We are excited to announce that our new charity partner for the Funny Women Awards is UN Women. The 2017 Funny Women Awards final is set to be one of the signature events for the HeForShe London Arts Week 2018 in support of UN Women, which takes place 8th to 15th March 2018.
HeForShe believes that to achieve real change for women and girls globally, we need to change culture and the Arts have an ability to make people re-think established views and explore challenging topics. Emma Watson is one of a raft of high profile celebrities who have voiced their support of the HeForShe movement speaking up for the rights of women across the world. We now want to add our voice and encourage more men to advocate for women in comedy.
So, in the spirit of the HeForShe movement, this year we are inviting six male comedians (you have to give them a chance) to mentor our six 2017 Stage Award finalists. Last year our finalists were mentored by the six incredible women performers – Sara Pascoe, Ellie Taylor, Jan Ravens, Tiffany Stevenson, Zoe Lyons and Shazia Mirza – no pressure boys!
Laura Haynes, Chair of the UN Women National Committee UK said: “We are delighted to confirm the Funny Women Awards as one of our signature events for HeForShe London Arts Week 2018 in support of UN Women.
“We know that the only way to achieve real change is to change culture. The arts have a key role in guiding and reflecting culture, helping people to re-think established norms and explore challenging topics in a thoughtful way. And laughter, when shared, can help to unite. As well as making us laugh, the Funny Women Awards will be helping to open minds and encourage action.”
Our founder, Lynne Parker said: “I am immensely proud that the charity final of the 2017 Funny Women Awards will be a signature event during HeForShe Arts week next year. We have already received a record number of entries this year across all four Awards categories and over 400 women are signed up to compete in live heats for the coveted Stage Award. The stakes are high.
“Women have such a strong and important voice in the comedy industry and so many of today’s big names have taken part in the Awards at the beginning of their careers. I am excited to see who comes next and looking forward to seeing some brilliant new comedy over the next two months around the UK.”
Get your tickets to watch a Funny Women Awards heat near you. All events listed here.