Women of the World Festival Brochure 2015

5 years of

2015

Supported By

SUNDAY 1 – SUNDAY 8 MARCH London

WOW LOGO 2015 Full programme #wowldn

On 16th February 2015 HRH The Duchess of Cornwall became President of Southbank Centre’s WOW – Women of the World Festival.

The Duchess has been involved with WOW from the very beginning. The launch of WOW in 2011 and the opening of subsequent London festivals have been celebrated with HRH The Duchess of Cornwall at Clarence House. In November 2012 The Duchess launched WOW Australia at Government House in Sydney as part of the Royal Tour of Australia and New Zealand. Her decision to become President of WOW as we celebrate our fifth year is a thrilling endorsement of WOW’s achievements and aspirations and her support will accelerate the strength and reach of WOW nationally and internationally.

wow 2015 EVENTS 1 – 5 MARCH

P5-7

TUNEYARDS P6 NO GUTS, NO HEART, NO GLORY

P7

BAULKHAM HILLS AFRICAN LADIES TROPE P7 WOW WEEKEND STARTS HERE: EVENTS FRIDAY 6 MARCH

P8-16

EVENTS SATURDAY 7 MARCH

P17-29

CAITLIN MORAN EVENTS SUNDAY 8 MARCH

P29 P30-41

SANDI TOKSVIG’S MIRTH CONTROL

P40

NAWAL EL SAADAWI

P41

SALMA HAYEK PINAULT

P41

EXHIBITIONS P42-43 MARKET PLACE CHILDREN’S CARE ZONE

southbankcentre.co.uk/wow #wowLDN

P45 BACK COVER

Jude Kelly

Jude Kelly, Women of the World Festival Director

In the five years since we launched WOW – Women of the World festival, female voices have become immensely powerful across the globe as a force for positive change.

Both individuals and communities, including an increasing number of men, are insisting on the simple proposition that women must have equal rights and asking ‘why is it taking so long?’

Whilst fully accepting the complexity involved in shifting thousands of years of entrenched beliefs, we’re excited by examples of progress but also impatient with the lack of urgency shown by many governments and institutions to make real difference. Most seriously all of us need to tackle the hostile voices that condemn women to a life of secondclass citizenship with all the attendant issues of financial insecurity, limited choices, lack of education, domestic or sexual servitude and exposure to ill health, violence or disrespect.

WOW attempts to raise and explore all of our concerns whilst also celebrating the huge potential of girls and women to make a different and more successful society for everyone. At WOW we encourage fun, activism, openness to new subject matter and an opportunity to add your voice to the wealth of stories that girls and women from all ages, backgrounds and experiences are sharing. This is the century to make a real difference – why not?

Bloomberg’s support has been instrumental to our growth and success from the beginning of WOW, building on a long history of collaboration across Southbank Centre’s cultural programme.

Bloomberg’s commitment to creating opportunities for women across the globe – whether in the workplace, in fields like science and technology, or by enabling women’s economic development in Africa, makes us natural partners in the celebration and empowerment of women.

Supported by

Southbank Centre is grateful to the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and its WOW Patrons Nandini Basuthakur, Richard and Rosamund Bernays, Michelle Chuang, Ms Miel de Botton, Nadia Crandall, Edwina Dunn (on behalf of the What i see project), Catherine Petitgas, Lauren Prakke, Joana and Henrik Schliemann, Jill Shaw Ruddock and Mercedes Zobel for supporting WOW. 3

Wow 2015 Welcome to WOW Women of the World festival

Sunday 1 March – Sunday 8 March

Information you need to know WOW pass

Join us for our week-long festival that celebrates the incredible achievements of women and girls and looks at the most potent topics for women today. WOW has gone from strength to strength over the years and now we have a festival bursting at the seams with talks, performances, exhibitions and workshops.

There are four different types of events in WOW, and to make our programme easy to understand, here’s a key for you. Follow these colours throughout the brochure and build your festival out of our building blocks.

Buy a WOW pass – be it for one day of your choice or the whole weekend (3-day pass) – to gain access to all these events as you pick and mix your own timetable of talks and debates.

3 day WOW pass £45* concessions £22.50* Friday WOW pass £20* concessions £10* Saturday WOW pass £20* concessions £10* Sunday WOW pass £20* concessions £10* Ticketed events

You can top-up your WOW pass ticket with tickets to our other ticketed events taking place at the festival.

Free but ticketed events

There are a number of events that are free but require you to reserve a ticket as there is limited capacity. This applies whether you’re a WOW pass holder or coming to explore the free events of the festival.

Free

While you’re here, we encourage you to explore all the free events. Whether you are a ticket holder or not you can enjoy free exhibitions and pop-up performances all weekend

4

* Transaction fees apply, £1.75 online, £2.75 over the phone. No transaction fee for in-person bookings at Southbank Centre Ticket Offices or for Southbank Centre Members and Supporters Circles.

sunday 1 – Thursday 5 March Woman’s Hour BBC Radio 4 Residency

The Woman’s Hour Debate: Porn

sunday 1 march – Sunday 8 March

sunday 1 march Can porn empower women? Can it liberate, celebrate or enhance or does it enslave, debase or corrupt? Jane Garvey hosts this debate for BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour. What do you think?

Does the availability of porn warp our views of women or just reflect how women are already seen? If consenting adults choose to make or watch porn, who is harmed? Come and join the debate.

Suitable for ages 16+ Tickets: £10*

Purcell Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall 6.30pm

WOMEN AND POLITICS Monday 2 March

What do JK Rowling, Lena Dunham, Hilary Clinton, and Doreen Lawrence have in common?

They’ve all appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour over the past year. The programme goes out every weekday 10 am – 11am with a highlights programme on Saturday afternoon or available via a free podcast. Come and meet the team who’ll be based in a glass box studio in the Royal Festival Hall foyer every day from 10am – 5.30pm and really want to hear from you about the topics and guests you’d like the programme to cover. Plus come along and watch Jane Garvey present a live edition of the Programme from 10am - 11am on Friday 6 March and 4pm – 5pm on Saturday 7 March We’ll lend you headphones so you can hear the programme and find out why 3.8 million listeners a week tune in.

Level 2 Foyer at Royal Festival Hall 6.30pm

What will the next government do for women?

Join women and men from across the political spectrum to discuss what will happen if their parties get into power in 2015. How do they plan to keep their promises? In partnership with the Counting Women In coalition.

Tickets: £10*

Purcell Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall 7.45pm

DRAWING ON A (GRAND) MOTHER’S EXPERIENCE Tuesday 3 March Join legendary performance artist Bobby Baker as she reimagines her seminal work Drawing on a Mother’s Experience. The original was performed from 1988 to 2001 and its themes are still relevant today. The piece is followed by a conversation with the artist.

Tickets: £15*

Purcell Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall 7.45pm

5

sunday 1 – Thursday 5 March

TUNE-YARDS Thursday 5 March The celebrated tUnE-yArDs bring their live experience to Royal Festival Hall on the back of a new album. Merrill Garbus has performed as tUnE-yArDs since 2009, and that band name has always been synonymous with forward movement – whether because of her explosive performance style or the constantly surprising way in which her songs unfold. After the success of the 2011 album W H O K I L L – number one on the Village Voice’s 2011 Pazz and Jop poll – Nikki Nack, released in May, is brilliantly playful. It more than matches its jump-rope-chant title, with some tracks produced by Malay (Frank Ocean, Alicia Keys, Big Boi) and John Hill (Rihanna, Shakira, M.I.A.).

‘Nikki Nack distills and intensifies what makes tUnE-yArDs so unique and fearless.’

(Billboard) Tickets: £22.50* / £20* / £17.50*

Royal Festival Hall 7.30pm 6

NO GUTS, NO HEART, NO GLORY

THE BAULKHAM HILLS AFRICAN LADIES TROUPE

Thursday 5 – Sunday 8 March

Thursday 5 – Saturday 7 March,

Determined to make something brilliant of their lives, five boxers pummel their way through a battered punching bag to obliterate convention. They are from Bradford, young, female and Muslim.

A celebration of women, human rights, laughter and resilience. Four African refugees in Sydney, Australia, tell their remarkable stories of survival. The Baulkham Hills African Ladies Troupe turn tales of suffering into a joyous theatre of humanity. With the help of other African women – singers and actors – they take this opportunity to be who they want, say what they want and become as amazing as they can be. This is how they celebrate a new beginning in a land of refuge.

Based on interviews with Muslim female boxers, this powerful immersive production explores what it is to be young, fearless and doing the unexpected. Described as being ‘Punchy and powerful.’ ★★★★ (The Guardian) and ‘Life-affirming’ ★★★★ (The Independent), No Guts, No Heart, No Glory was Winner of The Scotsman Fringe First award in 2014.

Co-produced by Common Wealth and Contact.

Suitable for ages 12+ Post-show talks follow each performance.

T he performance and post-show talk

at 1.30pm on Saturday 7 March is British Sign Language interpreted.

Tickets: £15*

Queen Elizabeth Hall 7.30pm, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 1pm, Friday, 1.30pm, Saturday and Sunday

‘It’s a profoundly moving experience. But [the] great skill here is to also make it an uplifting one.’ (The Guardian).

Produced by Racing Pulse Productions in association with Riverside Theatres and Belvoir, toured by Performing Lines.

Developed in association with NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS).

Suitable for ages 15+ Post-show talk on Thursday 5 March

The performance and post-show talk on Friday 6 March is British Sign Language interpreted.

Tickets: £15*

* Transaction fees apply, £1.75 online, £2.75 over the phone. No transaction fee for in-person bookings at Southbank Centre Ticket Offices or for Southbank Centre Members and Supporters Circles.

Purcell Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall 7.45pm 7

FRIDAY 6 MARCH Pick and mix your own timetable of events WOW pass ticket Ticketed events Free but ticketed events Free

A ROOM OF HER OWN A new digital installation set within a cube room and brought to life with mesmerising acrobatic performance, created by Mimbre. Inspired by poets and writers across the ages, this piece also comments on the persistent lack of recognition of female writers, particularly in theatre.

Co-commissioned by Southbank Centre Free

Foyer Space at Royal Festival Hall 10am – 10pm

BLURRED LINES Annie Lennox in conversation Annie Lennox

2014 was an unprecedented year for the rights of women and girls, but are some things going backwards? In a follow up to her 2014 TV hit Blurred Lines Kirsty Wark and guests BBC Newsnight Editor Ian Katz and journalist & Curator Hannah Pool survey how British society see girls and women. This session arms you with facts you need for the weekend ahead and brings you up to date with the thinking behind them. Chaired by Jude Kelly.

WOW pass

The Clore Ballroom at Royal Festival Hall 10.15am – 11am Singer, songwriter and campaigner Annie Lennox OBE joins Jude Kelly to discuss humanitarian issues that women of the world face every day.

WOW Pass

The Clore Ballroom at Royal Festival Hall 9.30am – 10.15am

pull out all the stops Come and feel the power of the Royal Festival Hall organ, with demonstrations by Ourania Gassiou and a short ‘in conversation’ with Gillian Moore, Southbank Centre’s Music Director. A unique chance to experience this incredible sound in an empty hall and have a go yourself.

WOW pass

Royal Festival Hall 11.30am – 12 noon & 12 noon – 12.30pm

8

FRIDAY 6 MARCH WOW + Stylist Question time Which political party really puts gender equality at the heart of its policies? As we gear up for the 2015 general election, Stylist magazine hosts a WOW Question Time session with leading female politicians to challenge the main parties’ position on women.

