Mentor and panelist at Southbank Centre WOW-Women of the World festival

The WOW – Women of the World festival returns to the UK’s largest arts centre, Southbank Centre, on Thursday 8th of March coinciding with International Women’s Day.

Throughout history, many women’s achievements have gone unnoticed or unsung. I created WOW – Women of the World Festival to celebrate the formidable power of women to make change happen, to remind us of our history, to draw attention to injustice, to enjoy each other’s company and to encourage men to add their support as we set out to achieve a fairer world. – Jude Kelly

After a successful WOW 2011, which saw for example women’s rights supporter Baaba Maal presenting some of his favourite female artists (my review can be found here) WOW 2012 returns with a new set of amazing musicians and performers including Sinéad O’Connor, Katy B, Annie Lennox, Jess Mills and Emeli Sandé. The festival will also include the announcement of the long list for the Orange Prize for Fiction. Not to mention all the speeches, debates and performances that will be included in the day passes.

I’ll be participating in WOW 2012 at the following dates and times:

Sunday 11th March 2012, 1.30pm

Global Feminism panelist

Women and men are fighting for gender equality all over the world, but all too often, non western feminists are left out of the dialogue. But what mistakes does western feminism make in a global context, and what can it learn from its non western sisters? Chair of gender studies at SOAS Dr. Nadje Al-Ali, blogger Ms Afropolitan and writer and commentator Nisreen Malik discuss, chaired by author and journalist Hannah Pool.

For more info and the event programme visit the WOW website and follow the #WOW2012 hashtag. I also recommend visiting Afri-Love and Belinda Otas for top picks that will help you plan your event schedule.

Hope to see you there!