From 1st March digital WOW Festivals will go live from the UK, New York, Nepal, Pakistan, Istanbul and Bangladesh. WOW Think Ins will take place in Taiwan and Western Australia.
The WOW Festival UK will continue up to 21st March and feature over 30 digital events including guest speakers such as Kimberlé Crenshaw, Ruby Wax, Arundhati Roy, Sheila Heti, Avni Doshi and Bryony Kimmings. It will be packed with workshops and discussions addressing mental health, sex in lockdown, women in Greek myths, grief and intersectionality.
Jude Kelly, Founder and Director of The WOW Foundation says: “Throughout 2021, WOW is bringing together courageous women and girls from across the globe who are driven by a desire to change the world. These brilliant activists will join WOW Festivals around the world in groundbreaking conversations, workshops and projects; focusing on gender, racial and social inequality, all of which have been exacerbated in the past 12 months.
“We can already see that women and girls have been the hardest hit by COVID-19 finding themselves in ever more precarious positions, especially those already marginalised. With cases of domestic abuse rising and access to education diminishing, the impact of the pandemic is being felt in both domestic spaces and the labour markets with devastating social and economic consequences.
“COVID-19 looks as if it could set gender equality and women’s rights back a staggering 25 years, without immediate and direct action. We must act now to build a post-pandemic world which is inclusive, supportive and where the UN’s goal of gender equality by 2030 can be achieved.”
Recognising recent global events, 2021’s WOW UK programme will take a frank look at new obstacles women, girls and non-binary people now face; discussing creative solutions for change whilst celebrating amazing stories of resistance and progress. As in all WOW Festivals, it will be packed with challenging conversations but also moments of joy, spontaneity, laughter and optimism. This year’s opening session will bring together voices from across the globe to highlight the need for us to work together to build a more inclusive and sustainable post-pandemic world.
For more information and the full WOW Festival 2021 programme, visit thewowfoundation.com or book here.