Speakers include: Harriet Harman (Labour), Lynne Featherstone (Liberal Democrat), Priti Patel (Conservative), Amelia Womack (Green) and Diane James (UKIP).

Chaired by Ritula Shah, journalist and presenter of BBC Radio 4’s World Tonight.

WOW pass

Bloomberg presents WOMEN IN BUSINESS Just five FTSE 100 companies are run by women. Where are we going wrong – and what are we missing out on? This panel looks at some of the obstacles women face in the workplace, from the systemic to the personal, and considers how, aside from equality, having more women is good for business. Speakers include Tessa Jowell MP, and president of International Markets at Mastercard Ann Cairns. Chaired by editor-at-large for Bloomberg Television, Francine Lacqua.

WOW pass

Level 5 Function Room at Royal Festival Hall 11.30am – 12.30pm

Purcell Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall 11.30am – 12.30pm

talking RISKs Do women approach risk differently to men – and does it matter? Comedian Angie Le Mar, jazz composer, saxophonist and educator Issie Barratt, former Wall Street trader Terri Duhon, and Jo Milne, whose video about gaining her hearing for the first time went viral in 2014, all rely on risk in different ways – they discuss whether women are socialised to be risk averse, and the effects of taking too few or too many.

Chaired by BBC News presenter Martine Croxall.

the Women we leave Behind

WOW pass

Spirit Level (Blue Room) at Royal Festival Hall 11.30am – 12.30pm

The first of two panels across WOW looking at what happens to the rights of women and girls living in countries where western foreign policy, interventions and civil unrest create conflict zones, refugees and threats to human rights.

Speakers include Maria Ali-Adib Pravda of the Syria Campaign, Andrea Matolcsi, Equality Now sexual violence and sex trafficking expert and Feruz Werede, human rights activist.

WOW pass

The Front Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall 11.30am – 12.30pm 9

FRIDAY 6 MARCH PRAM CHORUS Pram Chorus is a child-friendly choir for parents based in Balham, south London.

Founded by Ruth Routledge, a choir director, singer and mum, it is an activity for parents, but where their little ones, in all their noisy glory, are also welcome.

ACTIVISM without borders Şafak Pavey

Free

The Front Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall 12.30pm – 1pm & 2pm – 2.30pm

FRIDAY LUNCH WITH MASTERCARD ABI WADE Abi Wade’s music combines percussion, strings and vocals.

The Brighton-based musician uses her cello as a percussive instrument, bringing together beats and melodies to create a distinctive sound.

Free

Central Bar at Royal Festival Hall 1pm

DOMESTIC ABUSE: EVERYONE’S PROBLEM Women are still more at risk of violent crime at home than anywhere else. Hear from former DPP Keir Starmer, CEO of Eliminate Domestic Violence Global Foundation Deborah Jamieson, criminologist and expert in domestic homicide Dr Jane Monckton-Smith, survivor Terri-Louise Graham, and domestic abuse advocacy worker Gina Watterson about the facts, the issues and what the real face of ‘intimate terrorism’ looks like. Chaired by London Evening Standard editor Sarah Sands.

WOW pass

Purcell Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall 1pm – 2pm

10

What can UK-based activists learn from their international sisters? Leading international campaigners join forces to take a closer look at where their frontlines meet, discussing their successes and failures and asking how to turn international solidarity into global activism.

Speakers include anti-FGM campaigner Nimco Ali (The Girl Generation), ‘honour’ based violence activist and founder of Karma Nirvana Jasvinder Sanghera, Turkish MP Şafak Pavey, and activist Jessica Horn. Chaired by journalist and curator Hannah Pool. With a keynote by Justine Greening, Secretary of State for International Development.

WOW pass

The Front Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall 1pm – 2pm

HOW TO: PERSONAL FINANCE Do you want financial independence? Need to write a business plan? This interactive and practical session teaches you how to take better control of your finances, avoid common traps and set ambitious targets for yourself, your household or your business. Led by Director of Schroder Investment Management, Lydia Malakis.

WOW pass

Level 3 Function Room at Royal Festival Hall 1pm – 2pm

FRIDAY 6 MARCH HOW TO: BE AN MP Don’t feel represented by your MPs? Then become the MP you want to see. Learn from the experts what it takes to become an elected representative and what words of wisdom seasoned female politicians would give to a woman at the start of her political career. Speakers include Baroness Jenkin of Kennington, Shadow Minister for Preventing Violence Against Women and Girls Seema Malhotra MP, Baroness Ludford and Cofounder of Women in Public Affairs Ella Fallows. Chaired by: New Statesman Deputy Editor Helen Lewis.

WOW pass

Level 4 Green Bar at Royal Festival Hall 1pm – 2pm

bloomberg presents WOMEN IN JOURNALISM With women making up just 5% of editors of national daily or Sunday newspapers and just 20% of lobby journalists in the UK, the press is not adequately reflecting the society it serves. Leading international journalists including investigative journalist, reporter and documentary maker Olenkia Frenkiel and editor of the Telegraph’s Wonder Women Emma Barnett highlight the issues and discuss their experiences in the field and in the newsroom.

mind the gap

Jack Monroe

Women in the UK are earning on average 28% less than their male counterparts. We may be told we’re in recovery, but unequal pay, cuts and austerity are still hitting women hardest.

How are they fighting back and making their voices heard, and what can we do to level a pay gap that means women are effectively ‘working for free’ 57 days of the year? Speakers include Rosie Rodgers (UK Uncut), the Focus E15 Campaign and Victoria Harper, Assistant Editor of Grazia, who helped to spearhead Grazia’s Mind the Pay Gap Campaign.

The debate opens with a keynote by anti-poverty campaigner Jack Monroe.

Chaired by Rosie Boycott.

WOW pass

Spirit Level (Blue Room) at Royal Festival Hall 1pm – 2pm

WOW pass

Level 5 Function Room at Royal Festival Hall 1pm – 2pm

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FRIDAY 6 MARCH I’MPOSSIBLE conversation: Black women in business Angie Le Mar

stand by your woman With HeForShe, the UN Barbershop conference and male politicians wearing ‘This is what a feminist looks like’ t-shirts, was 2014 the year of the male feminist? Join a panel including consultant and writer Nikki van der Gaag and Richard Rieser, consultant on disability in education and the media, to discuss men, feminism and why gender equality is not a women’s issue.

WOW pass

The I’mPOSSIBLE conversation puts women of colour on a panel to talk about success, achievement and leadership. This special WOW edition focuses on the world of work and is also the first public reveal of the results from the ‘Invisible Majority: defining success and debunking myths’ demographics survey carried out at the end of 2014.

Speakers include Angie Le Mar, comedian, writer and businesswoman, Sade Salami, director of Fresh Strawberry, and Michelle Watts, senior manager, Client & Market Development, PricewaterhouseCooper.

Chaired by Simone Bresi-Ando, winner of the Women: Inspiration & Enterprise Leadership Award and founder of I’mPOSSIBLE. WOW pass

Weston Roof Pavilion at Royal Festival Hall 1pm – 2pm

SELF HELP CLASSICS Three women review self help classics Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway, The Secret and Daring Greatly. They are joined by Tara Mohr, author of Playing Big. Speakers include Anna Hart, Stylist Travel editor and founder of the blog French Toast Face, Ade Hassan, founder of Nubian Skin Lingerie and Joanna Newell, Patrons Manager, Southbank Centre. Chaired by journalist and comedian Natalie Haynes.

WOW pass

St Paul’s Roof Pavilion at Royal Festival Hall 1pm – 2pm 12

Festival Village under Queen Elizabeth Hall 1pm – 2pm

PRAM CHORUS See page 10 Free

The Level 2 Foyer at Royal Festival Hall 2pm – 2.30pm

SPEED MENTORING An opportunity to share challenges, exchange ideas and stories and seek out a new mentor.

Mentors come from a variety of disciplines, and include theatre directors, journalists, scientists, campaigners, artists, WOW speakers and many more.

With your free ticket, you have four 15-minute sessions to talk to four different mentors in an area you choose to discuss. You steer the conversation. All of our mentors are inspirational women, leaders in their fields, easy to talk to and eager to work with you.

Free but ticketed events

The Clore Ballroom at Royal Festival Hall 2.30pm – 3pm – registration

FRIDAY 6 MARCH BLACK LGBTQI RIGHTS AND ACTIVISM Skye Chirape

EBOLA The majority of those contracting the Ebola virus are women. Why? Join leading specialists as they discuss the gendered effects of Ebola and what the reporting of the crisis tells us about gender, development and global health.

Speakers include Sierra Leone-based BBC media action journalist Yvette Olabisi Garrick, BBC global health correspondent Tulip Mazumdar, scientist Precious Lunga and Julia Streets, Trustee of Children in Crisis. Chaired by journalist and barrister Afua Hirsch, Sky News.

WOW pass

In 2014 the UK ranked top in Europe for LGBTQI rights for the third year in a row, but does this include the rights of LGBTQI people of colour? Join leading campaigners as they highlight and celebrate national and international black queer activism and discuss what ‘western feminism’ can learn from global anti-homophobic movements.

Spirit Level (Blue Room) at Royal Festival Hall 2.30pm – 3.30pm

HOW TO: PLEASE SIR, CAN I HAVE SOME MORE? Stevie Spring

Speakers include Skye Chirape, forensic psychologist. Chaired by activist Jessica Horn.

WOW pass

The Front Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall 2.30pm – 3.30pm

CRASH & BURN What happens when you reach rock bottom?

One of our most intimate and popular sessions is back. This year we develop the conversation, discussing how women have experienced difficult times in their lives such as divorce, loss, depression or addiction, and how they came out the other side. Speakers include Mariéme Jamme, founder of Africa Gathering. Chaired by journalist Rosie Boycott.

WOW pass

Purcell Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall 2.30pm – 3.30pm

Do you want to ask for a pay rise but feel unsure how to go about it? This interactive and practical session teaches you how to know your worth, make your case and ask for more.

Led by Stevie Spring, chair of Children in Need and Inspired Thinking Group, in conversation with Melanie V. Eusebe, founder of the Black British Business Awards.

WOW pass

Level 3 Function Room at Royal Festival Hall 2.30pm – 3.30pm

13

FRIDAY 6 MARCH Endangered Bodies

Susie Orbach

Everyone wants ownership of our bodies; from corporations to governments to feature writers.

Come and occupy your body, open up imaginative ways to re-think your relationship with your body and the bodies around us, and dare to claim them for ourselves in this workshop led by AnyBody and Shape Your Culture, with psychotherapist Susie Orbach.

How to: win at b/vlogging Blogging and vlogging is a self-publishing, self-broadcasting phenomenon. This one-hour workshop delivers a whistle-stop tour from the beginnings of blogging up to the industry’s explosion, commercialisation and its new generation of stars. Including practical tips, questions of influence, agency, community, governmental responsibility and female empowerment. Led by Talissa Makdessi.

WOW pass

Sunley Pavilion at Royal Festival Hall 2.30pm – 3.30pm

SEXUAL ABUSE AND LOCAL AUTHORITIES

WOW pass

Weston Roof Pavilion at Royal Festival Hall 2.30pm – 3.30pm

HOW TO: PLAY BIG WITH TARA MOHR Tara Mohr’s new book Playing Big gives every woman the practical skills they need to begin ‘playing bigger’. Here she takes us through some of the real practical tools to help you trust your instincts, be more confident, and take bold action.

