Tens of thousands went to the Women's March in Toronto. Now what?
The organizing committee behind the Toronto Women's March — which brought out tens of thousands on Saturday — is hoping to keep the event's momentum going.
"[The participants] are excited, they are eager, and they want to be locally active," said march organizer Kavita Dogra on CBC's Metro Morning.
Dogra and the other march organizers will gather next week to write a set of actions, aiming to list concrete ways for people to make a difference in their communities.
Dogra, who founded the organization We Talk Women, also recommends people head to their Facebook group for information about upcoming events and to check out links to community organizing groups that are working on issues like racism, Indigenous rights, transphobia, and poverty.
"We are encouraging people to participate on Feb. 14 for the 12th Annual Strawberry Ceremony and to raise attention to the lack of action and justice for Indigenous women," added Dogra in an e-mail.
A Twitter campaign demanding gender equity in Toronto's budget directed at Mayor John Tory which began at the march on Saturday is ongoing as well, she said.
Writing a personal action plan
Jay Pitter, an author with ten years of experience in public engagement, has her own suggestions for people who want to make change.
"I think every single woman who attended that march — and women who did not — should create something that I call a personal action plan to ensure tangible action," she said.
Pitter said people should start by identifying an issue to focus on, then take stock of the resources they have to bring to the table and research people already working in the area.
"Then women need to sit down and develop a timeline with milestones so they are really measuring their actions and their impact," she said.
The set of actions the organizing committee will draft might not measure up to that standard, said Dogra.
"Our actions might be a little simpler and maybe you'll feel like they don't have as much impact but I think if we all just did our part we'd be a lot further ahead," she said.
Both Pitter and Dogra say that they know few people will actually make the jump from attending a march to working in a sustained way to make change.
"I think that the potential of the action is very minute unless people really dig deep and are accountable," said Pitter.
Dogra is hopeful that at least a few people will take up the challenge.
"If even a small percentage of those people become locally active within their community, I think we've done something great," she said.
