Days of significance: October 2025

Sept. 27, 2025

Equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging (EDI&B) is a strategic priority at Georgian. We’re dedicated to fostering a learning and working environment where everyone feels seen, heard and knows they belong through demonstrable, accountable and system-wide commitments to diversity, de-colonization, anti-racism, equity and inclusion. This days of significance calendar lists the days and months that are recognized within the Georgian community.

There are several dates each month that are recognized, observed and celebrated across Canada and internationally, and we encourage everyone to self-educate by referring to these great resources:

• Canadian important and commemorative days.
• UN International Days and Weeks.
• Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion diversity calendar.

Discover what’s going on in October, find ways to get involved and participate in events or activities, and learn through various resource

Oct. 4 – Sisters in Spirit and Take Back the Night

Sisters in Spirit is aimed at raising awareness around the realities of sexual violence in our communities and working towards the elimination of gender-based violence. Sisters in Spirit annually occurs on Oct. 4 and aims to honour those who have gone missing from Indigenous communities.

Since the 1970’s, Take Back the Night continues to be a worldwide movement to end sexual violence in all forms, including sexual assault, sexual abuse, trafficking, stalking, gender harassment and relationship violence, while also supporting survivors. The name “Take Back the Night” honours those who first advocated for the essential right of women to walk alone at night without fear of harm. Protests over the years have sparked thousands of events on college campuses and in communities of all sizes across the world. These events bring together people from all backgrounds in our community to take a vocal and visible stand.  

 If you’d like to learn more about the history of Take Back the Night, we encourage you to check out the Take Back the Night Foundation website.  

Shatter the silence. Stop the violence.  

• 1 in 3 women experience some form of sexual violence or intimate partner violence.  

• Indigenous women are four times more likely than non-Indigenous women to be victims of violence. 

• 1 in 6 men experience sexual violence.  

• People in the 2SLGBTQIA+ community are more likely to experience sexual violence. 

Oct. 10 – World Mental Health Day

Celebrated every year on Oct. 10 World Mental Health Day is a time to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world, increase efforts to support mental health and reduce stigma.  

• 1 in 5 Canadians experience a mental illness, with mental illness and substance use disorders being the leading causes of disability in Canada. (CAMH, 2025) 

• By the time Canadians reach 40 years of age, 1 in 2 have – or have had – a mental illness. 

Mental illness and substance use disorders account for between 11% and 15% of Ontario’s disease burden, as measured in disability-adjusted life years, however, it only receives about 7% of health care dollars. 

This year’s theme is Access to Services – Mental Health in Catastrophes and Emergencies. “Disasters can vary greatly. In 2020, approximately 100 million people worldwide were affected by disaster events. In the case of disasters, vulnerable groups can be under great stress, can face major challenges and may develop mental disorders. Nearly one-third of disaster-affected people may experience burdensome mental health consequences”.