WOW pass

Level 4 Green Bar at Royal Festival Hall 2.30pm – 3.30pm

Nazir Afzal

To what extent are the Rotherham and Rochdale inquiries into the sexual exploitation of children indicative of a wider epidemic? What are the local authorities doing next and how can we better support young people both in and outside of care? Speakers include abuse survivor and chief executive of Dot Com Charity Sharon Evans, chief crown prosecutor of the Crown Prosecution Service for North West England Nazir Afzal and deputy children’s commissioner Sue Berelowitz. Chaired by ITV London Tonight correspondent Ronke Phillips.

WOW pass

St Paul’s Roof Pavilion at Royal Festival Hall 2.30pm – 3.30pm 14

FRIDAY 6 MARCH Lynne Franks: Creative Leadership in Business Lynne Franks, PR guru, businesswoman, activist and author of The SEED Handbook, the seminal book that has inspired women all over the world to become sustainable entrepreneurs, leads a workshop on creative leadership in business and how you can achieve your full potential and live your life with purpose.

WOW pass

SPEED MENTORING See page 12 Free but ticketed events

The Clore Ballroom at Royal Festival Hall 3pm – 4pm

LAUREN LAVERNE & SANDIE OKORO Lauren Laverne

Level 4 Blue Bar at Royal Festival Hall 2.30pm – 3.30pm

Bloomberg presents WOMEN IN STEM Women make up just 13% of employees in the world of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Come and hear from some of the women playing key roles in technological innovation, and learn how their visions are influencing your future.

Speakers include Anne-Marie Imafidon, Head Stemette of the Stemettes and Sarah Drinkwater, Head of Campus London at Google for Entrepreneurs. Chaired by Bloomberg TV’s Caroline Hyde.

Jude Kelly talks to broadcaster Lauren Laverne and one of the most senior women in law in the city, Sandie Okoro. They talk candidly about ambition, role models and the tools they’ve used at the turning points in their lives.

WOW pass

The Clore Ballroom at Royal Festival Hall 4.20pm – 5pm

WOW pass

Level 5 Function Room at Royal Festival Hall 2.30pm – 3.30pm

JOBS FOR THE BOYS? What it’s really like to work in a field dominated by men? Founder of Stopcocks women plumbers Hattie Hasan, retired airline pilot Felicity Bush, structural engineer Roma Agrawal, and sports agent and Women in Football board member Jo Tongue tell their stories. Chaired

by Cathy Hunt.

WOW pass

Festival Village under Queen Elizabeth Hall 2.30pm – 3.30pm

15

Friday 6 March evening events

MOBO Celebrates Women of the World.

A rare opportunity to see leading female champions of the music industry come together to celebrate Women of the World.

Lady Leshurr

FRIDAY TONIC WITH MASTERCARD LADY LESHURR & GUESTS Birmingham-born Lady Leshurr is an MC, singer and producer. Since the age of six she has been making music and developing a distinctive flow that complements her strong vocals and harmonies.

With fast-paced and fierce lyrics, Leshurr can spit rhymes over anything.

Free

The Front Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall 6pm 16

Founded in 1996, MOBO has grown into Europe’s leading urban music brand supporting a huge variety of genres, providing platforms for both emerging and established talent. At this special one-off event audience members can witness performances from women at the peak of their powers, demonstrating what it is to be powerful and determined leading ladies in today’s UK music industry. Ella Eyre, 2014 MOBO winner for Best Newcomer, and Rebecca Ferguson, two times MOBO Nominee, perform at this special WOW event and share their stories with you.

Free but but ticketed ticketed event event Free

The Clore Ballroom at Royal Festival Hall 8pm*

NO GUTS, NO HEART, NO GLORY See page 7

THE BAULKHAM HILLS AFRICAN LADIES TROUPE See page 7

SATURDAY 7 MARCH DAY PASS EVENTS wow views on the news

AFRIKAN YOGA

Start your day by getting the lowdown on the headlines, with Jude Kelly, campaigner Caroline Criado-Perez and WOW festival progammer Domino Pateman.

WOW pass

The Clore Ballroom at Royal Festival Hall 10am – 10.30am

WOW NOW Gemma Cairney

Afrikan Yoga is known for its use of rhythmic movements which heat up the body to develop flexibility, mobility, strength and endurance.

In a special WOW edition, Lenea Herew leads a class aiming to unite the body, mind and spirit for health and well-being. Open to all. Please bring your own yoga mat.

WOW pass

Level 5 Function Room at Royal Festival Hall Saturday and Sunday 10am – 11am

GAGGLE Gaggle started life as the all-girl choir that was put in the Top 50 Innovators in music by NME within six months of their inception.

Free

Riverside Terrace, 11am – 11.30am

A ROOM OF HER OWN See page 8 We sent BBC Radio 1’s Gemma Cairney round the country with a film crew to capture the views of girls RIGHT NOW. Whatever your age, this is your chance to see the film and hear from Gemma, the girls, and the women they look up to including founder of Everyday Sexism Laura Bates, and rapper Little Simz, about their lives, thoughts and expectations – from the tough realities to straight forward optimism. If you care about young women, be here.

WOW pass

The Clore Ballroom at Royal Festival Hall 10.30am – 11.30am

Free

Foyer Space at Royal Festival Hall 11.30am

NIAMH O’REILLY Original cabaret music upside down. Niamh O’Reilly moves through handstand shapes, transfers and acrobatics while she sings to piano accompaniment.

Free

Central Bar at Royal Festival Hall 11.45am

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SATURDAY 7 MARCH BRITISH WOMEN’S WEIGHTLIFTING Get up close and personal with award-winning female weightlifters as they limber up in the Royal Festival Hall foyer to show us their technique and strength. The British Weightlifting Senior Women’s Squad are currently training for the European Championships and bring their weekend training session to Southbank Centre for WOW. Free

Riverside Terrace Café at Royal Festival Hall 12 noon – 2pm

under-10s feminist corner

LET’S TALK ABOUT PANTS We want to find a new way of showing women in underwear that neither sexualises or objectifies them. Women are more than just sexy but pants are almost always advertised as if that’s all women can possibly be while they’re wearing their pants.

Come and show us what you want to see! Arrive ready to collage or draw, or stand up and show us.

In partnership with Who Made Your Pants?

WOW pass

Level 4 Green Bar at Royal Festival Hall 12 noon – 1pm

MAN UP OR MAN DOWN: COMBATING SEXIST LANGUAGE Are you a ‘feisty chick’ or ‘just one of the guys’?

Do you get ‘hysterical’ about women’s issues?

Is it time to stop being ‘such a pussy’ and ‘grow a pair’? This workshop looks at how gender inequality is woven into our everyday language.

Bring your linguistic bugbears and your revolutionary spirit! Led by feminist writer and progressive publisher Cat Crossley.

WOW pass

Level 4 Blue Bar at Royal Festival Hall 12 noon – 1pm Feminism isn’t just for grown ups... or teenagers.

FASHION

Are you a budding young feminist? Would you use the F word in the playground? If so, we’ve got the perfect session for you. Join other young feminists in an interactive workshop to explore what it means to be a girl and how you can start a campaign from your bedroom.

Last year saw models ‘protesting’ under the banner of feminism both outside Karl Lagerfeld’s show and on Chanel’s catwalk.

But can fashion ever really be a force for good?

Women who are using fashion in radical ways come together to discuss what happens when fashion and activism collide.

Open to ages 7 – 10.

Led by theatre maker and actor Lucy Ellison.

Free but ticketed events

Level 3 Function Room at Royal Festival Hall 12 pm girls-only session

Speakers include Katharine Hamnett, pioneer of ethical and environmental clothing, fashion designer Betty Jackson CBE, Sakina M’sa and plus-size model and fashion blogger Jada Sezer. Chaired by Editor of New African Woman magazine, reGina Jane Jere.

WOW pass

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The Clore Ballroom at Royal Festival Hall 12 noon – 1pm

SATURDAY 7 MARCH Shami Chakrabarti on Liberty

DISABILITY AND FEMINISM

Shami Chakrabarti explores why our fundamental rights and freedoms are indispensable in her bestselling 2014 book On Liberty. Here, she takes us through some of the main themes, drawing on her work in high-profile campaigns about 42-day detention, privacy laws and anti-terror legislation, highlighting the threats to our democratic institutions and explaining why our rights are paramount in upholding democracy. In conversation with writer and historian Rachel Holmes.

Claire Cunningham

WOW pass

Disabled performance artist and choreographer Claire Cunningham offers a provocation on the widely held assumption that disability is a negative state in which to exist, and asks whether dance by only non-disabled people is actually just a bit boring?...

Purcell Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall 12 noon – 1pm

ACCIDENTAL ACTIVISTS Zarqa Nawaz

This is followed by a panel of campaigners who ask whether the resurgence of mainstream feminism ignores the voices of disabled women and discuss what happens when gender, race and disability collide. Speakers include Becky Olaniyi and Michelle Daley of Sisters of Frida. Chaired by Eleanor Lisney of Sisters of Frida.

WOW pass

Spirit Level (Blue Room) at Royal Festival Hall 12 noon – 1pm How do you turn adversity into a force for good? Four women tell their stories: Sylvia Lancaster, whose daughter Sophie was murdered merely for looking different, Laura Bates, who launched Everyday Sexism as a reaction to what she could see happening around her, Zarqa Nawaz, author of Laughing All the Way to the Mosque, who uses comedy to bust stereotypes, and Marie Benson, aka The Queen of Doddington, who runs empowerment projects on the estate. Chaired by Cathy Hunt.

WOW pass

Level 5 Function Room at Royal Festival Hall 12 noon – 1pm

THE TRANSGENDER TIPPING POINT The trans rights movement is growing in power and energy. This panel brings together journalist Juliet Jacques, reporter and journalist Faizan Fiaz and co-founder of Open Barbers Felix Lane to discuss the successes and obstacles encountered by the trans rights movement, and predict what the next ten years will bring.

Chaired by journalist Jane Fae. WOW pass

The Front Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall 12 noon – 1pm 19

SATURDAY 7 MARCH FEMINISTA JONES IN CONVERSATION Feminista Jones

2014 Black Weblog award winner for outstanding online activism, post-modern African American feminist writer and activist Feminista Jones, joins us at WOW for an ‘in conversation’ designed to make you blush, cry, laugh and shout all at once. Chaired by journalist, author and curator Hannah Pool.

WOW pass

Weston Roof Pavilion at Royal Festival Hall 12 noon – 1pm

HOLLYWOOD, SCI-FI, COMPUTER GAMES, AND RAPE ‘Fridging’ is the rape, murder or abuse of a female character to provide motivation for a male protagonist. Why do so many plotlines today revolve around cruelty and sexual violence against women – and is it on the increase or are we just noticing it more? David Moore of science-fiction, fantasy and horror publisher Abaddon Books, Joanna Bourke, author, Laurel Sills, HOLDFAST editor and Stephanie Saulter, author, discuss creative expression, censorship, and how stories translate to the real world. Chaired by New Statesman deputy editor Helen Lewis.

WOW pass

Festival Village under Queen Elizabeth Hall 12 noon – 1pm

SPEED MENTORING See page 12 Free but ticketed events

wow BITES ‘I’m feeling a bit oppressed doctor, can you prescribe me an orgasm?’ Ama Josephine Budge and Sara Badawi of radical feminist collective HYSTERIA challenge the myths of hysteria and feminism.

