WOW Women of the Wold Festival turns 10

Deborah Frances White will present The Guilty Feminist Live at WOW Festival 2020

The first Women if the World Festival was launched by Jude Kelly at Southbank Centre Lon-don in 2010, where she was Artistic Director, to celebrate women and girls, taking a frank look at what prevents them from achieving their potential, raising awareness globally of the issues they face, and discussing solutions together.

This year’s event culminates on the International Women’s Day and features talks, debates, performances, workshops and the

smash hit WOW Speed Mentoring. British Vogue presents “Forces for Change”, with Editor-in-Chief Edward Enninful OBE, launched in The September Issue of British Vogue guest edited by HRH The Duchess of Sussex. Artists, activists and fashion pioneers join in for an evening of converstion exploring the publica-tion’s ongoing movement, sharing stories of female trailblazers setting the agenda across the globe.

As the London Mayoral Debate heats up the 2020 electoral candidates, including Sadiq Khan and Mandu Reid (Women’s Equality Party) also take to the stage.

#March4Women Rally is the ultimate International Women’s Day activity with an urgent call to action for women on the front line of the climate crisis. It’s a Care International initiative and

will invite MPs past and present, Westminster regulars and those lobbying for change to ask: What would a ‘Women’s Parliament’ mean, how different would it look, and who would benefit?

Climate Justice A Man Made Problem with a Feminist Solution, at WOW Festival 2020

led by Helen Pankhurst, Special Adviser on Gender Equality and the great-granddaughter of Emmeline Pankhurst and granddaughter of Sylvia Pankhurst, with Jude Kelly, founder of WOW. Previous years’ guests have included Annie Lennox, Beverley Knight, Michael Sheen, Emeli Sandé, Sue Perkins, Layla Hussein, Muzoon Almellehan, Helena Bonham Carter, Bianca Jagger and David Tennant.

Women’s Parliament is one of the hot topics at WOW. If women ran Parliament, what would it look like? Women are underrepresented across the board in British politics, both in parliament and at local council level. As more and more women leave public office, it could undo any progress that has been made towards getting 50:50 representation in recent years. The panel discussion The festival will also be remembering Toni Morrison, the seminal American author, with performances, readings and tributes from special guests and is a joyful response to the life, influence and legacy of this Nobel Prize winner.

Look out for even more amazing women in the programme: Naomi Wolf, Shazia Mirza, Scarlett Curtis, Sandi Toksvig, Mary Robinson, Elif Shafak, Julia Gillard, Caroline Criado Perez, Emma Dabiri, Shazia Mirza, Bobby Baker and live recordings of two of the UK’s most popular podcasts, Scarlett Curtis: Feminists Don’t Wear Pink and The Guilty Feminist.

There will also be two award ceremonies. Women on the Move Awards 2020: The Greatest Hits presented by Samira Ahmed, which celebrates inspirational leadership from migrant and refugee women and will this year bring together previous winners to celebrate 10 years of WOMA including Mariam Yusuf, Joon Lynn Goh and Rossana Leal; and With and For Girls Awards with WOW, which EMPOWERING WOMEN

will bring together 25 girl led and girl centered groups from across the globe to celebrate their trailblazing achievements.

Over the past 10 years WOW Festivals have reached more than two million people across six continents, from Baltimore to Brazil, Cardiff to Karachi.

In 2018, Jude Kelly founded The WOW Foundation to run the global movement as an independent charitable organisation. It produces festivals across the world to celebrate women and girls, and raise awareness globally of the issues they face and possible solutions. Led by Kelly, the organisation works to build, convene and sustain a global movement that believes a gender equal world is possible and desirable through WOW festivals and empowering women and girls.

southbankcentre.co.uk/ whats-on/festivals-series/ women-of-the-world

Supported by

Jess Phillips, speaker at WOW Festival 2020

Edward Enninful, Vogue editor in chief presenting Forces for Change at WOW Festival 2020

Layla Saad hosts the panel Me and White Supremacy

Sandi Toksvig, speaker at WOW Festival 2020