By Catherine O’Hara, REVIEW STAFF

The Hamilton branch of the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign, in partnership with McMaster University’s Faculty of Humanities and Program in Gender Studies and Feminist Research, has called upon an iconic Canadian journalist to make some noise about a feminist movement that strives to turn the tide of AIDS in Africa.

Michele Landsberg, a former Toronto Star columnist, social justice activist and advocate for women and children is slated to present Feminism Forward, a lecture that “dares you to face up to the future.”

“She’s going to be fantastic,” said Grandmother of Steel member and Freelton resident, Lisbie Rae, of the keynote speaker.
Landsberg will champion the cause of human rights and confront various issues. The author will also take the opportunity to celebrate the arrival of the grandmothers’ movement in Canada, which was spurred by her daughter Ilana Landsberg-Lewis, executive director of the Stephen Lewis Foundation.

The campaign, noted Landsberg, “took off like blazing guns.”

“It was so unbelievable how quickly it escalated.”

As a result, the awarding-winning writer wants to shine a light on grandmothers and their astonishing power and dedication to the cause.

Hundreds of grandmothers’ groups, including the Grandmothers of Steel, have devoted their energy, ingenuity and love to help their peers, who face insurmountable challenges raising their grandchildren orphaned by the AIDS pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa.

While grandmothers are known to care for the young, they haven’t been acknowledged as “movers and shakers of the world,” said Landsberg.

And that’s just what they are: influential and empowering women driven to make a difference in the lives of others in a “very democratic and very egalitarian way.”

“She (Landsberg) thinks that it’s our responsibility as Westerners to not just focus on our own women’s issues here, because we have it so much easier than women in the Third World, but also to fight against injustice wherever we see it,” said Rae.

This, said Landsberg, can be daunting. However, over the course of her career, she has witnessed dramatic reforms she believed would never take shape.

“Quite often, you look at laws that are so unjust or an economic system that seems so wrongheaded and you think, ‘How can this ever change?’ Then, amazing changes happen,” said Landsberg.

These life-altering transformations are often a direct result of tireless efforts by countless individuals working towards a common goal – a case in point being the work of the Grandmothers of Steel group.

“It only happens if you keep toiling away at it in your small way, many thousands of us together,” said Landsberg.

These topics, and many more that are addressed in the keynote speaker’s new book, Writing the Revolution, will be discussed at the Friday, Feb. 24 fundraising event, which starts at 6:30 p.m. with a marketplace featuring an eclectic mix of articles. The items, including pieces imported from Africa, will be available for purchase by cash or cheque.

Landsberg’s presentation is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. and will be followed by a question-and-answer period. The author and former Toronto Star columnist’s book will also be on sale for $25. A book signing will take place at the end of the evening.

Tickets to attend the lecture, held at the Michael DeGroot Centre for Learning and Discovery Lecture Hall 1305 at McMaster University, cost $40. Free parking is available to event-goers in Parking Lot I.

All proceeds will further the Grandmothers of Steel’s commitment to raising funds and awareness for African grandmothers through the Stephen Lewis Foundation.

Tickets are available at Bryan Prince Booksellers, 1060 King St. West, or by calling Theresa at 905-765-5487.