Form to complete in order to submit a name
The Women Trailblazers Bank project is a project that seeks to highlight Dieppe’s female heritage. The project’s French name, Toponomy’ielle, incorporates the pronoun ielle—which means she in local Acadian French and has also been adopted by many francophones worldwide as a gender-neutral pronoun—to signal the desire to include gender-diverse people who currently identify, or have identified in the past, as women. The project aims to build a bank of place names for municipal trails.
What are place names?
Place names are the names given to streets, trails, parks, sidewalks, municipal facilities, etc.
Under-representation of women
Women are under-represented in Canadian place names. Dieppe seeks to follow in the footsteps of other French-speaking cities like Sherbrooke and Montreal and honour women who have made contributions in various fields.
Scarcity of women in name banks
For someone to have a place named after them, they must have made a significant contribution to the municipality, but name banks often focus on fields where women have historically been under-represented.
Proposals needed
The municipality is therefore calling on the public to help it gather women’s names so that it can increase the representation of women in local place names.
Place names are a way of telling Dieppe’s story through the contributions of individuals. The Women Trailblazers Bank project seeks to highlight the role of women in the passing on of knowledge in different fields. Importance will be given to Francophone women as well as Mi’kmaq women in the region, to ensure greater representation in place names.
Criteria
- Proposed names must be those of women or of gender-diverse individuals who currently identify, or have identified in the past, as women.
- The individual’s contributions must date back at least 50 years.
Categories
Politics: women who have distinguished themselves through involvement in municipal politics (e.g., councillor, etc.) or actions that have influenced community development.
Sports: women who have distinguished themselves through their contribution to the City’s reputation for sports excellence and/or the development of sports excellence in general.
Environment: women who have distinguished themselves by developing ways for humans to interact with the local ecosystem, with a view to fostering respect for, and the protection of, biodiversity.
Canadian Armed Forces: contribution to the representation of women in the Canadian Armed Forces, including youth involvement.
Intercultural relations: women who have distinguished themselves in advancing a cause or initiating an impactful project that leads to a better understanding of cultural diversity and fostering dialogue between various communities.
Creative pursuits: women who have distinguished themselves through their contribution to the City’s reputation for excellence in creative pursuits.
Health: women who have distinguished themselves for their contribution to the development of better health services (physical and/or mental) for Dieppe residents.
Entrepreneurship: women founders and business leaders who have made a difference by contributing to the economic development of Dieppe in a significant way.
Interested parties have until 4 p.m. on Monday, September 9, to submit the following form. The selection committee will meet in mid-September, and the shortlisted names will be announced in December.