The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, March 7, 2012 · 14 Social media is key this International Women's Day From Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, women are heavily using Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn to focus global attention on areas where inequalities prevail. twitter.com/womensday community with around 10,000 followers is phenomenal for sharing videos, information and news as it happens. Offline large scale women's rallies have become even larger through the use of social media. It would be hard to find any country that did not celebrate the day in some way." International Women's Day, which saw its first event run in 1911, continues to provide a powerful opportunity to unite, network and mobilise worldwide for meaningful change. It provides an opportunity to make a stand against inequality, discrimination and marginalisation that only serves to weaken all of our societies. About International Women's Day International Women's Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. In some places like China, Russia, Vietnam and Bulgaria, International Women's Day is a national holiday. The first IWD was observed on March 19, 1911 in Germany following a declaration by the Socialist Party of America. The idea of having an international women's day was first put forward at the turn of the 20th century amid rapid world industrialization and economic expansion that led to protests over working conditions. 2011 sees the International Women's Day centenary fall on the same say as Shrove (pancake) Tuesday. For a detailed list of International Women's Day events globally see http://www.internationalwomensday.com/events.asp. Follow the International Women's Day Twitter feed at http://www.twitter.com/womensday. For more information see http://www.internationalwomensday.com/about.asp. The International Women's Day website receives significant traffic in the lead up to and post International Women's Day with well over 100,000 unique visitors using the website on International Women's Day alone. Source: www.internationalwomensday.com March 8, 2012 marks the 101st International Women's Day with thousands of events occurring worldwide that celebrate women's progress or rally against inequality. World dignitaries including the President of the United States of America Barack Obama and UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon proclaim official statements supporting International Women's Day and its focus. Celebrity supporters for the day include singer-songwriter and We are Equals activist Annie Lennox, Avon Foundation advocate Reese Witherspoon and OXFAM supporters Helena Christensen and Kristin Davis. For decades women have banded together to challenge injustices, overcome barriers and pursue equality. International Women's Day provides an opportunity to commemorate these efforts, celebrate progress and call for commitment to women's rights, peace and equality. Social media and #womensday tweets provide a whole new way to interact, clearly a contrast to the days of pioneering suffragettes. Glenda Stone, founder of the internationalwomensday.com website that has served as a global hub for International Women's Day events, resources and news for over a decade says: "Activity on International Women's Day has skyrocketed over the last five years. This is due to the rise of social media, celebrity involvement, and corporations taking on the day sponsoring and running big events. Our Family owned & operated for 42 years! Oakville has been trusting their vehicle needs to these & many, many more For over 42 years, magnificent women LEFT TO RIGHT BACK ROW: Carmel Gilham, Sheena Manalo, Sharon Lewis, Susan Micic, Christina Istead, Joanne Werstroh, Janice Stephenson, Wendy Roy, Holly Jensson, Sandy Philips, Susan Pompilio-McFarlane, Cathy Sanci. FRONT ROW: Tracy Chan, Joanne Gordon, Judy Davidson, Candace Manning, Cheryl Manning, Susan Shulman, Jeannine Baker www.oak-land.com · 570 TRAFALGAR RD., OAKVILLE AT THE QEW · 905.844.3273