Virgin supporting Women of the World Global 24 Festival
Virgin is proud to be supporting the Women of the World Global 24 Festival, uniting communities across the world in the largest ever online gathering of people supporting gender equality.
WOW Global 24 will be available to watch from 27-28 June live on their website. Over 24 hours and across the world, the festival will explore the impact of COVID-19 on existing inequalities across money, health, justice, violence, climate and education.
Women of the World Festivals, led by the registered charity The WOW Foundation, celebrate women and girls and everything they have achieved, but they also take a frank look at the issues they face and ways to tackle gender inequality.
There is an incredible line-up of speakers including: WOW Founder Jude Kelly in conversation with Former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard; former President of Ireland Mary Robinson; Indian disability and gender rights activist Nidhi Goyal; and Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women.
Angela Davis will return to WOW for an interview with Jude Kelly. The legendary activist, writer and academic will be speaking live at the festival to discuss key themes, from the Black Lives Matter movement to the potential ramifications the pandemic poses to the fight for gender inequality.
The huge variety of speakers, activists and global experts across the 24 hours also includes Nobel Prize winner Svetlana Alexievich; Hood Feminism author Mikki Kendall; American advocate for the abolition of the death penalty Sister Helen Prejean, whose work Virgin Unite has supported; singer and activist Annie Lennox; executive director of Hawaii’s Commission on the Status of Women Khara Jabola-Carolus; Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; feminist and girls’ education activist Chernor Bah; and architects of the Paris Agreement, Costa-Rican diplomat and executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Christiana Figueres.
There will also be readings from actors including Gillian Anderson and Thandie Newton, and music from artists including Shingai, Les Amazones d’Afrique, Emel Mathlouthi, Helen Epega (The Venus Bushfires) and Muthoni Drummer Queen.
There will also be a virtual marketplace showcasing the entrepreneurial work of up and coming Black and women of colour led initiatives.
The focus of the festival will move as the world turns. Anyone can tune in to one of two channels – The Global Channel and The Local Channel – streaming live and simultaneously over the 24 hours. The programme is designed so that when you’re watching during daylight hours, the multitude of events will be generated from your area.
Head over to the WOW Global 24 website to see the full lineup of speakers.
