Canada and the USA: News and Notes, June 2009

This month, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Solferino. After intense fighting left more than 6,000 dead and 40,000 wounded, Henry Dunant and local women cared for the wounded and dying in the church of Castiglione. The experience prompted Dunant to write "A Memory of Solferino", and it was his call to alleviate the suffering of the wounded that inspired the founding of the Red Cross, now the world's largest humanitarian network. Activities this month include a gathering of youth in Solferino itself, while in the United States and Canada, the ICRC is sharing the "Our World – At War" exhibition with the public.