May contain nude imagery. ‘ Who Are you Calling Helpless?’ Shefali Chaturvadi of BBC Media Action explains how a radio show is helping women escape bonded labour in India.

Born deaf with Usher syndrome, Jo Milne talks about getting her cochlear implant and hearing for the first time.

Alice Wroe talks about ‘Herstory’ – bringing us up to date with our historical sisters, and getting women’s stories into schools using feminist art.

Plus poetry by Charlotte Higgins.

WOW pass

St Paul’s Roof Pavilion at Royal Festival Hall 12 noon – 1pm 20

Spirit Level at Royal Festival Hall 12 noon – 1 hour duration each session

A ROOM OF HER OWN See page 8 Free

Foyer Space at Royal Festival Hall 1pm

GAGGLE See page 17 Free

Level 5 Proms (Green Side) at Royal Festival Hall 1pm – 1.30pm

SATURDAY 7 MARCH NIAMH O’REILLY

Maybe she’s born with it

See page 17 Free

Central Bar at Royal Festival Hall 1.15pm

THE BACKLASH Sandi Toksvig

Whether or not we believe we’re ‘born lesbian, bisexual or gay’, we are all entitled to equality.

Some change their sexuality over their lifetime, some don’t. We all have different stories and that’s fine. Join this debate hosted by DIVA magazine, with speakers from across the LGBT spectrum as they debate whether the idea of being born gay is a help or a hindrance to liberation. Speakers include film director Kristiene Clarke, Louise Carolin, DIVA deputy editor, academic Dr. Qazi Rahman and Susan Dickson, CEO of Diversity Role Models. Chaired

by Jane Czyzselska, editor of DIVA Magazine.

WOW pass

The Front Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall 1.30pm – 3pm Backlash: a strong negative reaction by a large number of people, especially to a social or political development. What does the feminist backlash look like and who suffers most? This panel including Chime for Change managing editor and journalist Mariane Pearl, journalist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown and Beatrix Campell author of End of Equality, discuss whether the backlash is inevitable and what we can do to challenge it.

Chaired by broadcaster and President of Women of the Year Sandi Toksvig.

WOW pass

Royal Festival Hall 1.30pm – 3pm

GENERATION XXX How much does the widespread availability of pornography online affect the behaviours of real-life teens – and does it matter? Join Eleanor Mills, editorial director and columnist at the Sunday Times; Martin Daubney, former editor of Loaded and creator of Channel 4 documentary Porn on the Brain; Elena Martellozzo, expert in online child safety and Kati Taunt, therapist and social worker specialising in young people’s mental health work, plus young people talking about their real experiences of growing up with porn on demand.

Voicelab: WOW Big Sing

Suitable for ages 14+

Join vocal leader Laura Howe for a joyful and uplifting Voicelab Big Sing to celebrate the power of your voice. Sing empowering songs written, inspired and sung by great women.

Festival Village under Queen Elizabeth Hall

WOW pass

1.30pm – 3pm

This is an open and inclusive workshop suitable for people of all ages and singing abilities.

WOW pass ticket The Clore Ballroom at Royal Festival Hall 1.30pm – 3pm 21

SATURDAY 7 MARCH TEENS AND UNDER-20S CAMPAIGNING WORKSHOP

How to get published

Want to kick-start your own campaign but don’t know where to begin? In this interactive session there’s the chance to start planning your own campaign, learn how to make it successful and get tips on bringing your friends on board too. Led by Sophie Bennett, co-director UKFeminista.

In the week the longlist for the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction 2015 is announced, join this exclusive masterclass run by multi-million No.1 bestselling novelist and co-founder of the Baileys WPfF Kate Mosse OBE, and Laura Bates, founder of the Everyday Sexism Project and judge for this years Bailey’s Prize. Find your writing voice as a woman, how to negotiate the process of finding an agent and getting published, the pros and cons of independent publishing and how to achieve what you want as a woman writing without compromising what you want to say.

Girls and boys welcome.

WOW pass

Level 4 Green Bar at Royal Festival Hall 1.30pm– 3pm

The Matilda Effect A rough reading of a new play Join writer Stella Duffy to hear the first public read through of her new play about women in science – and how they’ve always existed. Written by Stella Duffy, directed by Lucy Pitman-Wallace and presented by Three Legged Theatre Company.

Kate mosse masterclass

WOW pass

Spirit Level (Blue Room) at Royal Festival Hall 1.30pm – 3pm

BEING MIXED RACE

WOW pass

Level 3 Function Room at Royal Festival Hall 1.30pm– 3pm

THE TRUTH ABOUT AGeING An honest and inspiring conversation about the joys and challenges of ageing. Everything is up for discussion, from fashion through to friendships, sex and mental health. Discuss the fears, the laughter and the secrets to growing old ‘disgracefully’. Speakers include Stevie Spring, chair of BBC Children in Need, Sue Kreitzman, artist and curator, Caroline Lodge, co-author of Retiring with Attitude and Baroness Lola Young OBE, actress and author. Chaired by producer, journalist and writer Ruth Pitt.

WOW pass

St Paul’s Roof Pavilion at Royal Festival Hall 1.30pm – 3pm 22

Emma Dabiri

Building on the findings of the Being Mixed Race panel discussions during WOW 2013 and WOW 2014, this workshop continues the conversations and focuses specifically on issues of terminology, colourism, hair and parenting. Led by visual sociologist Emma Dabiri.

WOW pass

Level 4 Blue Bar at Royal Festival Hall 1.30pm – 3pm

SATURDAY 7 MARCH DOMESTIC ABUSE: GIVING TESTIMONY

COURTING TROUBLE

Women are still more at risk of violent crime at home than anywhere else, and one incident of domestic abuse is reported to the police every minute. So how can we be more familiar with what domestic abuse looks like and the forms it comes in? Jude Kelly chairs a discussion with women who have first-hand experience and talks to them about how they turned their lives around.

In 2014 best-selling author Kathy Lette wrote Courting Trouble, examining the issues around a rape case, the Criminal Justice System and our legal institutions. Baroness Helena Kennedy QC provided Kathy with the facts and details for the book. Here, they talk together about why Kathy wanted to write the book, the complexities of the case and how they reflect real life, and what she learnt as a result.

WOW pass

WOW pass

Weston Roof Pavilion at Royal Festival Hall 1.30pm – 3pm

Level 5 Function Room at Royal Festival Hall 1.30pm – 3pm

BRIDGET CHRISTIE

Women Law and Criminal Justice

SPEED MENTORING See page 12 Free but ticketed events

Spirit Level at Royal Festival Hall 1.30pm. 1 hour duration each session

DEEP THROAT CHOIR Bridget Christie

Why did people praise Michael Gove on 25 Feb 2014? Who laughs at salads? What made Bridget lose control of her emotions at a casting for a Müller yoghurt advert? Why isn’t Bridget grateful for British sexism?

Join comedian Bridget Christie (Winner: Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Award 2013 – Best Show, South Bank Sky Arts Award 2014 – Best Comedy, Chortle Awards 2014 – Best Show & Best Radio Show and the Rose D’Or International Broadcasting Award 2014 – Best Radio Comedy) as she explains everything.

Deep Throat are a choral crew of London women who use just voices and drums to perform hypnotic versions of everything from Motown to indie classics.

Free

Riverside Terrace 3pm – 3.30pm

A ROOM OF HER OWN See page 8 Free

Foyer Space at Royal Festival Hall 3pm

WOW pass

Purcell Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall 1.30pm – 3pm

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Saturday 7 march NIAMH O’REILLY See page 17

Mythbusters Beyond Mars & Venus

Free

Central Bar at Royal Festival Hall 3.15pm

pulling punches boxing workshop Come along and try out boxing with National Champion Ambreen Sadiq and the cast of No Guts, No Heart, No Glory. This is an introductory session, so come and learn a few moves and find out how to jab, hook, punch and shadow box.

Women only – all ages welcome.

WOW pass

The Clore Ballroom at Royal Festival Hall 3.30pm – 4.30pm

Gina Rippon

ScienceGrrl professor Gina Rippon takes us beyond Mars and Venus and brings us back to Earth, busting some of the gender myths you’ve always wondered about. From ‘girls prefer people to things’, ‘men are better at maths’ and ‘girls prefer pink’, come and hear about the stories behind these certainties, tease out the kernels of truth and find out how to challenge them. In partnership with ScienceGrrl.

WOW pass

BOOKCLUB: EIMEAR MCBRIDE, A GIRL IS A HALF-FORMED THING In her speech after winning The Baileys Prize in 2014, Eimear McBride implored publishers to trust us: the readers. This remarkable book took nine years to publish. Join us to discuss a startling novel of girlhood which has already become a classic, touching on everything from family violence to sexuality and the personal struggle to remain intact in times of intense trauma. ‘Read it and be changed,’ says Eleanor Catton, author of The Luminaries.

WOW pass

Outside The Saison Poetry Library, at Royal Festival Hall 3.30pm – 4.30pm

Royal Festival Hall 3.30pm – 4.30pm

Women and IMMIGRATION Brits think that, on average, immigrants make up 24% of the population. Actually, it’s closer to 13%. So why do we hold such a skewed view of immigration, why will it be a key election issue and what is the truth of the lives behind the headlines?

Speakers include Ghada Rasheed from Women for Refugee Women, Roma Community support worker Ewelina Pawlowska, Diana Nammi, Director and founder of the Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation and winner of the Woman On the Move Award Special Jury Prize, Maria Patsalos, immigration specialist at Mishcon de Reya and Ayah Omar from the Network of Eritrean Women.

WOW pass

The Front Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall 3.30pm – 4.30pm 24

Saturday 7 MARCH REFUSING TO BE SILENCED

THE BUTCH MONOLOGUES

Obiageli Ezekwesili

Who are the women who risk their lives to speak the truth? This session brings together international women of courage who stand for human rights and justice in war and conflict zones around the world, including winners of the Anna Politkovskaya Award, and focuses attention on the abducted women and girls in areas of conflict. Speakers include Elena Kudimova, Anna Politkovskaya’s sister; Vian Dakhil (Iraq), the only Yazidi MP in Iraq’s parliament and 2014 award winner; Obiageli Ezekwesili (Nigeria), founder of the ‘Bring Back Our Girls’ movement to rescue the 300 girls of Chibok abducted by Boko Haram; Angelina Atyam (Uganda), who has tirelessly campaigned to rescue girls abducted in Uganda by the Lord’s Resistance Army, including her 14-year-old daughter Charlotte.

This session includes a performance by singer-songwriter Lorraine Jordan and Lana Estemirova, daughter of Natalia Estemirova, Anna Politkovskaya Award first recipient, killed in Chechnya in 2009. Chaired by Marian Katzarova.

Last year audiences were queuing around the WOW block to get into this sell-out performance.

This year, by popular demand, The Butch Monologues returns to a bigger venue, with additional stories and new performers. The show is written by Laura Bridgeman (hotpencil press), directed by Julie McNamara (Vital Xposure), and developed and performed by The Drakes, the UK’s first female butch group. It repositions the negative, socially threatening concept of female masculinity into a place of pride. Using urgency and humour, the collection offers fresh language from contributors living in the UK, Europe, the US, the Caribbean and beyond, and features experiences of butch desire, bravado, vulnerability, butch sex, and perceptions of the body.

