A FESTIVAL OF TALKS, DEBATES, MUSIC, FILM & COMEDY CELEBRATING WOMEN . . .
(I apologise for such a late post but this was an overwhelmingly massive event that I could not justify it with the tribute it deserved)
In celebration and recognition of International Women's Day, the Southbank Centre played host to the Women Of The World Festival on the 5th-9th March.
It saw a stellar line up of famous names take to the stages to celebrate women of the world, discuss topical issues and debate gender equality and inequality through inspiring talks, workshops, films, performances. WOW was a packed weekend that celebrated the incredible achievements of girls and women alike across the world. Whether you were a veteran or dipping your toe into feminism for the first time, it boasted a wealth of opportunities and looked at the most potent topics for women today.
Friday started with a topical discussion, 'Is Feminism Officially In?'. The discussion revolved around the idea of women and power, with the notion of questioning whether feminism was officially 'in' and whether this shift in change has led to a development in women's relationship with power. Chaired by WOW innovator Jude Kelly, it was incredibly insightful to see a charting across the year of feminist stories by journalist Kira Cochrane especially when she recounted the startling statistics of just how many people signed the Say No To Page 3 campaign.
Equally as staggering was the sheer immensity that social media and community networks played a part in any massive stories of the unprecedented year for feminism. Kira gave a whistlestop tour of the past year's stories and it wasn't until she recounted them, that we all took a moment to stop and appreciate just how big a movement and powerful force change and awareness can result in. Other speakers on the stage included Baroness Shirely Williams, campaigner Sarah Brown and space-scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock as well as WOW founder and Southbank Centre Artistic Director Jude Kelly OBE.
The discussion was a great note to start the weekend's talk on and no doubt WOW will be back, with a greater force and packed with an even more brilliant itinerary.
 |
| Gaggle, performing at WOW 2014 Courtesy: Southbank Centre |
Phoebe
Davies brought her feminist inspired nail art creations with her, working in
collaboration with groups of
women exploring current attitudes to feminism, female expectation,
aspirations and women of influence. Drawing upon the contemporary culture
of nail art these dialogues and collaborations have resulted in a set
of printed nail designs depicting women of personal influence or significance.
A festival for everyone, WOW 2014 again shone the spotlight on a broad and diverse spectrum of topical women’s subjects through its ground-breaking mix of talks and debates, keynotes, concerts, performances, film, comedy, workshops, WOW bites, how-tos, speed mentoring and networking opportunities.
The Southbank Centre also hosted its first Women in the Arts day, with 200 women working in the arts and cultural sector asking what new steps need to be taken to achieve gender equality across the industry. A key focus on Women in Politics was on the agenda, with WOW holding its first ever WOW Question Time and a session with seasoned female politicians who shared tips on how to run for office.
Dicussions included talks ranging from:
What do Vivienne Westwood, Grayson Perry and Katie Price have in common? Clue; it’s got nothing to do with their fashion sense
Here's the answer: Dame Vivienne Westwood was in conversation with Shami Chakrabarti about her life, work and activism, Grayson Perry gave his lecture on all things male and Katie Price unsurprisingly took part in debate as to whether Page 3 makes the world a better place.
The star of WOW 2014 had to be Nobel Peace Prize nominee Malala Yousafzai who gave an inspiring speech on the nature of gender inequality and bringing about change which just proved the younger generation will carry on all the hard work instilled by the past generation.
WOW 2014 also explored the daily musings of a feminist as we struggled with the confusing idea of how one could be a feminist and love Beyonce. Journalist Hannah Pool provided a brief talk about this and Bonnie Parsons, founder of Seen on Screen invited guests to a Beyonce dance class. With loud music, smoke machine and fierceness, where else could you learn the empowering moves to Run the World to the backdrop of the Houses of Parliament?
Other highlights include:
• Ronnie Spector’s first UK headline show in four years chronicling her 50-year journey through rock and roll.
• Nirbhaya: the London premiere of Yael Farber’s acclaimed work that cracks open the silence around women whose lives have been shattered by gender-based violence. It was followed by discussions on rape and sexual violence throughout the festival.
• Vicky Pryce discussed being behind bars, her book Prisonomics and the economic cost of keeping women in prison.
• Maxine Peake led WOW’s annual speed mentoring event with the opportunity to be mentored by over 200 leading women.
• The Cruelest Cut: Lynne Featherstone MP, Efua Dorkenoo from Equality Now, Nimco Ali, co-founder of Daughters of Eve and Naana Otoo-Oyortey, Executive Director of FORWARD discussed how we can end Female Genital Mutilation in one generation.
• Juliet Stevenson, Bryony Hannah and Cush Jumbo read testimonies from refugee women locked up in the UK.
• Neuroscientist Gina Rippon waded through the ‘Mars & Venus’ neurotrash to give us the lowdown on whether there is any such thing as a ‘female’ or a ‘male’ brain.
• Being A Man: Following Southbank Centre’s inaugural Being A Man festival in January 2014, a number of sessions explored the challenges around engaging men and boys in gender equality.
 |
| Teens Feminist Corner Workshop |
 |
| Nirbhaya, Yael Farber's acclaimed work |
 |
| Feminism In The Classroom |
• Ruby Wax performed extracts of her new show Sane New World.
• WOW Laureates’ Night: for the first time in history all five UK and NI poet laureates are women. WOW brought them together for this celebratory performance and first joint reading. (AS A LITERATURE NERD, THIS WAS PHENOMENAL)
• The Misogyny Factor: Australian feminist thinker Anne Summers talked about her book after her famous interview with Australia’s former Prime Minister Julia Gillard
• The Politics of Afro Hair: last year’s conversation on the politics of Afro hair is WOW’s most popular video online and this year they dug even deeper.
• Fabulous Fashionistas: with an average age of 80, the stars of Channel 4’s Fabulous Fashionistas redefinde old age.
• Sunday Newspaper Review: Natasha McElhone and Baroness Doreen Lawrence gave us a snapshot of the biggest headlines and best comments.
• Mirth Control returned for a fourth year with Sandi Toksvig hosting an electrifying night of comedy and music, featuring an all-female orchestra conducted by Sue Perkins playing the music of overlooked female composers.
I'd like to end this post on an inspiring note as we watch Malala give her inspiring speech about the systemic nature of gender inequality and bringing about change.
Where will YOU be at next year's WOW?
For more information about WOW2014, click here
Images courtesy of Southbank Centre
0 comments:
Post a Comment