Dear Women Leaders,
The world as we know it has been overturned by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of our countries are in various states of curfew and lockdown and all of us are being encouraged by local, national and global health authorities to significantly change our behaviours in response to the Coronavirus.
From Coady Institute, we wish you all the very best in responding to this unprecedented crisis. We hope you can all keep healthy and will continue to support the most vulnerable in your communities. We also urge you at this time to advocate for strict enforcements around self-distancing in order to slow the spread of the virus and protect your yourselves and families to the best of your abilities. It is in such times of crisis that the forces of social solidarity must be strongest and women’s voices be especially heard.
Following the first reported case of the virus in Nova Scotia last weekend, Coady Institute and broader university moved to adjust means of operations. All staff of Coady Institute are now working from home, preparing our programs and engaging with project partners locally and overseas. We are told by the authorities that we may be continuing our social distancing measures for eight weeks.
Given the nature of this unprecedented crisis, with the closure of international borders, termination of international flights, and general economic downturn, we have had to make some immediate and difficult decisions about the Institute’s 2020 course offerings.
We have concluded that in current circumstances, the most responsible and prudent decision is to cancel or postpone all Coady Institute courses scheduled for our Antigonish campus from May to mid-August.
In this regard, the Global Change Leaders program, originally scheduled from June 1 – July 17, 2020, has now been postponed until March 2021. New dates will follow in the coming weeks.
We deeply regret the inconvenience this will cause everyone involved. We know that many of you have been securing your visas and making professional and personal arrangements to come to the Institute.
We will follow-up with you in the coming weeks to see whether you will be able to come on the new dates established in March 2021, or if you wish to withdraw from the program. We are also planning to roll out a series of shorter leadership courses or modules online to keep members of our Women Leaders network engaged and sharing their expertise and will be inviting you to take part if you are able.
We will provide regular updates on the Institute’s programs on our website, and will do our best to keep in touch throughout. Do feel free to share your stories with us.
In the meantime, we wish you the best as we all struggle to keep our families, communities and nations safe. You are in our thoughts at this most difficult time.
Yours sincerely,
Eileen Alma
Director, Women’s Leadership and Indigenous Programming
Coady international Institute