In Partnership with RAW in WAR.

Laura Bates, founder of the Everyday Sexism Project, talks about the confusion around consent. Plus, a workshop on consent – what is it, why is it so crucial and how do you give or withhold consent? Led by Susuana Antubam, National Women’s Officer for the National Union of Students.

WOW pass

Queen Elizabeth Hall 3.30pm – 4.30pm

WOW Pass

Purcell Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall 3.30pm – 4.30pm

CONSENT WORKSHOP

Suitable for young people from ages 13–20.

WOW Pass

Level 4 Green Bar at Royal Festival Hall 3.30pm – 4.30pm

25

saturday 7 march MY BODY BACK RECLAIMING SEX AND PHYSICALITY AFTER SEXUAL VIOLENCE How do you have a full and happy sex life if you’ve experienced sexual violence? Join professionals and survivors for the launch of My Body Back, a new project supporting female survivors, with frank conversations about the challenges and triumphs of sex after sexual violence. Speakers include Pavan Amara, founder of the My Body Back Project; Nina Burrowes, a psychologist specialising in sexual abuse; consultant in sexual health Dr Vanessa Apea, nurse Louise Cadman and manager of Sh! Women’s Erotic Emporium Renee Denyer, all three of whom work with the My Body Back Project. Chaired by Helena Kennedy QC. Suitable for ages 14+ WOW pass

Spirit Level (Blue Room) at Royal Festival Hall 3.30pm – 4.30pm

the FERTILITY MYTHS There are around 60,000 fertility treatments carried out in the UK each year, yet 75% of IVF cycles fail. This panel looks behind the statistics and headlines at the realities, politics and economics of fertility, infertility and assisted reproduction. Speakers include Jody Day, founder of Gateway Women, Harjit Sarang, LGBT rights activist, fertility, coparenting & surrogacy lawyer, Carmel Dennhy, fertility psychotherapist, Dr Ephia Yasmin, UCLH consultant gynaecologist and Jessica Hepburn, trustee of the national charity Infertility Network UK and author of The Pursuit of Motherhood. Chaired by Kate Brian, editor of the British Infertility Counselling Association (BICA) journal.

WOW pass

Festival Village under Queen Elizabeth Hall 3.30pm – 4.30pm

‘Go ahead!’

Eleanor Marx & Sylvia Pankhurst What can we learn from these two pioneering feminists and inspirational British political leaders? Writer and historian Rachel Holmes, whose Eleanor Marx biography was released last year to critical acclaim, leads us through the triumphs and complexities of these two exceptional women’s lives, from their campaigns and their bedrooms to their challenges and their successes – and why we should all employ Eleanor’s motto – ‘GO AHEAD’ ! Rachel is in conversation with Shami Chakrabarti.

WOW pass

Weston Roof Pavilion at Royal Festival Hall 3.30pm – 4.30pm

AFRO HAIR MEET-UP Get your locks in gear and your curls on the road – the WOW Afro Hair Meet-Up is back. Natural hair bloggers Angel Dike of The Natural Hair Lounge and Elle Jourdainne and Neecie Gold from Natural Hair Daily are on hand to give you tips, easy styling solutions and the confidence to give up the relaxer and throw away those straightening irons. All hair types welcome.

WOW pass ticket

Level 4 Blue Bar at Royal Festival Hall 3.30pm – 4.30pm

global gamechangers An Australian, a Harlemite and an Egyptian went into a bar… Join global WOW organisers Lisa Mumbin and Cath Bowdler from WOW Katherine, Australia, Reem Kassem from WOW in Egypt, Isisara Bey from WOW in New York and others to hear about their WOWs and their lives. Facilitated by Cathy Hunt from WOW Australia.

WOW pass

26

3.30pm – 4.30pm Spirit Level (White Room) at Royal Festival Hall

saturday 7 march The Girl Generation #TogetherToEndFGM The anti-FGM campaign has made some incredible gains in the last five years, but with an estimated 3 million women and girls undergoing this practice each year there is still a lot of work to do. Come and hear from leading campaigners why the key to ending FGM in a generation is Africa-led movements, diaspora programmes and finally getting the world to see FGM as violence against women and girls. Speakers include Nimco Ali of The Girl Generation who is co-founder of Daughters of Eve, Baroness Northover, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for International Development, and Zoe Beaty, writer and editor at Grazia. Chaired by journalist and curator Hannah Pool.

WOW pass

Level 5 Function Room at Royal Festival hall 3.30pm – 4.40pm

wow BITES Robyn Steward on hexigazmel sandwiches and other real life stories from autism. my Woolfson on being legally brunette and A the legal history of women’s rights.

Students from Mulberry School ask whether Dr. Who could be a woman. If you could get in a Tardis, which woman would you go and meet?

Terri Coates, midwife advisor for Call the Midwife, on the BBC Media Action Bangladeshi TV Soap that featured the country’s first televised live birth.

With poetry by Charlotte Higgins.

WOW pass

St Paul’s Roof Pavilion at Royal Festival Hall 3.30pm – 4.30pm

UNDER-10s FEMINIST CORNER See page 18 Free but ticketed events

Level 3 Front Room at Royal Festival Hall 3.30pm: girls-only session

SPEED MENTORING See page 12 Free but ticketed events

Spirit Level at Royal Festival Hall 3.30pm. 1 hour duration each session

DEEP THROAT CHOIR See page 23 Free

Level 5 (Green Side) at Royal Festival Hall 4.30pm – 5pm

strike a pose life drawing & modelling Come and try life modelling and/or drawing, and hear the testimonies of women who have found life modelling to be a transformational experience.

Be professionally guided in a peaceful space, or just come to listen. Women model together as a group, with poses lasting up to 20 minutes, and the strong, supportive vibe is ripe for lasting empowerment. Art materials, robes, a changing area and a warm, comfortable space to pose are provided. If you have health concerns, inform us and we will do our utmost to accommodate you. In partnership with Spirited Bodies Men are welcome to the introduction between 5pm and 5.15pm. Women-only session after 5.15pm.

WOW pass

Spirit Level (Blue Room) at Royal Festival Hall 5pm – 6.30pm

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SATURDAY 7 MARCH SELF DEFENCE Just knowing some simple rules about verbal diffusion and self-defence techniques can give you confidence and reduce the risk of suffering serious injuries from an attack. Debi Steven is a 4th Dan Black Belt in karate and an advanced self defence instructor with over 20 years’ experience. After returning from India, where she taught 3,000 underprivileged girls and women for free, she gives a short course specifically designed for WOW. In partnership with Premier Self-Defence Ltd.

See page 8 WOW pass

Royal Festival Hall 5pm – 5.30pm, 5.30pm – 6pm

BRITISH WOMEN’S WEIGHTLIFTING See page 18

WOW pass

Level 5 Function Room at Royal Festival Hall 5pm – 7pm

EVE ENSLER IN CONVERSATION Eve Ensler

pull out all the stops

Eve Ensler

Free

Riverside Terrace Cafe at Royal Festival Hall 5pm – 7pm

UNDER-10s FEMINIST CORNER See page 18 Free but ticketed events

Level 5 Function Room at Royal Festival Hall 5pm. Open to boys and girls

Bumi Thomas Eve Ensler created the ground-breaking Vagina Monologues in 1996. A playwright and activist, she transformed the work from global theatre phenomenon to a global movement to stop violence against women. Here she gives a keynote speech and then talks to Jude Kelly about writing, activism and why we need to act now.

Bumi Thomas is a dynamic contemporary African, acoustic jazz-folk-soul singer songwriter whose style is inspired by her multicultural heritage. To enjoy Bumi’s music is to experience a mix of sound that combines jazz, high life rhythms, Afro-beat, reggae and blues melodies, infused with folk and delivered with soul. A sound rich in texture and stimulating lyrics. Her music represents the journey of a modern African creative in the UK.

WOW pass

Free

The Clore Ballroom at Royal Festival Hall 5pm – 6pm

The Front Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall 6.30pm – 7.15pm

28

* Transaction fees applicable, £1.75 online, £2.75 over the phone. No transaction fee for in-person bookings at Southbank Centre Ticket Offices or for Southbank Centre Members and Supporters Circles.

SATURDAY 7 MARCH Caitlin Moran

CAITLIN MORAN, Bridget Christie and Shazia Mirza Saturday 7 March Three titans of comedy and thinking, Caitlin Moran, Bridget Christie and Shazia Mirza, chat with Jude Kelly about the highs and lows of life and laughter and what they are doing to change the world.

Tickets: £25*

TIT BITS

Royal Festival Hall 7.30pm

A LATE NIGHT CABARET WITH LIZ CARR AND BIRD LA BIRD

NO GUTS, NO HEART, NO GLORY See page 7

THE BAULKHAM HILLS AFRICAN LADIES TROUPE See page 7

Saturday 7 March A deliciously naughty night of fun hosted by Liz Carr and Bird la Bird.

The criptastic Liz Carr and egg-citing Bird la Bird combine their fabulous Filofaxes, their raunchy Rolodexes and their comedic contact lists to create a late-night cabaret session for WOW festival.

Free

The Clore Ballroom at Royal Festival Hall 9.30pm – 11pm

29

sunday 8 march wow views on the news

CANDOCO DANCE Welly O’Brien and Kate Marsh

Come and read the Sunday papers with WOW. Get a snapshot of the biggest headlines, best comment and what’s coming up for the week ahead. Speakers include Channel 4 news presenter Jon Snow, BBC London arts and entertainment correspondent Brenda Emmanus, and Sarah Anderson from the No More Page 3 Campaign.

WOW pass

The Clore Ballroom at Royal Festival Hall 10.30am – 11.30am

LIPS All women pop choir Lips has been performing to sell-out audiences at iconic UK venues since 2009. Lips’ influences come from far and wide, and they are known to weave dubstep into an eastern European folk song, belt out a medley of rock anthems, or give their original take on classics from the likes of Fleetwood Mac and Tina Turner.

Candoco

Why do we stare? Why can’t we stop staring?

Two associate artists from Candoco present a playful dance exploration of performance as an opportunity to stare.

Free

Central Bar at Royal Festival Hall 11.45am

MUMSNET LIVE

A ROOM OF HER OWN

21st-century parents: what’s changed since Mumsnet was born? To celebrate its 15th birthday, Mumsnet asks what progress, if any, has been made over the last 15 years to make parenting a more equal endeavour. Speakers include Guardian columnist Zoe Williams and Mumsnet blogger Victoria Smith (aka Glosswitch). Hosted

by Justine Roberts, co-founder of Mumsnet.

See page 8

WOW pass

Free

The Clore Ballroom at Royal Festival Hall 12 noon – 1pm

Free

Riverside Terrace, 11am – 11.30am Level 5 Proms, Green Side, 4.30pm – 5pm

Foyer Space at Royal Festival Hall 11.30am

UNDER-10s FEMINIST CORNER See page 18 Free but ticketed events

Level 3 Function Room at Royal Festival Hall 12 pm: girls-only session 30

LOOK AT me NOW MUMMY Vincent Dance Company A comi-tragic one-woman show about a mother’s desire to look the part, while not really knowing what part she is supposed to be playing. Followed by a post-show discussion.

