Cornerstone event: April Workshop
8th Annual Making Waves Workshop
Saturday, April 25th 2026
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Making Waves is made with, by, and for young women, aged 14-24, who want to speak up and make a difference.
Making Waves takes youth voices and what they care about seriously.
At this inspiring all-day workshop, you will learn the importance and power of your voice, why women speaking up matters, and how to make change. You will connect with like-minded young people as well as adults who care about gender equality and investing in youth.
Making Waves was co-founded by Avery Simard when she was 17 years old. She cares deeply about socialy justice and wanted a place to talk about issues that matter to and impact young people and build an intergenerational community of women and queer people who care about equality, especially gender equality.
Young people have input into every aspect of Making Waves. It is inspiring, content-rich, energizing, and impactful.
This year the request from young wavemakers is to:
1) learn more about what is happening and what to do about it.
2) have more opportunities to connect with participants in small groups.
For our 8th Annual Making Waves Workshop we will be joined by:
• Girls in Brass, making gender equality waves through the arts
• Janis Irwin and Lizette Tejada, NDP MLAs for Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood and Calgary Klein: What Can We Do Beyond Voting, Applauding and Booing?
• Ziyana Kotadia, young wavemaker and gender justice advocate, will help us understand what is happening in Alberta and why it matters for gender equality.
• Shari Graydon, catalyst of Informed Opinions, shares stories and research to make clear why women’s voices matter, why we need to speak up, and how to do so effectively.
• Heather Ganshorn will take us through who is behind media disinformation and the tactics that are being used
• Denise Brunsden and Alex Traynor will get us connecting, organizing and building community for making positive change
There will be lots of opportunities to learn, to connect, and to practice speaking up. And did you know that the workshop is introvert friendly? Making Waves is a safe no-fail environment, where you can speak up as little or as much as you want.
Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, including Bennett Jones and The Calgary Foundation, as well as a dedicated group of supporters, the workshop is FREE!
If you (or an adult in your life) would like to support Making Waves, we very happily accept donations. Visithttps://www.makewavesmakechange.ca and click on the donate button.
Making Waves is for all young women, non-binary, trans, and gender diverse individuals aged 14-24+.
Proposed Agenda
9:30 Doors Open, Jones Boardroom, Bennett Jones. Light Breakfast
10:00 Shari Graydon, Informed Perspectives
11:30 Youth Worry About Food: Panel Discussion
12:30 Lunch
1:00 Media Literacy with Heather
1:30 Show Your Work with Tanya
2:00 What is Happening in Alberta with Ziyana
2:45 More Than Voting, Applauding, or Booing with Janis and Lizette
3:45 Get Organized, Make Waves, Make Change with Denise and Alex
4:30 Farewell (Informal networking until 5 pm)
Food and beverages provided. Water is available all day.
Bring something to take notes with. Wifi is free.
Bring your curiousity and joy!
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We can't wait to spend the day together with you!
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Inaugural Work Shop: April 2019
The very first Making Waves Workshop was held in the stunning board room of Bennett Jones, and was attended by 50 young women and supported by 20 accomplished adult women. It was an inspirational and magical day! Shari Graydon of Informed Opinions held a 2 hour workshop, which was followed by a catered lunch. The afternoon started with a panel of young women who shared their experiences, concerns and aspirations for the future, and invited the participants to take the mic and join the conversation. For the final session 10 adult women told their stories of agency, in a fast-paced style. Interspersed throughout the day were opportunities to practice networking and building a support network. Created by and for young women, the day was a massive success.
Photo credit: Monique de St.Croix
Photo credit: Monique de St.Croix
Making Waves goes virtual
April 2020
Weeks before the April 2020 workshop, planned with an entire new group of young wavemakers, the pandemic swept the world. Our young wavemakers insisted the workshop take place, as everything else was being cancelled. We quickly adjusted and created a concise and impactful 3.5 hour online Zoom event. This was an astonishing success!
When it was safe, we organized a responsibly planned, outdoor, in-person event. In this year of covid, we decided to keep connected, to keep going with Making Waves. We created new and exciting opportunities to practice speaking up. ​​
We also expanded by adding committee members from St. Albert and Toronto. We are proud of these changes and will continue to adapt to keep making waves!
