Join us on Wednesday, May 27th as the AVA Webinar Series presents The SPARX Program: Promoting Healthy Relationships and Preventing Dating Violence by Raising Awareness Among Youth, Caregivers, and Professionals, featuring Pénélope Allard-Cobeto and Émilie Marien from SPARX for Positive Romantic and Intimate Relationships.
Wednesday, May 27th, 2026
12 – 1:30pm MST
This session provides an accessible introduction into the world of basic income and what its implementation could mean for people impacted by or at-risk of gender-based violence. Participants will gain insights into the connections between basic income advocacy and anti-violence and gender-equity work, and will be encouraged to consider the impacts of basic income for supporting people’s safety and autonomy.
About the Speakers
Penelope Allard‑Cobetto holds a bachelor’s degree in criminology and a master’s degree in sexology. For the past three years, she has worked with the Canada Research Chair in Interpersonal Traumas and Resilience as the coordinator of the SPARX Project. In this role, she collaborates with adolescents, caregivers, and professionals to assess their needs, develops tools based on their input, implements targeted initiatives, and gathers feedback to continuously improve the program, with the goal of identifying effective ways to promote healthy relationships and prevent dating violence.
Émilie Marien holds a bachelor’s degree in science high school teaching and a bachelor’s degree in sexology. Dedicated to promoting sex education among youth, she now works as a research support agent for the Canada Research Chair in Interpersonal Traumas and Resilience. She offers trainings to facilitate the SPARX program, supports the youth ambassador component and plays a key role in the social media campaign. Driven by the mission of making dating violence prevention and healthy relationships promotion tools as accessible as possible, she is committed to ensuring they meet the real needs of parents, youth workers, and young people themselves.