The online festival will take place on the 16th and 17th May.
The WOW Foundation has today announced it will be collaborating with with BBC Arts, as part of its Culture in Quarantine initiative, to curate a brand new digital Women of the World festival online.
Taking place this weekend, the WOWxBBC Festival – the first ever Women of the World Festival to take place online – will take over a number of BBC channels with a host of inspiring talks, workshops and a quiz led by iconic women in a multitude of fields.
This online festival will span topics from history, health, sport, science and sexuality, and respond to the devastating social and economic consequences for women and girls the pandemic is having and will be available to watch live on the on 16th-17th May at bbc.co.uk/arts.
Following on from 10th anniversary of the WOW Festival at London’s Southbank Centre in March, and the online festival with the BBC Arts this May, The WOW Foundation has also announced it will host a major global festival to take place online from 27th-28th June (BST). WOW – Women of the World’s 24 Hour Global Virtual Festival will be the first ever female-focused worldwide festival, convening women and girls across the earth over a 24-hour period to share their local stories, celebrate achievements and together look for learnings to map out new ways to think and act in the future.
The opening events for this weekend’s festival includes an interview with former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and The WOW Foundation’s Founder and Director Jude Kelly, as well as appearances from co-chair of the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change Hindou Ibrahim and broadcaster Afua Hirsch; Women’s Equality Chief of Staff Hannah Peaker and comedian Angie Le Mar will explore Chore Wars – the balance and divide of domestic tasks and childcare between genders in lockdown – WOW’s Big Ideas will be hosted by Gemma Cairney featuring short talks from Sex Educator Ruby Rare on orgasm inequality and activist Tea Uglow on who our LGBTQIA+ Covid-19 heroes should be; plus discussions on Women and Money in Covid-19 and Fixing the Glitch – Making the Web Work for Women with Seyi Akiwowo. The day will culminate with a closing session featuring Suzanne Jacob, Chief Executive of domestic violence charity SafeLives.
Talking about the news, The WOW Foundation’s Founder and Director Jude Kelly CBE said “At this time, when we are isolated from one another, the connections and conversations that WOW ignites are more important than ever. Amongst all the gravity and seriousness of the issues the WOW Festivals explore, they are also a place of warmth, inclusiveness and fun; places that are filled not just with serious intent but also with energetic spontaneous encounters, human connection, adventure, levity of spirit, and laughter. We will work with BBC Arts to replicate this experience online to bring people across the world together.”
WOW x BBC Festival will take place on the 16th and 17th May and avaialble to watch through bbc.co.uk/arts .Visit thewowfoundation.com/wowxbbc for full festival event listings