WOW pass

Spirit Level (Blue Room) at Royal Festival Hall 12 noon – 1pm

SUNDAY 8 MARCH SPEED MENTORING

EMILY DICKINSON

See page 12

presented by poet in the city

Free but ticketed events

Spirit Level at Royal Festival Hall 12 noon 1 hour duration each session

i.t. girls Sarah Brown, president of Theirworld and pioneer in global digital campaigning, Nicola Mendelsohn, vice president EMEA Facebook, Clare Sutcliffe, founder of Code Club, and Mariéme Jamme, founder of Africa Gathering, come together to discuss how girls are shaping tech, and the impact that technology has had on the feminism movement and its recent resurgence – as well as its massive potential for achieving great opportunities and equity for girls globally. Tech needs girls!

WOW Pass event

Level 5 Function Room at Royal Festival Hall 12 noon – 1pm

Injustice, Intrusion and Immunity The Protection of Women under our Human Rights Act In its first 15 years our Human Rights Act has achieved so much – not least in protecting the rights of women. From providing answers to grieving families to tackling state snooping, the legislation gives the voiceless a voice and holds the powerful to account. Join Liberty and hear not only from some of the lawyers working at the forefront of the fight for fundamental freedoms – including Emma Norton, Legal Officer for Liberty, and Harriet Wistrich, Solicitor at Birnberg Peirce & Partners – but from the victims themselves, including Helen Steel, who was deceived into a relationship by an undercover police officer.

Chaired by Shami Chakrabarti, Director of Liberty.

WOW pass

Weston Roof Pavilion at Royal Festival Hall 12 noon – 1pm

Juliet Stevenson

Poet in the City presents a celebration of the life and work of America’s greatest female poet, Emily Dickinson. A towering figure in literature since her death, but unpublished and scarcely read within her lifetime, Dickinson remains a compelling enigma. So come and hear biographer Lyndall Gordon and poet Frances Leviston explore her poetry and the themes of her work, with live readings by Juliet Stevenson. Chaired by Erica Wagner.

WOW pass

Purcell Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall 12 noon – 1pm

the female city What happens when women run a city? Does female leadership have a transformative impact on our cityscape and daily lives? What are the challenges for women engaged in the complex task of steering urban renewal? Join the debate with elected leaders and experts including leader of Lambeth Council Lib Peck, Mariam Khan, from Birminham City Council, and Tricia Hackett, urban innovation expert from the Young Foundation, and bring your visions of what a gender-equal city might be like. Chaired by policy advisor Sally Kneeshaw.

WOW pass

Level 4 Green Bar at Royal Festival Hall 12 noon – 1pm 31

sunday 8 march DEMENTIA: women in mind Dementia is devastating for individuals, families and society, but it has a particular impact on women: 61% of people with dementia are women and the care burden also falls more heavily on women. Come and hear from author Valerie Blumenthal, who has a rare ‘visual variant’ of Alzheimer’s, Valerie Bingham, whose husband Jack died last year after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease, Shaheen Larrieux, whose mother is living with frontotemporal dementia, Dr Selina Wray, Senior Research Associate at UCL Institute of Neurology, and Dr Bess Barrett, GP and National Dementia Ambassador, for a 360 view on dementia, to coincide with the launch of Alzheimer’s Research UK’s forthcoming report on the topic.

Chaired by Hilary Evans from Alzheimer’s Research UK. WOW pass

Level 4 Blue Bar at Royal Festival Hall 12 noon – 1pm

wow BITES

WHO OWNS YOUR BODY? Hannah Pool

Despite many victories for gender equality, women’s bodies are still a battle ground.

Whether it’s FGM, the threat to abortion rights or the increase in plastic surgery, who really decides what you do with your body?

Speakers include USA blogger and activist Feminista Jones, live artist and body-builder Francesca Steele, co-founder of anti-FGM campaign Daughters of Eve Leyla Hussein, photographer and current Hayward Gallery exhibition artist Hannah Starkey and vice-chair of Abortion Rights UK Kate Smurthwaite.

Chaired by journalist and curator Hannah Pool.

This panel is accompanied by a follow-on session led by Honey Williams in the Level 4 Green Bar at Royal Festival Hall.

Deborah Coughlin on the amazing speeches by women that everyone should know.

WOW pass

Kathrin Böhm on the female hop-pickers of the past and why we’re going hopping again.

The Front Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall 12 noon – 1pm

Rasheda Ashanti Malcolm tells a shocking true story and shows how society can normalise abuse.

Writer Isabelle O’Carroll takes a humorous look at romantic crushes which dissects obsession, self-worth and love.

With poetry from Jasmine Cooray.

WOW pass

St Paul’s Roof Pavilion at Royal Festival Hall 12 noon – 1pm

32

BRITISH WOMEN’S WEIGHTLIFTING See page 18 Free

Riverside Terrace Café 12 noon – 2pm

SUNDAY 8 MARCH UNDER-10s FEMINIST CORNER See page 18 Free but ticketed events

Level 3 Function Room at Royal Festival Hall 12 noon. Girls-only session

Feminist Rubber Stamp Workshop Make your feminist values and ideals visible to all by rubber stamping feminist symbols onto your clothing. Work with craft bloggers Hannah Bullivant and Davina Drummond from the blog Seeds and Stitches to radicalise your clothing.

Make your feminist mark on the textiles you bring in and create your very own feminisminspired pattern.

WOW pass ticket

Festival Village under Queen Elizabeth Hall 12 noon – 1pm

A ROOM OF HER OWN See page 8

the education emergency global campaigners standing #UpForSchool 31 million girls globally are denied their right to education and more than 500 million girls will drop out before completing their basic education. The goal of getting every child into school and giving them a quality education will not be achieved without addressing the barriers that discriminate against girls.

Join Pakistani education activist and member of South Asia Forum for Education Development Baela Raza Jamil, Headteacher of Mulberry School for Girls Vanessa Ogden with students from the school, and Head of Education and Girls Programmes at Standard Chartered Bank Payal Dalal, to discuss the global education emergency and how to eliminate it in 2015. With a live link-up to WOW Cambridge.

‘One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.’ (Malala Yousafzai) WOW pass

Purcell Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall 1.30pm – 3pm

Free

Foyer Space at Royal Festival Hall 1pm

BOOKCLUB

CANDOCO DANCE Welly O’Brien and Kate Marsh

Angela Carter, the reason for the foundation of the Orange (now Baileys) Prize, was one of our greatest and most original writers. Come along to find out more about her and these dark, fantastical retellings of folk and fairy tales.

See page 30 Free

Central Bar at Royal Festival Hall 1.15pm

ANGELA CARTER, THE BLOODY CHAMBER

WOW pass

Outside the Saison Poetry Library at Royal Festival Hall 1.30pm – 2.30pm

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sunday 8 march the FAIR INTELLECTUAL CLUB

BEING A MAN Anthony Anaxagorou

The London premiere of a new play by Lucy Porter. A comedy about teenage love, friendship and betrayal set in 18th-century Edinburgh, it’s based on the true story of three school girls who formed ‘The Fair Intellectual Club’ in 1717 so that they could study literature, science and philosophy. Followed by an ‘in conversation’ with writer Lucy Porter and director Marilyn Imrie.

WOW pass

Spirit Level (Blue Room) at Royal Festival Hall 1.30pm – 3pm

BEYOND THE BOOTY? THE SEXUALIZATION OF BLACK WOMEN What does the portrayal of black women in popular culture tell us about race, sex and power? With a keynote speech by Dr Shirley Tate, author of Black Women’s Bodies and the Nation: Race, Gender and Culture. Speakers include USA blogger and activist Feminista Jones, journalist Kieran Yates and artist and theatre-maker Rachael Young. Chaired by journalist and curator Hannah Pool.

WOW pass

Weston Roof Pavilion at Royal Festival Hall 1.30pm – 3pm

RAPE: GIVING TESTIMONY Does our culture have an attitude problem with rape and sexual assault? Why is it more difficult to talk about than other serious crimes? How does society treat women who have been raped?

Jude Kelly chairs a discussion with women who have been raped and are willing to talk about it.

For a follow-up session see page 37.

WOW pass

Level 5 Function Room at Royal Festival Hall 1.30pm – 3pm 34

Twelve months on from the first Being A Man festival at Southbank Centre, join a panel of key contributors including poet Anthony Anaxagorou, writer and broadcaster Ekow Eshun, psychotherapist John McKeown and artistic director of The Red Room Topher Campbell to discuss 21st-century masculinity one year on, from sex and relationships to fatherhood and feminism. Chaired by Baroness Helena Kennedy QC. WOW pass

The Clore Ballroom at Royal Festival Hall 1.30pm – 3pm

TEENS AND UNDER-20S CAMPAIGNING WORKSHOP 2015 is the year of the general election. But if it’s your first time voting, how do you get MPs to listen to your needs? And if you can’t yet vote, how can you make a difference? This session explores what you can do to take action around the election. Learn how to organise a feminist hustings with your friends and how to influence MPs in Parliament.Led by UKFEMINISTA. Under-20s only; girls and boys welcome.

WOW pass

Level 3 Function Room at Royal Festival Hall 1.30pm – 3pm

SUNDAY 8 MARCH wow BITES

EXTREMISM

Live and video artist Francesca Steele on women and body building

How and why are women led into extremist movements? What role does gender inequality play in these choices, and has feminism failed the women for whom extremism remains the only option?

Vikki van Someren and Lucy Arrowsmith on managing stress in the workplace and why they set up Shh... retreats.

Abe Popoola talks black men, feminism and the power of language in social conditioning.

Comedian and activist Kate Smurthwaite on the new abortion wars, why reproductive rights are the answer to life, the universe and everything and the one and only way we can guarantee them for the next generation.

WOW pass

St Paul’s Roof Pavilion at Royal Festival Hall 1.30pm – 3pm

FUNNY WOMEN WORKSHOP Want to improve your confidence, presentation and networking skills by using humour? With Funny Women founder Lynne Parker, who draws on 12 years of comedy experience, get a taste of how you can use comedy on stage, in business, or as part of everyday life.

WOW pass

Festival Village under Queen Elizabeth Hall 1.30pm – 3pm

WHO OWNS YOUR BODY? Follow-On Session Despite many victories for gender equality, women’s bodies are still a battle ground.

Whether it’s FGM, the threat to abortion rights, botox and increased plastic surgery, who really decides what you do with your body? A session led by Honey Williams, image activist, singersongmaker and CEO of The Pickyheads.

Speakers include Shabana Kausar, black feminist activist and Women’s Aid National Schools Engagement Officer, Sasha Havlicek, founding chief executive officer of the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, Åsne Seierstad, author of One of Us: The Story of Anders Breivik and the Massacre in Norway, and Hanif Quadir, founder and CEO of The Active Change Foundation.

Chaired by BBC News special correspondent Lucy Manning.

WOW pass

The Front Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall 1.30pm – 3pm

tech speed mentoring A skills workshop hosted by Sarah Brown.

Thinking about working in the digital sector or want to know more about how you can use social and digital media in the work you do? Share your challenges, exchange ideas and stories and ask questions of a broad range of mentors as part of this tech speed mentoring skills workshop.

Speed mentoring is an opportunity for you to be mentored by experts from different areas of a broad field – from coding and campaigning to social media and more. The mentoring session lasts 90 minutes.

Free but ticketed event

Limited places available.

Spirit Level at Royal Festival Hall 1.30pm – 3pm

WOW pass

Level 4 Green Bar at Royal Festival Hall 1.30pm – 3pm 35

sunday 8 march PORTER Porter is a female a cappella duo from London.

