PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
07 March 2016
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FrançaisInternational Women’s Day Celebrations Champion a Planet 50-50 by 2030
Acclaimed soprano Renée Fleming to perform; momentum for Stepping It Up for Gender Equality rises
(New
York, 7 March) International Women’s Day celebrations on 8 March will
mobilize people around the world to call for a Planet 50-50 by 2030. UN
Women is organizing a series of diverse, high-profile events in over 40
countries, where ordinary citizens, activists, musicians, athletes,
students, security personnel, scholars and stock exchange officials will
be among those who commit to “Stepping It Up for Gender Equality.”
At
the United Nations Headquarters in New York, prominent speakers from
governments, the United Nations, businesses and civil society, including
youth groups, will convene to debate how to advance women’s empowerment
and overcome barriers to change. UN Women Executive Director Phumzile
Mlambo-Ngcuka and Pamela Falk of CBS News will moderate the session.
Celebrated soprano Renée Fleming, one of the most acclaimed singers of
our times, will perform at the high-powered event, along with young
artist Tennille Amor and Broadway singers.
Key to the discussion
will be the essential role of gender equality in attaining the recently
agreed Sustainable Development Goals, a blueprint for global
development endorsed by all UN Member States. The event will further
highlight the importance of equal representation of women at all levels
of the UN system, and the integration of gender issues in all aspects of
the UN’s work.
“Women and girls are critical to finding
sustainable solutions to the challenges of poverty, inequality and the
recovery of the communities hardest-hit by conflicts, disasters and
displacements. They are at the frontline of the outbreaks of threatening
new epidemics, such as Zika virus disease or the impact of climate
change,” said UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka in her
message for the Day. “The participation of women at all levels—and the
strengthening of the women’s movement—has never been so critical,
working together with boys and men, to empower nations, build stronger
economies and healthier societies. It is the key to making Agenda 2030
transformational and inclusive,” she added.
Early in the day,
film stars and UN and New York City officials will kick-off the
inaugural HeForShe Arts Week, a new initiative by UN Women to leverage
the arts for gender equality. UN Women Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson,
SDG Advocate and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Forest Whitaker, First Lady
of New York City Chirlane McCray, UN Women Executive Director Phumzile
Mlambo-Ngcuka, The Public Theater’s Artistic Director Oskar Eustis and
others will take part in the launch. The HeforShe Arts Week will run
from 8-15 March 2016, during which time over 30 partners throughout the
city of New York—ballets, operas, Broadway shows, music concerts,
theatres, cinemas, galleries and museums—will highlight gender equality
and women’s rights, and donate a percentage of proceeds to UN Women.
UN
Women Regional Ambassador and actor-director-singer from India Farhan
Akhtar will release his powerful song “We all are on the Goodside” on 8
March. The song, produced by his organization Men Against Rape and
Discrimination (MARD), advocates for women’s empowerment and celebrates
an equal world for all.
Around the world to mark International
Women’s Day, 35 stock exchanges will ring their opening or closing bells
to raise awareness. In Santiago, 800 private sector and government
leaders will gather to show support. The Dhaka exchange will highlight
the low share of women in board positions among listed companies and
announce a survey to inform steps to boost participation. A half-day
session at the Nairobi exchange will profile best practices by companies
to empower women, while speakers in Amman will stress how gender
diversity improves corporate performance.
Based on a partnership
agreement signed on the occasion of the day, in Nigeria, UN Women will
join MasterCard, the National Identity Management Commission and civil
society organizations to kick off a new programme that aims to ensure at
least 500,000 women obtain national identity cards that enable access
to financial services, including electronic payments—a foundation for
economic empowerment.
The Sorgente Group of America, a real
estate company that specializes in historic and sustainable buildings,
will highlight the message of “Planet 50-50: Step It Up for Gender
Equality” on its iconic Flatiron building, to mark International Women’s
Day on8 March.
In association with UN Women, Snapchat, the
popular mobile story-telling app, will feature remarkable women from all
walks of life in a format called ‘Live Story’, which will be shared
with Snapchatters on 8 March. Users who watch the story in their app
will have the chance to contribute their own Snaps, telling their
stories and honouring the remarkable women in their lives.
Commemorating
International Women’s Day in New York and New Delhi, the United Nations
Postal Administration and India Post will jointly issue stamps,
designed by Mirko Illic, which illustrate gender equality by showing
half a face—either male or female. The message: men and women have to
work together to make gender equality a reality. The initiative is part
of UN Women’s HeForShe global solidarity movement to engage men and boys
as agents of change for women’s rights and gender equality.
In
every region of the world, people will organize marches, competitions,
performances and other events. Thousands will run, walk, march or cycle
to demonstrate their commitment to a gender-equal world, such as through
cycle rallies in India and the Maldives. Women’s and men’s hockey teams
will square off in a match in Tanzania.
The arts will feature
prominently, with Haiti hosting a concert and photo exhibit, the State
of Palestine a series of performances, and Albania a photo competition.
Film festivals will take place in Barbados, Cambodia, the former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Georgia, Jordan and Moldova. In Jordan,
HeForShe volunteers will unveil an art collage.
A public
gathering in Mali will give awards to women pioneers and emerging
leaders. Pakistan will launch an award ceremony for women’s rights
activists, the first in an annual series. In Brazil, women will run to
“Step It Up” for the HeForShe campaign, and a special ceremony will
recognize companies with best practices in terms of gender equality and
women’s empowerment.
Viet Nam plans a university event on gender
stereotypes, and Thailand a series of feminist dialogues. In Bosnia and
Herzegovina, a competition for journalists will be initiated,
encouraging them to focus attention on gender equality issues.
In
the lead-up to International Women’s Day, on 7 March, a new series of
orange dresses, scarves and ties will be launched at the National
Portrait Gallery in London. The vibrant colour signifies hope and
positive momentum in the global movement to end violence against women;
proceeds from sales will benefit the UN Trust Fund to End Violence
against Women (UN Trust Fund). Fashion designers Daniella Helayel and
Ozwald Boateng created the items through a partnership with LDNY. Models
and celebrities such as Lily Donaldson, Olivia Grant, Jodie Kidd and
Caroline Weinberg will attend the launch, followed by a pop-up store at
Goldman Sachs in London.
Also on 8 March, during an event on
the role of ethical fashion in preventing violence against women and
girls, at the London boutique Celestine Eleven, VOZ (meaning ‘voice’)
will unveil a Manta (blanket) to benefit the UN Trust Fund. The Manta
was designed and produced by rural women artisans in Chile, providing
employment and training.
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