Terry Halifax
Northern News Services

NNSL (Mar 10/99) - The Dare to Dream Women's conference is a forum to deal with women's issues arising from the territorial division.

Part of National Women's Week, the conference will be held March 11-13 at the Explorer Hotel.

Executive director for the Status of Women, Rosemary Cairns, said the event will play host to women of all ages, from communities across the Western Arctic.

"One hundred women from all over the NWT will be attending the conference," Cairns said.

"The goal is to discuss issues that will affect women's programs following division."

Hosted by the minister responsible for the Status of Women, Manitok Thompson, Cairns said the event has been jointly organized by the Status of Women Council of the NWT and the Native Women's Association.

"There are at least two women coming from each community and approximately 30 young women from NWT communities," she said.

"They will discuss and review three main things that will happen April 1, when the territories divide."

"They will make recommendations to MLAs on ways to improve on programs and services that are now available to women, ways to support and develop women in leadership roles, and how women will be represented by two government in the new western territory."

The conference kicks off 9 a.m. Thursday with speeches and prayer followed by the keynote address, Cairns said.

"The keynote speaker will be Senator Thelma Chalifoux, she is the first Metis Senator and has a very distinguished background," Cairns said.

Senator Chalifoux was appointed to the Senate in 1997, and is a strong advocate for aboriginal, environmental, seniors' and women's rights.

Other speakers will include Yellowknife lawyer, Sandy Lee, Olympic skier, Sharon Firth, Madam Justice Virginia Schuler and Western Arctic MP Ethel Blondin-Andrew.

Cairns said the focus of this year's conference, will be on young women of vision.

"We wanted to give young women a sense of how various women have advanced in their careers and how from dreaming something, these women have managed to accomplish it."