’s organization, as well as questions re- audience. In the future, Nancy hopes to main- thered the opinions of what makes for a safe lated to catcalling, the #MeToo movement, tain the momentum and focus on bringing in city according to women from across Canada, and the links between street harassment and themed posts (specifically related to the va- the U.S., and Europe. Since then, WICI’s blog power. Additionally, the re-launch of WICI’s rious international awareness days that fall has posted monthly pieces ranging from pos- blog has strengthened the organization’s re- within each month). The re-launch of WICI’s ts on the gendered dynamics of architecture, lationship with other like-minded organiza- blog has been an overall positive experience analyses on water rights in urban areas, and tions. WICI’s blog has featured posts from the and continues to spread awareness of issues several opinion and ethnographic pieces wri- Institute for Transport and Development Po- of gender inequality and opportunities for de- tten by our volunteers. licy (ITDP), Safetipin, the Inter-American De- veloping concrete solutions.

WOMEN IN CITIES INTERNATIONAL ANNUAL REPORT 2018-2019 SMALL TALKS AND CITY BLOCKS PODCAST By Bethy Moncion

WICI’s podcast “small talks and city blocks” women are the protagonists of the city, and returned this year with another two episodes, we talked with her about her work, exploring following on the three episodes published the benefits of participatory, generative- de last year. The project, created by communica- sign that involves the community. tions volunteers Hannah McCasland and Be- thy Moncion, aims to promote WICI’s values Next, we had a conversation with Annmarie by hosting conversations about gendered ex- Adams, professor and Stevenson Chair in the periences of city life, and the work being done History and Philosophy of Science including 12 to promote inclusive and equitable cities and Medicine at McGill University, and Ipek Türe- communities for all. This year, volunteer Maxi- li, Assistant Professor and Canada Research ne Dannatt joined the podcast team. Chair in Architecture at McGill University. Pro- Ep1 Ep2 Ep3 fessors Adams and Tureli discuss with us the Our first new episode was a conversation built environment as a site of control, com- with Jennifer Fix, a Vancouver-based asso- municating to people how they should move Ep4 Ep5 ciate in urban planning and design at the in- and behave, and often effectively segregating tegrated design firm DIALOG, while she was people in terms of gender, race, and class. in Montreal for the World Design Summit. At They outlined how the field of architecture has the summit, she gave two talks: “Femopolis: been dominated by the idea of a lone (usually Click here to listen to the episodes Cities For Women, By Women, With Women” male) genius, and gave examples of women and “Engaging As If Cities Are For Everyone.” architects who promote the work of the col- We asked her about her “Femopolis,” where lective over that of the individual.

WOMEN IN CITIES INTERNATIONAL ANNUAL REPORT 2018-2019 My Summer With By Cristina Ordoñez Moreno International Relations student at Blanquerna University Ramon Llull, WICI Intern WICI while on exchange at UQAM Faculté Science Politique et Relations Internationales

During my stay at WICI from June to August 2018 I undertook many also had the opportunity to conduct one in Spanish. I participated in different tasks. This ranged from help in developing the training for two Board meetings, one in July and one in August, taking notes for the STL Project in Laval, including reviewing the Because I am a Girl Jeanne Marie who was absent, and sending her a report of the mee- 13 Urban Programme – Training Module for Transit Stakeholders from ting in Spanish. I also contributed to other translation tasks, including March 2015, to working with fellow summer intern Leah Paster on the the volunteers profiles on WICI’s website. Strategic Plan for the Huairou Commission. Other work focused on a project proposal for the World Bank and Sexual Violence Research Finally. I joined the Webinar “Initiative resilient cities to climate in Latin Initiative in partnership with Soul City in South Africa. The theme of America. Women, cities and Climate Change: how to articulate agen- the call for proposals was to advance evidence-based interventions das and actions?”. Apart from WICI, the participants included UN Wo- to prevent and respond to gender-based violence (GBV) in low- and men, UN Habitat, Fundacion Futuro Latinoamericana, Cooperation middle-income countries. This included research on previous WICI Sur. Among the issues discussed were the underrepresentation of projects in partnership with Safetipin in Colombia and India. gender in power positions, and the discrimination women face every day given the gender imbalance in the Latin-American context. The I conducted about 6 Airbnb Walking tours, entitled “Walk and See relevance of this webinar to climate change, and the negative impact How Women Build Cities”. Most of them were held in English, but I it may have on women, is crucial in addressing resilience.

WOMEN IN CITIES INTERNATIONAL ANNUAL REPORT 2018-2019 THE RIGHT TO CAMPUS CAMPAIGN By Maha Asad

The Right to Campus project went through ficial club status with the Students’ Society of many changes in 2018, with the recruitment of McGill University. In February, Right to Cam- 14 new members who would continue The Right pus teamed up with the Open Mapping Group to Campus project went through many chan- (OMG) at McGill to host an event where partici- ges in 2018, with the recruitment of new mem- pants mapped out accessible indoor and un- bers who would continue the work of the RTC derground routes on the McGill campus. The “alumni”. At the start of the academic year, the data collected will be used to create interac- new members held a strategic meeting to sort tive maps to be integrated into the RTC online through existing work and projects, and reor- toolkit. Going forward, RTC has hired two new ganized to decide on the future direction that executive members who will continue to work RTC will be taking. A large and ongoing part of on updating the toolkit, and help in planning a this was applying for grants, funding, and of- large-scale project for the next year.

WOMEN IN CITIES INTERNATIONAL ANNUAL REPORT 2018-2019 Thank you to our dedicated WICI team, without whom WICI’s work couldn’t be accomplished. ThisTHANKTHANK year WICI was supported by: YOUYOU

BOARD OF INTERNS AND DIRECTORS VOLUNTEERS Barbara Holtmann, President Arianne Kent Tiffany Muller Myrdahl, Secretary Bethy Moncion 15 Margaret Shaw, Treasurer Charlotte Scott-Frater Cathy Hillman, Member Cristina Ordoñez Moreno Chris Blache, Member Emily Levine Jeanne Marie Verdugo Oviedo, Member Hannah McCasland Jennifer Salahub, Member Julie Martin Miranda Sculthorp, Member Leah Paster Rosa Pires, Member Lucia Justo Garrido Redi Tlhabi, Member Maha Asad Marine Delor Maxine Dannatt Mélissa Coté Douyon Miranda Sculthorp Nancy Mitchell KathrynSTAFF Travers, Executive Director

WOMEN IN CITIES INTERNATIONAL ANNUAL REPORT 2018-2019 Contact Us

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WOMEN IN CITIES INTERNATIONAL ANNUAL REPORT 2018-2019