WOW BANGLADESH 2023 to celebrate and inspire women and girls

WOW – Women of the World Festivals in Bangladesh announced the dates for their national festival in Dhaka, which will return this time to Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy on 24 and 25 February 2023. The women and girls-focused festival is organised by strategic partners the British Council, Mongol Deep Foundation and CCD Bangladesh, in partnership with UK charity The WOW Foundation.

To mark the launch of the two-day festival being held on 24 and 25 February 2023 at the main field and Chitrashala building of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, a press conference was held today at the British Council lawn. Ifra Iqbal, Cultural Engagement Programme Manager, British Council; Sara Zaker, Founding Chairperson of Mongol Deep Foundation; Zakia Haque, Managing Director, Creative Pathways Bangladesh and Shahana Parveen, Joint-Director of CCD Bangladesh attended the press conference and outlined various aspects of the WOW Bangladesh 2023 Festival. Sharmin Sultana Sumi, vocalist of rock band Chirkutt, was also present as a participant of the festival.

Founded by Jude Kelly CBE, WOW – Women of the World is an international festival that celebrates the achievements of women, girls and other communities and looks at some of the obstacles they face across the world. This year’s ‘WOW Bangladesh 2023’ will celebrate the achievements of women and girls by recognising their courage and inspiring them through sharing stories of resilience and strength, performances, activities, music and much more. The aim of the festival is to bring people together to combat the inequality and discrimination they face in society and provide support and encouragement by fostering a safe space for dialogue.

The two-day event will be inaugurated by Hon’ble Speaker of Bangladesh Parliament, Dr Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury, and include performances by indigenous communities from Chattogram and Sylhet. Festival curators include Komola Collective (UK), COTAKE Bangladesh, Prachyanat, Bonhishikha – unlearn gender, Swayong, Creative Pathways, Asifuzzaman Khan and Fouzia Mahin Chowdhury. Intercontinental Dhaka will be the Hospitality Partner for this event. There will be thought-provoking panel discussions exploring the impacts of colourism, and the perception of feminism in wider communities where notable panellists like leading actress Azmeri Haque Badhon and activist Shireen Huq will participate.

To enlighten children on gender equality, there will be interactive fun workshops exploring themes of women of strength and understanding different communities. Attendees will also have opportunities of in-person WOW Speed Mentoring sessions conducted by experts from many fields. The festival will also feature a vibrant WOW Marketplace supporting local women entrepreneurs and raising awareness of gender issues. Additionally, festivalgoers will experience exhibitions, musical performances, film screenings, performance art, and a disability arts theatre production ‘SwarnaBoal’ directed by Sudip Chakroborthy, where legendary thespian Asaduzzaman Noor will also perform. The event will end with a concert by rock band ‘Chirkutt’.

“WOW – Women of the World is an important platform in advancing our work with supporting women and girls under our Arts portfolio in South Asia. We believe that achieving gender equality is crucial in creating an inclusive, open and prosperous society and arts has a strong role to play in it.” – Ifra Iqbal, Cultural Engagement Programme Manager, the British Council

“We are delighted to see WOW Festival becoming a soulful gathering of culture and celebration of womanhood. It advocates to create access and opportunity for women and girls around the world and build their skills and confidence to achieve their potential and have more influence over decisions that positively impact their lives”. – Sara Zaker, Founding Chairperson, Mongol Deep Foundation

“Through festivals, events, programmes and more, WOW globally challenges the belief that gender equality has already been achieved – and hopes to join the dots between people, movements and ideas to change the world.” – Jude Kelly, the CEO and Founder of The WOW Foundation

Jude Kelly, the CEO and Founder of The WOW Foundation, launched WOW in 2010 when she was Artistic Director of Southbank Centre in London. It is the biggest, most comprehensive and most significant festival dedicated to presenting work by women and promoting equality for women, girls and non-binary people. This year WOW Festivals will also take place in locations including Pakistan and Athens, as well as London, Rotherham and Leeds in the UK, with many more planned for 2023 and beyond.

The WOW platform helps raise awareness of gender issues by shedding light on the success stories and struggles of women and girls in all walks of life. It is also an effort for aspiring local women leaders to design and organise the festival in a way that helps them create an international festival with meaningful local representation. WOW Festival were initiated in Bangladesh through divisional Chapters from 2017 in Chattogram, Khulna, Rajshahi, Rangpur and Sylhet, leading to a national festival in Dhaka in 2019 and as a response to the pandemic, the festivals also moved online and expanded to represent women’s voices from more divisional cities through WOW Virtual Bangladesh festivals. Since its initiation in Bangladesh, the festivals have collectively reached over 50,000+ festival audiences.