WOW Festival 2012

WOW Bites 6 Speakers

At the Southbank Centre’s WOW Festival, I had the pleasure of hosting one of the WOW Bites panels where five very different women spoke about projects or ideas that are meaningful to them. The photo above taken by Eleanor Morris (thank you!) is me and the women on my panel after the event. Click on the links below to find out more about their work.

• Natasha Walter, founder of Women For Refugee Women, on why women flee.
• Salem Ayalew explains how storytelling changes lives in Ethiopia, and how the BBC Media Action ‘Catalysing the Girl Effect’ project gets stories to thousands.
• Kieran Yates, author of Generation Vexed, on the rise and rise of the female MC.
• Shea Grant performs two songs from her new album Smokey Dreams.
• Kate Berridge tells the remarkable story of Marie Tussaud, the obscure woman behind one of the most famous names in the commercial world.

In addition to this, I performed my stand up comedy routine as part of the Funny Women Pan Asian Showcase, and spoke to a panel about the Politics of Hair and Skin, chaired by Hannah Pool with Dr Shirley Tate, India Gary Martin and Sali Hughes. This was a lively conversation that covered toxicity, availability of products for different skin tones, and the globalised nature of the beauty industry.

Now in it’s second year, Jude Kelly’s WOW is a brilliant addition to London, and turns International Women’s Day into a real festival. It’s a great opportunity to be inspired and learn from women all over the world, as it’s a great showcase of some of the things that women have made or done. It’s turning into a place to meet up with friends and make new ones, so I recommend you get there for WOW 2013, and bring a man with you!

My highlight of the festival was of course, the very wonderful V: Formerly Eve Ensler, whose spirit, dedication and honesty allows blows me away.