The First Minister is to take centre stage at a festival being held in Perth which celebrates the achievements of women and girls while examining the factors which may hold them back.
WOW – Women of the World Perth 2017 will feature Nicola Sturgeon as the opening speaker in conversation with WOW founder Jude Kelly.
The programme for the festival features prominent activists, speakers, business women, artists, broadcasters and campaigners including Kirsty Wark, Lesley Riddoch and comedian Luisa Omielan.
The festival debuts in Scotland at Perth Concert Hall over the weekend of October 27 to 29 and includes talks and debates, music, dance, theatre, performance, poetry and comedy as well as workshops and activities ranging from morning song to yoga, and speed mentoring to skateboarding.
Funded by Spirit of 2012, the Perth event is part of the Southbank Centre’s expansion of its global WOW network of festivals to create nine new WOWs in five cities across the UK to mark the centenary of female suffrage in 2018.
Perth is the first Scottish city to host one of these WOWs and will produce the festival there in 2017 and 2018.
Founder Jude Kelly says WOW is now the largest women’s festival movement in the world, taking place across five continents, in countries from Pakistan to the USA.
“WOW – Women of the World Festivals are designed to be agents of change in their host cities, providing a space for women to participate in discussion, education and collaboration on the issues that most impact their lives,” she said.
Launched in 2011 in London, WOW Festivals have inspired more than one million women across five continents and cities in Australia, Egypt, India, Pakistan, the U.K., and at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem.
Perth festival programmer Lou Brodie, said :“This is Scotland and Perth’s first WOW and I hope everyone will jump in and participate; whether it’s taking part in workshops, lending their voice to the many discussions or simply listening from the audience we are encouraging women and men of all ages to come along and be inspired.”
