#MMIW at #CAJ16: You don't know what it's like

OTTAWA, May 10, 2016 /CNW/ - With an inquiry in its budding stages, it's a subject that has and will continue to reach in and touch the hearts of people in every community across Canada.

Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.

For decades, these women and girls have disappeared and their families and friends have seen those absences be explained away. While some media have covered these incidents since the families first reported them, it only became a national story when the women – sisters, cousins, mothers, grandmothers, nieces and daughters of the missing – started raising their own voices and refusing to be silenced, explained away or forgotten.

In the coming year, the chances are significant many Canadian reporters will dip into this ongoing storyline for the first time is significant. As Indigenous women are woven throughout the fabric of all our communities, all will be challenged to reflect and change as the national inquiry gets underway in the coming year.

With the partnership and leadership of the Aboriginal Peoples' Television Network, the CAJ will be presenting a keynote plenary on MMIW to conclude the first day of sessions at #CAJ16 on May 27. This must-see discussion, moderated by APTN's Tina House, will feature three women – mother, niece and cousin, sister – still seeking answers about their loved ones. Each of them has also seen the other end of a journalist's microphone, notepad and smartphone.

"This plenary provides the chance, at an opportune time, to hear first-hand opinions on how Canadian media have covered #MMIW from those who are living it," CAJ president Nick Taylor-Vaisey said. "These women will, through the passion they've dedicated to #MMIW, provide delegates with their perspectives on how journalists should tell these important stories moving forward."

Registration is currently open for this two-day conference, with fees starting at $249 plus HST for CAJ members for the full weekend, including a ticket to the conference banquet and gala. Rates for unemployed journalists and CAJ student members start at $75. Discounts are available for CAJ Award finalists as well those registering in a group. These early bird rates will rise on May 20.

For those intending to stay at the Coast Edmonton Plaza Hotel, our conference room rates starting at $110 plus taxes and fees for a single room may still be available on request. Other preferential rates may also still be available.

The CAJ is Canada's largest national professional organization for journalists from all media, representing over 600 members across the country. The CAJ's primary roles are to provide public-interest advocacy and high-quality professional development for its members.

Registration questions can be sent to: [email protected]

www.caj.ca/caj16 | www.facebook.com/CdnAssocJournalists | www.twitter.com/CAJ

SOURCE Canadian Association of Journalists

Nick Taylor-Vaisey, CAJ president, 647-968-2393, [email protected]; Hugo Rodrigues, #CAJ16 conference chair, [email protected]; Dale Bass, CAJ events committee chair, [email protected]