Remembering Mary-Wynne Ashford

We are very sad to announce the passing of Mary-Wynne Ashford, MD, PhD, Co-President of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) from 1998-2002 and central part of the IPPNWC team. Mary-Wynne was a dedicated mother, sister, grandmother, friend, mentor, humanitarian, doctor, and Nobel Peace Laureate. 
Gordon Edwards has written a beautiful memorial of Mary-Wynne for the World Beyond War website, and we encourage all of the IPPNWC community to read and reflect on Mary-Wynne’s incredible life here.

November Speakers Series: Gordon Edwards

This month, we welcomed Dr. Gordon Edwards, a prolific mathematician, physicist, nuclear consultant, and president of the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility. He joined us to talk about the impacts of the climate crisis along with threats we currently face from a nuclear perspective. Alongside friends and active members of IPPNWC, Dr. Edwards joined for an important conversation enlightening us to the deep connections the nuclear industry has with climate change. 

Watch this month’s Speakers’ Series event here!

Updates from the Intern Projects

We welcomed five interns this summer, who we welcomed into the IPPNWC community. IPPNWC's internship program recognizes Youth Activists across Canada interested in Nuclear Disarmament. Our group of interns underwent seven training modules within this eight week program, learning about subjects such as international law, Arms control, disarmament, activism around the world, environmentalism, feminism, and racial justice and how they connect to health and nuclear disarmament.  In building their associated projects, IPPNWC interns were able to gain a deeper understanding of disarmament, nuclear activism and the interconnections of health. Read more about our intern projects below!

Aisha looked at the circulation of information and narratives from mass media surrounding the delivery of information on nuclear war, artillery and the abolition movement, and how this poses a barrier to public health care. We are excited to hear more about Aisha’s research and objectives as she continues her involvement with IPPNWC and peace work in general. 
 

Anshika conducted research reviewing the parallel in media representation and opinion trends between the depiction of nuclear weapons during and after World War II. Anshika specifically uses this research paper to question the role of media representation in the propagation of the idea of a nuclear war in the current political climate. Anshika’s commitment to a well-researched educational piece not only supports IPPNWC’s objectives, but will help build a strong basis for public education about the risks of nuclear weapons.
 

Sarah focused specifically on youth involvement in nuclear disarmament, and created a webinar series focusing on perspectives from around the world in a variety of different fields, with speakers discussing their own advocacy in nuclear disarmament. This project aimed to educate youth from across Canada on the impacts of nuclear weapons and testing, and nuclear energy with uranium mining and nuclear waste, as well as inform them as to how they can become more involved in the disarmament movement. We can’t wait to hear more from Sarah as her webinars are promoted in the new year. 
 

Introducing Laine and Nicole: New Staff at IPPNWC

This month, we welcomed two new staff members at IPPNWC. Working as with IPPNWC to assist coordination of admin and programming as an Administrative Assistant is Nicole Pickett, and working to develop our website, increase institutional memory and up media as a Media Assistant is Laine McCrory.

Nicole is a recent University of Waterloo graduate with a Master of Public Health. In 2019, she graduated with a Bachelor of Science, Honours in Neuroscience. Living in Halifax, she is currently working for the Public Health Agency of Canada as a Policy Analyst, with particular focus on climate change and health. She is passionate about the social determinants of health and health communication, and hopes to pursue further education in epidemiology and biostatistics to inform climate-resilient public policy and healthier communities. If she's not working, you can likely find her at the boxing studio or at the park with her dog, Indigo.

2022 Youth Nuclear Peace Day of Action

This year, IPPNWC was an endorsing member for the Youth Nuclear Peace Day of Action. The event took place on October 14 2022 in Winnipeg, Manitoba at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. Approximately 90 people attended the event, the majority being students. Key speakers included Anna Ikeda - United Nations Representative for Disarmament and Senator Marilou McPhedran as the key not speaker. The event was an independent, non-politically affiliated session, welcoming students to present their research on groups and organizations working towards nuclear disarmament nationally, and internationally. The event was a collaborative effort, as students gained the opportunity to brainstorm with one other some about how they could move forward with disarmament initiatives in their schools and communities. Overall, this event was a tremendous success, featuring contributions from the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons

ICAN: Reflecting on COP27

IPPNWC follows four core purposes that outline our work. Among these purposes, we commit to bringing to light the health consequences of nuclear weapons, armed conflict and other weapons of mass destruction. As such, we aim to promote non violent measures of conflict resolution within a sustainable world. We advocate for more information about the connection between nuclear weapons and climate change as one that poses dire health consequences to populations across the world. 

Following COP27, ICAN hosted a session on moving forward with the knowledge discussed at the conference. The session welcomed activists from the climate and nuclear ban campaigns to draw conclusions between the two movements. The discussion was recorded, and can be viewed here

Call for Reflections: What do healthcare and public health professionals think about vaccines?

The global headquarters of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War passes on this call for asking what Canadian health care and public health professionals think about vaccines. On behalf of IPPNW, we are passing along this call to action. 

The World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA), NGO in official relations with the World Health Organization (WHO), is starting a project to analyze if and how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted healthcare and public health workers' sentiment towards vaccination—in particular, WFPHA seeks to understand any sentiment changes concerning the COVID-19 and seasonal flu vaccinations.

WFPHA invites all health professionals to fill out this survey and share their opinion with us, including but not limited to public health professionals, physicians, nurses, dentists, midwifes, pharmacists, social and community health workers working in any setting from hospital to academia, at the Ministry of Health or with communities, etc.

Has the pandemic had an impact on your attitude toward vaccination? Your opinion matters! Survey link https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/Canada_vaccination_sentiment

IPPNW Canada appreciates our committed and generous donors. We are a registered charity and accept tax-deductible donations through our partner CanadaHelps. We also gratefully accept bequests and legacy giving.