Last week on Wednesday 8th March we collaborated with the volunteers of ABC Create Change to hold an event to celebrate International Women’s Day (soz for the delay, power outages and all that). The theme set for this year was #BeBoldforChange! We were encouraged by this theme to hold an event which would motivate women and men to be bold enough to help achieve gender parity.
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| International Women's Day 2017! |
The day promptly began at 2 pm GMT+ (Ghana Man Time) and included a ‘Pledge Wall’ where you could write your personal pledge for the week, the month or the year of what you hope to do to #BeBoldforChange. Here’s Lindsay’s pledge which we are all proud of (and slightly jealous of for not thinking of it first)
“Today we celebrate the women who have made it, but also we should celebrate the women who are trying. The women who continue to fight, the faceless women who try and try again despite the odds not being in their favour. We value their fight, and though their names will never be celebrated, their achievements are part of something larger and equality will be achieved in all of their names. Every small step, every small action is a bold statement capable of creating ripples and spreading a much wider message which will create a positive change for International Women’s Rights.”
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| Our Pledge Wall! |
We had dramatizations about influential women past and present:
- - Yaa Asantewaa (Asante Queen Mother who led the Asantes to fight British Colonialism)
- - Rosa Parks (African-American Civil Rights Activist)
- - J K Rowling (Author, UK’s 13th Wealthiest Women)
- - Mary Seacole (A Black British Battlefield Nurse who funded herself to save lives)
- - Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (1st Female President of Liberia)
- - Malala Yousafzai (Advocate for Girls Education, Youngest Female Nobel Peace Prize Winner)
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| Yaa Asantewaa |
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| Rosa Parks |
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| J K Rowling |
We hosted a panel which consisted of, CEO of International Service Joanne Baker, Northern Region Representative of NGO Days for Girls Madame Rhoda, Social Worker and Host Mum to ICS volunteers Baidaw Issahaku, WOSAG Programme Manager Madame Rabi, Gender Equality Officer at EQUIP HUB Stephanie Shea and lastly, Facilitation Assistant at EQUIP HUB Fayuda Yakubu. We learned about these women’s personal lives, the struggles they have faced and the bold actions they have taken to tackle issues that surround gender equality. This segment of the program was extremely insightful, humbling and motivating. Hands down the best part of the day!
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| Our amazing panel! |
A passionate recital of Maya Angelou’s ‘Still I Rise’ that champions women’s sexuality, pride and boldness closed the program with a bang! Of course, an event in Ghana wouldn’t be completed without a bit of dancing and mingling with the guests and community.
All in all, International Women’s Day celebrated at the Mandela Development Centre on Dagomba Street was AMAAAAZING!
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| We pledge to #BeBoldforChange! |
What's your pledge to #BeBoldforChange?
Written by Dernica
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