International Women’s Day – 8th of March
guest | March 8th, 2013 in : cultural diversity, days of significance, General, other interesting stuff
Maya Angelou, an award-winning American poet and author, was once quoted for saying:
“How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!” The media is full of heroes every day, but today is the day that the world celebrates our she-roes: it’s International Women’s Day!
In some countries, Women's Day is a political event.
International Women’s Day has been celebrated around the world for more than a hundred years.
In the US, it was officially celebrated for the first time in 1909. Which country first celebrated Women’s Day in Europe is not quite clear, but, by 1911, it was already celebrated by a handful of countries, countries such as Austria, Denmark, Switzerland, Germany, and Russia. Today, International Women’s Day is celebrated all around the world, and in many countries it’s even an official holiday.
The status of International Women’s Day, however, varies from country to country. In some countries (i.e Russia and some other Eastern European countries) the day is considered a mixture of Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. It’s a day that celebrates love, respect, and appreciation for women, and on this day men traditionally give women flowers to express their gratitude. In the UN, the day still holds a strong, political status. On International Women’s Day the UN acknowledges and celebrates the economic, social, and political achievements of women, achievements of the ‘she-roes.’
Ways to celebrate International Women’s Day vary year by year. In the past, the day has been acknowledged and celebrated in political rallies, business conferences, government activities, networking events, theater performances, and even fashion parades. In recent years, International Women’s Day has also widely used social media as a one of its main platforms. This year, again, there are many simple ways online we all can participate. Online discussions, networks, campaigns, art exhibitions, photo contests, and video projects take place on a range of social media spaces, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Youtube.
In addition, there are various public events held in February all over the world. The best place to search events in your area is the International Women’s Day website, run by an Australian entrepreneur and women’s campaigner, Glenda Stone. The website is also a great resource for articles and teaching tools about Women’s Day, as well as for networking.
This year, the theme chosen for the website is ‘connecting girls, inspiring futures.’ The UN theme this year is to ‘empower rural women, to end hunger and poverty.’
Themes from past years have been ‘equal rights, equal opportunity’ (2010), and ‘equal access to education, training, science, and technology’ (2011). In addition, last year president Obama announced the month of March ‘women’s history month.’
Happy Women’s Day to you all!
Other celebrations in March:
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
International Day for the Remembrance of Slave Trade and Its Abolition
International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members
Tags: empower, equal rights, inspire, International Women's Day, Maya Angelou, women's history month
Hello, I'm Deborah Swallow and, for the last fifteen years, I've worked in over thirty countries addressing the complexities of people working internationally across multiple cultures, so individuals and organisations alike can gain an authentic competitive edge and win in international markets. 