Fonds MS-216 - International Women's Year, 1975 fonds

The United Nations proclaimed the year 1975 to be the International Women's Year. In response to this in 1974 a group of women in Edmonton met to discuss how to commemorate the event. This group became the International Women’s Year Coordinating Committee, a group whereby local women’s groups could get together to exchange ideas and work on related projects. The Coordinating Committee formed the sub-committee called the Ad Hoc Committee. The Ad Hoc Committee had talks with Edmonton’s city officials and submitted a proposal for official recognition of International Women’s Year.
In May of 1975 Edmonton’s City Council passed a resolution endorsing the concept of International Women’s Year. The City of Edmonton set up a Steering Committee through the Public Relations Department to work with the Ad Hoc Committee to select women volunteers working in the community who were worthy of recognition. Different categories were established and nominees were selected to receive awards from the City of Edmonton. The Coordinating Committee also supervised the preparation and publication of the Edmonton 1975 International Women's Year Anthology, which was published in 1977. The publication was completed by the Anthology Committee, a sub-committee of the Steering Committee. This work recognized the achievements of many women throughout Edmonton's communities.
Upon completion, the International Women’s Year project had concluded and achieved its goal of creating greater awareness and public recognition of women community volunteers in Edmonton.