They perform their take on well-known songs that create a new memory or special moment for their audience.

Free

LEVELLING THE PLAYING FIELD WOMEN IN SPORT Susie Rodgers

Riverside Terrace Café 2pm – 2.30pm

A ROOM OF HER OWN See page 8 Free

Foyer Space at Royal Festival Hall 3pm

CANDOCO DANCE Welly O’Brien and Kate Marsh See page 30 Free

Central Bar at Royal Festival Hall 3.15pm

PUBE Pube is an intimate, one-on-one performance that explores our relationship with pubic hair.

For performative elements and an informal, conversational format, enter this safe environment to explore and interrogate the choices we make when it comes to personal grooming.

Suitable for ages 15+ WOW pass

Spirit Level (White Room) at Royal Festival Hall 3.30pm – 4pm; 4pm – 4.30pm; 5pm – 5.30pm; 5.30pm – 6pm

The past year has seen highs and lows for women in sport. This panel, including Paralympic triple medallist swimmer Susie Rodgers, Iran’s first female triathlete Shirin Gerami, and one of Britain’s first Muslim female boxers, Ambreen Sadiq, talk about overcoming obstacles, battling prejudice and their own personal stories of being sports professionals. Chaired by Director of BBC Sport Barbara Slater.

WOW pass

The Clore Ballroom at Royal Festival Hall 3.30pm – 4.30pm

the women we leave behind The second of two panels across WOW looking at what happens to the rights of women and girls living in countries where western foreign policy, interventions and civil unrest create conflict zones, refugees and threats to human rights.

Speakers include Anber Raz, Sexual Violence and Trafficking Programme Officer at Equality Now, Maria Ali-Adib Pravda, the Syria Campaign, Iraqi MP Vian Dakhil and one of Nigeria’s leading journalists, Funmilola Iyanda. Chaired by Helena Kennedy QC. WOW pass

The Front Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall 3.30pm – 4.30pm 36

SUNDAY 8 MARCH Giving Testimony

TWERKSHOP

FOLLOW-UP SESSION

Do you want to learn how to twerk? Do you want to do it in a sex-positive, body-positive environment?

Do you want to know more about the spiritual, political, and queer background behind this movement? Do you want to enjoy good, warm, fun times? Answered ‘yes’? Then come to this twerkshop. Open to all bodies – consent, respect and compassion are the only selection criteria.

Come as you are – but no jeans if you want to unleash the booty. Led by Fannie Sosa.

Following on from the Rape – Giving Testimony discussion, this is a safe, quiet space to talk to other audience members or simply reflect.

WOW pass

Level 4 Green Bar at Royal Festival Hall 3.30pm – 4.30pm

wrap your head around this Learn how to fashion the perfect headwrap, with expert tuition from top headwrap artist Sister E. All hair types welcome.

WOW pass

Level 4 Blue Bar at Royal Festival Hall 3.30pm – 4.30pm

you’ve been framed WOMEN & MADNESS

WOW pass

Spirit Level (Blue Room) at Royal Festival Hall 3.30pm – 5pm

wow BITES Dr. Finn Mackay launches her groundbreaking new book Radical Feminism, exposing the real reasons why women are still oppressed and what feminist activism must do to counter it.

BBC broadcaster Anita Anand tells the story of Indian princess Sophia Duleep Singh, god-daughter of Queen Victoria, Westminster radical revolutionary and suffragette.

With poetry from Bridget Minamore.

WOW pass

St Paul’s Roof Pavilion at Royal Festival Hall 3.30pm – 4.30pm

EATING DISORDERS Bobby Baker

Over 1.5 million people in the UK are affected by an eating disorder, and nearly 90% of those are women. Yet diagnosis, treatment and recovery remain confused. Women who have lived with eating disorders, specialists and campaigners all come together to discuss anorexia, bulimia, bingeing, purging, restrictive eating and everything in between.

Drawing from personal but complementary perspectives, this panel looks at gendered perspectives on women and madness, distress and mental illness, examining the way they are perceived by society. Chaired by performance artist Bobby Baker and writer/campaigner and chair of National Hearing Voices Network Jacqui Dillon.

Chaired by Natasha Devon, founder of the Self Esteem Team.

WOW pass

WOW pass

Purcell Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall 3.30pm – 4.30pm

Weston Roof Pavilion at Royal Festival Hall 3.30pm – 4.30pm 37

DAY PASS EVENTS WONDER WOMEN OF THE ANCIENT WORLD

LET’S TALK ABOUT SEX, BABY Penny Pepper

Bettany Hughes

Historian Bettany Hughes and writer Charlotte Higgins discuss the lost heroines of the prehistoric and ancient worlds – women who were either wonderful or about whom we should wonder, from mother goddesses to Medea, Aphrodite to Cleopatra.

Level 5 Function Room at Royal Festival Hall 3.30pm – 4.30pm

‘Good sex is like good bridge. If you don’t have a good partner, you’d better have a good hand.’

(Mae West). Sex makes us happier, fitter, and live longer. Filmmaker Campbell X, founder of Coco-de-Mer Sam Roddick, sex columnist Nichi Hodgson and author of Desires Reborn Penny Pepper discuss getting it, wanting it, doing it yourself – and reaching your multi-orgasmic potential. Chaired by Cosmopolitan magazine resident sextherapist Rachel Morris.

SPEED MENTORING

Suitable for ages 14+ Women-only session.

See page 12

WOW pass

Free but ticketed events

Festival Village under Queen Elizabeth Hall 3.30pm – 4.30pm

WOW pass

Spirit Level at Royal Festival Hall 3.30pm. 1 hour duration each session.

PORTER See page 36 Free

Riverside Terrace Café 3.30pm – 4pm

UNDER-10s FEMINIST CORNER See page 18 Free but ticketed events

Level 3 Function Room at Royal Festival Hall 3.30pm. Open to boys and girls.

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THE REAPERS CHOIR The Reapers are a powerful gospel choir from Christ Apostolic Church (Bethel) UK, comprising female singers and directed by Anu Omideyi.

Free

Riverside Terrace 4pm – 4.30pm

LIPS See page 30 Free

Level 5 Green Side at Royal Festival Hall Green side, 4.30pm – 5pm

SUNDAY 8 MARCH PUBE See page 36

BRITISH WOMEN’S WEIGHTLIFTING

Free

See page 18

Spirit Level (White Room) at Royal Festival Hall 5pm – 5.30pm & 5.30pm – 6pm

Free

WHY WOMEN STAY – JUDE KELLY What level of inequality are you prepared to stomach in order to try and live a normal life? If we allow unacceptable things to pass as normal behaviour, then it’s assumed that nothing needs to change .If we reacted to every sexist injustice and slight, we would be in a constant state of embattlement. No other world exists to which we can escape so we are forced to operate within the given rules whilst trying to make change from within. But how do we carve out a new world whilst dealing with the daily inequality of this one? Jude Kelly discusses the emotional demands of becoming an activist for change whilst juggling the expectations and attitudes of family, friends, jobs and society.

WOW pass

The Clore Ballroom at Royal Festival Hall 5pm – 5.30pm

Future Female The Economic Case for Gender Equality Across the Globe Throughout WOW we hear stories of the amazing achievements of women and girls across the world – but also how they are stopped from reaching their fullest potential. This isn’t just a problem for women – it’s a problem for everyone.

Join Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund on a live link-up, Jude Kelly, BBC Radio 1’s Gemma Cairney and The ONE Campaign for the launch of a global call to action for women and men everywhere to unleash the social, political and economic potential of girls and women living in the developing world. Let’s turn the tide against extreme poverty.

Riverside Terrace Café 5pm – 7pm

UNDER-10s FEMINIST CORNER See page 18 Free but ticketed events

Level 3 Function Room at Royal Festival Hall 5pm. Open to boys and girls.

Szjerdene Song-writing and arranging with a unique mix of soul and folk-inflected vocals combined with electronic, left-field sounds. Szjerdene has quietly commanded the attention of music lovers and journalists, having penned tracks with leading electronic producers worldwide such as Robin Hannibal, Lapalux, Eric Lau, Slugabed, Glen Nicholls and most recently Simon Green, AKA Bonobo.

Free

The Front Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall 6.30pm – 7.15pm

THE REAPERS CHOIR See page 38 Free

Central Bar at Royal Festival Hall 6.45pm – 7.15pm

WOW pass

The Clore Ballroom at Royal Festival Hall 5.30pm – 6.30pm

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SUNDAY 8 MARCH

Sandi Toksvig

Hugh Grant

sandi toksvig’s MIRTH CONTROL An electrifying night of comedy and music inspired by great women, hosted by Sandi Toksvig.

Join us for an evening of fun for men and women, in which Sandi presents an all-female cabinet for her dream political party.

This year’s line-up includes a special appearance by actor Hugh Grant, awardwinning comedian Sarah Millican, operasinging sensation Angel Blue, West End star Sharon D. Clarke, classical music conductors Sian Edwards and Alice Farnham, and MOBO award-nominated singer/songwriter Ayanna Witter-Johnson.

Also featuring music from Southbank Centre’s vocal initiative Voicelab, all-female pop choir Lips and the WOW Orchestra.

Directed by Paulette Randall.

Tickets: £40* / £30* / £20* / £15*

Royal Festival Hall 7.30pm

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Sarah Millican

SUNDAY 8 MARCH NU CIVILISATION ORCHESTRA PLAY YAZZ AHMED

The Prophet: Screening and Conversation with Salma Hayek Pinault

The Nu Civilisation Orchestra premieres Yazz Ahmed’s Polyhymnia, with – for the first time ever – an all-female line-up of some of the UK’s finest new musical talent, specially commissioned by Tomorrow’s Warriors for WOW festival.

Salma Hayek Pinault

Polyhymnia is a new commission by Tomorrow’s Warriors, made possible through the Women Make Music initiative from PRS for Music Foundation.

Tickets: £15*

Purcell Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall 7.45pm

Actress and filmmaker Salma Hayek Pinault presents an exclusive screening of The Prophet.

NAWAL EL SAADAWI

Inspired by the classic book by Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet is an animated feature film written and directed by Roger Allers (The Lion King).

It features chapters from award-winning animation directors from around the world and world-class musicians, singers, and composers.

Nawal El Saadawi

Internationally renowned Egyptian activist and award-winning writer Nawal El Saadawi has been described as ‘without doubt the most prominent and prolific female author in the Arabic language’. An author of over 40 books, physician, creative dissident and Tahir Square protestor, Nawal speaks about feminism, patriarchy and being a revolutionary in her 80s.

Chaired by Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow. £10*

Level 5 Function Room at Royal Festival Hall 7.30pm

As a filmmaker, Salma Hayek Pinault has often championed the power of strong female stories and storytellers. In The Prophet, she focuses on a mischievous eight-year-old girl, Almitra, whose friendship with political prisoner and visionary Mustafa leads him to share his wisdom and poems.

Almitra’s remarkable courage and support of Mustafa are pivotal to the film’s outcome.

Following the screening, Salma takes questions from the audience. She shares the inspiration behind The Prophet and weaves together a narrative that highlights courage and strength demonstrated by women around the world.

Salma Hayek Pinault also serves on the board of directors of the Kering Foundation and is a co-founder of CHIME FOR CHANGE. £15*

Queen Elizabeth Hall 7.30pm

* Transaction fees applicable, £1.75 online, £2.75 over the phone. No transaction fee for in-person bookings at Southbank Centre Ticket Offices or for Southbank Centre Members and Supporters Circles.

