WOW – Women of the World Festival(WOW,WOW Festival) is a network of arts festivals that celebrate the achievements of women and girls as well as highlighting the obstacles that face them, and is part of a globalfeministmovement. The WOW Foundation spearheads the festivals and forms partnerships to hold WOW festivals across the world.
| Women of the World Festival | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded | 8 March 2010 |
| Founder | Jude Kelly |
| Activity | Celebrates the achievements of women and girls and highlights the obstacles they face |
| Patron(s) | Queen Camilla(president) |
| Website | www |
History
editThe festival was founded in London in 2010 byJude Kelly,a theatre director who was at that timeartistic directorof theSouthbank Centre.In her own words, she felt that the feminist movement was "in a lull" at that time, and that it needed something to revitalise it.[1][2]
Since 2015,Queen Camillahas been WOW's president.[3][4]In 2015, theBBCbroadcast Woman's Hour from the London festival.[5]By 2018, there had been 42 WOW festivals in 23 countries.[6]
The WOW Foundation became an independent charity in 2018, with Kelly as its first director.[7]She stepped down from her position at the Southbank Centre in May 2018, in order to concentrate on WOW.[6]
In 2020, the festival's tenth edition featured an address by Camilla (thenDuchess of Cornwall).[8]In May of that year, the WOW Foundation ran a two-day online event in partnership with BBC Arts[9]and a 24-hour marathon festival called WOW Global 24, with participants from around the world, which was produced in-house.[10]
In March 2021, as the effects of theCOVID-19 pandemiccontinued to be felt, the festival moved online.[11]
In 2023, WOW launched its first WOW Girls Festival.[12]
Description
editWOW Festivals take place all year round in various locations. The WOW London Festival takes place over several days in early March, aroundInternational Women's Day.WOW includes talks, debates, music, comedy, performances and mentoring sessions on a range of themes and topics.[13]
Venues
editAt first, the festival's principal venue was the Southbank Centre in London. There are also festivals in many other locations, both within the UK and throughout the world. As of 2019[update]these included the cities ofCambridge,[14]Liverpool,Cardiff,Leeds,New York City,Rio de Janeiro,Hargeysa(Somaliland),Alexandria,Beijing,Athens,Karachi,andIstanbul,as well as in Finland and several locations in Australia, Bangladesh and Nepal.[15]
2013 Australia
editThe first WOW event was held inKatherine, Northern Territory,in 2013. Subsequent events have been held in that town, as well asMelbourneand various cities inQueensland.After an initial event inBrisbane,Queensland, in 2015,[16]WOW Australia has been based in that city since 2021 (having had to cancel the 2020 event owing to theCOVID-19 pandemic). It is a three-year collaboration betweenQueensland Performing Arts Centre(Southbank Centre) and the non-profit Of One Mind, and supported by theQueensland Government.[17]
WOW has worked withAboriginal and Torres Strait Islanderwomen[18]and is a supporter of theUluru Statement from the Heart.[19]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^Aitkenhead, Decca(26 January 2018)."Southbank director Jude Kelly: 'Saying you're a feminist is not enough'".The Guardian.London.Retrieved27 January2018.
- ^Brown, Mark (18 January 2018)."Southbank Centre artistic director Jude Kelly to step down".The Guardian.London.Retrieved27 January2018.
- ^Jobson, Robert (16 February 2015)."Camilla to be president of Women of the World festival".London Evening Standard.
- ^Murphy, Victoria (7 March 2019)."https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/a26751068/camilla-parker-bowls-wow-clarence-house-reception-photos/".Town&Country.Retrieved16 December2024.
{{cite web}}:External link in|title= - ^WOW - Women of the World Festival,Woman's Hour,BBC Radio 4,March 2015.
- ^abDex, Robert (18 January 2018)."Jude Kelly quits Southbank Centre after more than a decade".Evening Standard.Retrieved23 November2021.
- ^"THE WOW FOUNDATION - Officers".Companies House.Retrieved19 January2019.
- ^"Duchess of Cornwall addresses Women of the World Festival".uk.news.yahoo.com.6 March 2020.Retrieved23 November2021.
- ^"BBC and WOW unite for online Women of the World Festival".Voice Online.15 May 2020.Retrieved23 November2021.
- ^"Girls' education in time of crisis features in worldwide online festival".Theirworld.23 February 2024.Retrieved25 March2024.
- ^Griffiths, Sophie (31 January 2021)."EVENTS: Women Of The World Festival announces major programme for 2021".DIVA.Retrieved23 November2021.
- ^Omar, Ayan (11 October 2023)."Queen Camilla calls for opportunities for girls 'throughout the world' as WOW Girl Festival launches".The Standard.Retrieved16 December2024.
- ^"Women of the World Festival (WOW) Nepal 2024".British Council.Retrieved16 December2024.
- ^Tasker, Dave (23 October 2014)."WOW Cambridge".School of Clinical Medicine.Retrieved4 August2022.
- ^"WOW - Women of the World: A global movement"(PDF).WOW. Archived fromthe original(Map)on 8 December 2022.(2019)
- ^"The Herstory of WOW".WOW Australia.28 June 2020.Retrieved8 November2023.
- ^"Home page".WOW Australia.8 June 2021.Retrieved4 August2022.
- ^"Wiyi Yani U Thangani - Women's Voices".WOW Australia.Retrieved4 August2022.
- ^"Uluru Statement from the Heart".WOW Australia.Retrieved4 August2022.