Saturday 06/04, 12.00-12.30, Lighthouse Jude Kelly, CEO and Founder of The WOW Foundation, and Elly Andriopoulou, Managing Director of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC), discuss the WOW Festival, looking back at the news of the past few months, the challenges that are emerging, as well as the recent victories in the journey towards gender equality.
Saturday 06/04, 12.30-14.00, Lighthouse While war and conflict cause universal suffering, rape and other forms of sexual violence against women have been pervasive in conflicts throughout history. In 2022, there were more than 600 million women and girls living in conflict-affected countries, a 50 per cent increase since 2017, and all too often women's bodies become part of the battlefield in what is war’s oldest and most silenced crime.
Saturday 06/04, 12.30-14.00, Book Castle The digital self is often different from the real one. Through filters and photo editing software, we compare ourselves more than ever to a fake "perfect" self, and we are doomed to lose.
Saturday 06/04, 16.00-17.30, Lighthouse For centuries, the female body has been depicted in all forms of art. However, women as creators have been historically absent. In recent decades, efforts have been made to overturn this: from exclusion to equality; from silence to a creative voice; and from there, to the fearless exposition of the female experience.
Saturday 06/04, 17.00-19.00, Book Castle In today’s world, despite the abundance of information, misconceptions about sex continue to thrive, leaving Sexual Education conspicuously absent from academic curricula. What should such a curriculum include to be truly effective? How far have we come in demystifying sex, and what does the concept of "Sex Positivity" actually entail?
Saturday 06/04, 18.00-19.30, Lighthouse "She's someone's daughter or partner, that's why she's advancing in her career," they used to say. "Her hiring is the result of quotas," they say now. Sexism never dies. It corrodes and challenges every effort towards inclusion. Sometimes, it emanates from women themselves, who internalize and reproduce it, without realizing it.
Saturday 06/04, 19.30-21.00, Book Castle "What did we do wrong?", "Is it just a phase?", "Is it a trend?": These are most often the reactions of parents, school, and society to the ultimate confession, that of a child's or a young person's deepest sense of self. Facing a long and difficult journey, we widen the gap and intensify the fear. We can do better than that, right?
Sunday 07/04, 10.30, Lighthouse From experience, we see that women policy makers often prioritise issues that benefit the most vulnerable in society and bring more collaborative leadership styles into their respective environments. As such, more women leaders can make a difference for more equal and caring societies.
Sunday 07/04, 13.30-15.00, Lighthouse The mother - nurturer, the grandmother - helper, the daughter - a copy of previous generations. How much have the roles of women within the Greek family changed? How much intergenerational trauma do we carry, inscribed in our cells, dictated and minimally differentiated? Three generations of women explain why the caregiver in the family has always been of the female gender.
Sunday 07/04, 13.30-15.00, Book Castle Is there equality in the way public space is shared among all genders? Urban planning has always reflected and facilitated only 50% of the population, as historically, cities are made by men for men. In this discussion, we will examine the right to the city through the gender perspective, as well as alternative, inclusive practices.
Sunday 07/04, 15.30-17.00, Lighthouse What does ageism mean, who does it affect, and in what ways? What are the challenges we face in intergenerational work environments? Why is intergenerational inclusion important, and ultimately, can we get to know each other better so that we can communicate and collaborate more effectively, beyond our age and the stereotypes that accompany each generation?
Sunday 07/04, 15.30-17.00, Book Castle Perinatal loss, obstetric/gynecological violence, and postpartum depression, while affecting thousands of women, are hidden under a mountain of silence, sprinkled with teddy bears, greeting cards, and social compulsions.
Sunday 07/04, 18.00-19.30, Lighthouse The thousands of complaints every year about domestic violence with victims being women/femininities highlight the lack of safety at home, not just on the streets. WOW initiates a discussion on what has been done and what still needs to be done in order to instill a sense of safety in women and femininities because "speaking out" is not enough.
Sunday 07/04, 18.00-19.30, Book Castle An alarming deterioration in the mental health of girls, especially in adolescence and early adulthood, is being recorded in more and more studies. What are the factors? What kind of interventions need to be designed for families, schools, and communities? How could a girl be empowered to live according to her individuality and not based on "burdensome" stereotypical identities?
Monday 08/04, 11.30-13.00, Lighthouse Female role models can help close the ambition gap between the genders and inspire more women to pursue leadership positions. Evidence suggests they tend towards a leadership style that is more cooperative and inclusive. How do women leaders build inclusive workplaces and harness their benefits to get the best from their people?
Monday 08/04, 11.30, Book Castle What are the ideas that always come up at WOW events? How are women and girls lives in Greece different to those in Pakistan, for example? And what's the same? Come and find out in conversation with WOW organisers from Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Monday 08/04, 13.30-15.00, Lighthouse Every working woman in Greece needs to be aware of her rights, so she can address the imbalance between professional and family life, or even incidents of sexual harassment at work - all within a frequently unsupportive context, in a society with stereotypical perceptions. On her side, the state with its welfare policies. Is it enough?
Monday 08/04, 13.30-15.00, Book Castle Woman and science still seem - alas! - incompatible terms. However, by unraveling mysteries, forging paths, and shaping the future, women in science have learned how to defy stereotypes and break barriers.
Monday 08/04, 15.30-17.00, Lighthouse Expectations, social pressures, outdated taboos, clichés resulting from patriarchy, and accumulated frustrations from all the insidious, invisible sexist behaviors and misogynistic jokes. Women who remain a minority in male-dominated professions are breaking the predefined molds and stereotypes. How? They did not accept that they are inadequate. They did not submit to social conventions.
Monday 08/04, 15.30-17.15, Book Castle What does leading change for gender equality mean? What does institutional and grassroot change look like? A conversation on how change can be achieved starting from grassroot initiatives and scaling up to policymaking for equality, empowerment, and representation.
Monday 08/04, 17.30-19.00, Lighthouse What does it mean to be a feminist man today? How does an "ally" handle patriarchy, gender stereotypes, and toxic masculinity as it is expressed in society today? And, ultimately: does the feminist movement need men?
