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Alberta to attend global women’s shelter conference in Australia
EDMONTON — Alberta’s children and family services minister is heading overseas to take part in what’s billed as the largest international conference on women’s shelters and gender-based violence.
Searle Turton will travel to Sydney, Australia, to attend the 5th World Conference of Women’s Shelters, which brings together more than 1,000 delegates from over 100 countries. The event is organized by the Global Network of Women’s Shelters, a group co-founded by the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters.
Turton said Alberta is committed to ensuring families experiencing violence have access to safe and responsive supports. “Participating in this global conference allows us to learn from international leaders and ensure that we continue to lead in our renewed women’s shelter approach,” he said in a statement.
The province says the trip offers a chance to share and learn best practices from around the world and to build connections with organizations that can support future collaboration and innovation. Australia, it notes, is recognized as an international leader in family violence prevention and has similar demographics to Alberta, including rural and urban populations and Indigenous communities.
Turton will be accompanied by one staff member and is scheduled to hold meetings outside the conference that align with broader government priorities. Expenses for the mission will be disclosed on the province’s public reporting site.
About 100 Canadian delegates are registered for the conference, including representatives from Alberta shelters, Catholic Social Services and ACWS. The first World Conference of Women’s Shelters was hosted in Edmonton in 2008.
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