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Wow exhibitions

Claude Cahun: Beneath This Mask Sunday 1 March – Tuesday 31 March Claude Cahun (1894-1954) is best known for her original, enigmatic and playful photographic self-portraits. Decades ahead of its time, her work toyed with perceived gender roles and identity, concerns that are still as current and pertinent in today’s world as ever.

Beneath This Mask is drawn from the Claude Cahun Archive at Jersey Heritage and contains works that have rarely been seen in the UK. Spirit Level at Royal Festival Hall

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SHEILA HICKS: FORAY INTO CHROMATIC ZONES

LONDON VEIL | PARIS VEIL | NYC VEIL

Monday 23 February – Sunday 19 April

Sara Shamsavari Sunday 1 March – Sunday 29 March Nailah, New York, 2014

This exhibition by American-born, Paris-based artist Sheila Hicks (b. 1934) marks the artist’s first solo show in a UK public institution.

Internationally renowned for her large-scale work situated between applied arts, sculpture and performance, Hicks has distinguished herself over the past five decades as one of the most influential figures in contemporary art working with fibre and yarn.

FREE

Hayward Gallery Project Space Open daily 11am – 7pm Late nights Wednesday & Thursday until 8pm Mondays 12pm – 7pm

STEFANIE POSAVEC: FEMINISM THROUGH DATA Sunday 1 March – Sunday 8 March We celebrate five years of WOW with a newly commissioned data design installation from the innovative data designer Stefanie Posavec.

Cloakroom at Royal Festival Hall

Sara Shamsavari’s photographic series highlights young Muslim women across London, Paris and New York and explores the individual expression of their identity as conveyed through their vibrant hijab styles. Following the debut of London Veil at Royal Festival Hall in 2013, the response from women across the globe inspired Sara to extend the series to include ‘hijabistas’ in Paris and New York.

Level 4 Foyer at Royal Festival Hall

ACTS OF LOOKING: DIGITAL SHOWCASE & PROJECTION Friday 6 march – Sunday 8 March Discover extraordinary imagery curated by women to celebrate International Women’s Day. Acts of Looking digital showcase is projected onto the exterior of Royal Festival Hall and shows a range of extraordinary imagery curated by female artists and creatives. An online project space, Acts of Looking invites female artists, curators and creatives to bring together collections of imagery that explore how gender can impact the way we see the world around us.

Festival Terrace at Royal Festival Hall After dark

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More wow HOW TO BE FEARLESS Thursday 5 March

WOW CHARITIES AND CAMPAIGNERS DAY Tuesday 3 March For WOW’s 5th birthday in 2015, we want to celebrate the achievements of the charities and campaigns that have been part of WOW’s first five years and invite them to become part of our next five years.

A series of workshops, talks and a play for secondary school girls explores the idea of strength and fearlessness. This special day includes a performance of No Guts, No Heart, No Glory by Common Wealth Theatre.

This event is for secondary school girls age 12+.

Each school can bring up to 12 female students and up to three accompanying adults.

Suitable for ages 12+ Free but ticketed events

Please book in advance through the group bookings line on 0844 875 0070.

The Clore Ballroom at Royal Festival Hall 10.15am – 3pm

Our ambition for WOW has always been to be an umbrella festival which highlights and supports all your fantastic work. We’re often told that charities and campaigners don’t know enough about what each other does and rarely get to meet.

This is an opportunity for you to meet and network with one another, to share skills and ideas and to celebrate some of the WOW stories and collaborations to date.

Free

Invitation only

WOMEN IN THE CREATIVE INDUSTRIES DAY Wednesday 4 March Join us for Southbank Centre’s Women in the Creative Industries Day. It’s an opportunity to discus what new steps need to be taken to achieve gender equality in the cultural sector. To explore common issues raised around employment structures, governance, role-models, support, mentoring and women’s representation in order to galvanise positive action that we can all drive forward together.

Ticketed

Invitation only

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MARKETPLACE

thank yous

Friday 6 – Sunday 8 March

Thank you to all the girls and women, boys and men who helped develop the ideas behind this year’s festival through the WOW Think-Ins.

The WOW marketplace is the heart and hub of the festival. Stall holders include: Action Aid, Alzheimers trust, Care International, Digital Women, Everyday Sexism, Funny Women, Girl Guiding, Let Toys Be Toys, Older Lesbian Network/ Opening Doors - Age UK/ Kenric, PAWA, Plan UK, Samaritans UK, Womens Resource Centre, UKFEMINISTA, 50:50 Parliament, Asha, Asilia, Awamu, Cat Crossley, Chidora Hats, Fashion Compassion, Feminist Library, Finchitida Finch, HYSTERIA Magazine, Kat & Bee, Lille Design, Makerhood, Moon Cup, Nkiruka, Philippine Community Fund, Rosa and Clara Designs, Ruby Moon, Sapelle, Spiders and Snails, Sreepur Village, Stitch Sainte Luce, Swanzy, Tea People, Who made your pants,Women for Conservation /picaflor collection, Women Worldwide, Metal - Sheroes, Open Barbers, What I See Project, Mulberry School Tardis, Women for Refugee Women, WAH Nails, Perfume Mistress, Perfume Mistress, One love Energy Healing, Carol Wilkins, Geraldine Quinn Reflexology.

It wouldn’t be possible to put WOW together without the help, advice and encouragement of our incredible committees.

2015 WOW committee: Sarah Brown, Nimco Ali,Laura Bates,Gemma Cairney, Sasha Havlicek, ,Leyla Hussein,Baroness Martha Lane Fox CBE,Nicola Mendelsohn, Caroline Nursey, Sandie Okoro, Mary Portas, Melanie Rickey, Sarah Sands, Joana Schliemann, Baroness Fiona Shackleton LVO, Stevie Spring, Meera Syal CBE, Sophie Turner Laing, Baroness Lola Young OBE. WOW Committee: Rosie Boycott, Shami Chakrabarti OBE, Baroness Helena Kennedy QC, Catherine Mayer, Kate Mosse OBE, Frances Osborne, Dame Gail Rebuck DBE, Gauri Sharma Tripathi, Sandi Toksvig OBE.

WOMEN ON THE MOVE AWARDS Wednesday 4 March The Women on the Move Awards celebrate and support the contribution that migrant and refugee women make towards challenging prejudice and inspiring others.

Migrants and refugees cross borders to live among us for many reasons. When they arrive they often find that they face new challenges.

Some not only rise to these challenges for themselves; they also help others to succeed.

These are the women we recognise.

The 2015 Awards Ceremony celebrates three extraordinary women from around the country.

Free but ticketed events

External ticketed. Go to migrantforum.org.uk for more information.

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WOW is going Global

wow Derry-Londonderry, Uk (November 2013 and 2014)

The women and girls of DerryLondonderry explored the incredible tradition of women in the city – from the shirt factories to peace keeping – and discussed how to create the next generation in that mould. wow new york, USA (11 – 14 June 2015)

WOW Cambridge, UK (7 – 8 March 2015)

London, UK (annually since 2011) Jude Kelly CBE launched WOW on the centenary of International Women’s Day as a festival for everybody – where hundreds of women’s stories could be shared, feelings vented, minds inspired and fun had.

WOW Cardiff, UK (20 – 22 March 2015)

WOW goes to the Big Apple for the first time, taking place at the historic Apollo Theater in Harlem.

wow Southend on Sea, UK wow folkestone, UK (3 – 8 March 2015)

wow Baltimore, USA (March 2012 and upcoming in 2016) WOW brought together women from a divided city to discuss the future of Baltimore, under the inspiration of Marin Alsop at the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

wow Alexandria, Egypt (September 2014) The social impact of the newly declared sexual harassment law in Egypt was discussed, allowing women and men to debate its future.

WOW is a global festival, and has happened in 5 continents since it launched in 2011.

Each WOW is rooted in its local area but becomes part of the global WOW network, and festivals feed into each other, swapping stories, supporting and inspiring each other, creating a network of people and ideas.

Colour Key Red Past and current festivals Yellow Forthcoming festivals

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‘WOW is almost single handedly responsible for enlivening the feminist movement in the UK at the beginning of the 21st century – and I’m delighted that it’s going global.’

Shami Chakrabarti CBE, Director, Liberty

president HRH The duchess of cornwall supporting wow across the world

WOW Finland; Faroe Islands, Denmark; Montenegro

WOW frankfurt, germany

wow Katherine, Australia (September 2013 and 2014) WOW japan

WOW dubai, uae

WOW Pakistan

WOW Iran

WOW Bangladesh

WOW India

WOW hong kong

WOW HARGEYSA, SOMALILAND WOW Addis ababa, Ethiopia

WOW jakarta, indonesia

Four hundred men and women gathered in this remote Australian town, where more than half the population is Aboriginal. The whole community, including members of the traditional Jawoyn, Wardaman and Dagoman clans, discussed gender issues alongside everything from alcoholism to viewing fashion shows. wow Brisbane, Australia (19 – 12 June 2015) WOW Commonwealth: Gold Coast, Australia (2018)

WOW South Africa wow Sydney, Australia (May 2013) Following the Australian politician Julia Gillard’s speech on misogyny and harassment of female students on campuses, WOW Sydney created a critical space for discussion and debate.

A special WOW as part of the Commonwealth Games in 2018, celebrating women and girls from all 52 countries of the Commonwealth.

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HOW TO BOOK

Children’s Care Zone

Tickets Day passes £20 Three day passes £45 Ticket prices vary.

See individual listings for details.

A free children’s care zone is available for day or weekend pass holders on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 March. There are professional child care staff available to look after your children, with a chill-out film zone and an arts and crafts area.

Online southbankcentre.co.uk/wow (£1.75 transaction fee*)

Available 11.30am – 7pm on Saturday 7 and 11.30am – 5pm on Sunday 8 March

Phone 0844 847 9910 9am – 8pm daily (£2.75 transaction fee*)

PUBLIC TRANSPORT Underground: Waterloo & Embankment Buses: Waterloo Bridge, York Road, Belvedere Road & Stamford Street

In person Royal Festival Hall Ticket Office 10am – 8pm daily

National Rail: Waterloo, Waterloo East & Charing Cross

* No transaction fee for Southbank Centre Members and Supporters Circles

Concessions Half-price tickets available. Day pass concessions are unlimited. Visit southbankcentre.co.uk/concessions

SHOP, EAT & DRINK

ACCESS

southbankcentre.co.uk/shop-eat-drink

Dine at one of our many restaurants, enjoy a drink overlooking the river, and shop at Foyles or one of our Southbank Centre Shops.

Southbank Centre is accessible to people with disabilities.

Please see individual listings for access priorities .

Email: accesslist@southbankcentre.co.uk Phone: 0844 847 9910

southbankcentre.co.uk/wow

Bloomberg – the global business, financial information and news leader – is the founding supporter of the Women of the World Festival.

Bloomberg’s sponsorship builds on a long history of collaboration across Southbank Centre that encompasses a wide range of art exhibitions, public commissions and literature programmes.

Bloomberg Philanthropies supports charities and non-profit organisations worldwide, including a number of programmes that seek to address the challenges facing women across the globe, from maternal and reproductive health to women’s economic development. bloomberg.com/ bloomberg.org/ WOW 2015 is supported by

/womenoftheworldfestival

@WOWtweetUK

All listings correct at time of going to press