Thursday, March 8, 2018 - International Women's Day

The Managing Committee of Longos Cultural Society "Lord Byron" invited the members and friends of our society to mark the International Women's Day This event took place on Thursday, March 8, at 8.00 p.m. in the Cultural Centre of Longos.

 

International Women's Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. International Women's Day (IWD) has been observed since the early 1900's - a time of great expansion and turbulence in the industrialized world that saw booming population growth and the rise of radical ideologies. International Women's Day is a collective day of global celebration and a call for gender parity. No one government, NGO, charity, corporation, academic institution, women's network or media hub is solely responsible for International Women's Day. Many organizations declare an annual IWD theme that supports their specific agenda or cause, and some of these are adopted more widely with relevance than others.

Clara Zetkin proposed the establishment of an annual International Woman's Day at the Second International Socialist Women's Conference in 1910. The following year IWD took place for the first time in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland.

The first greek feminist and journalist was Kallirroi Siganou-Parren (1861 – 1940). Between the years of 1890 and 1896 she founded various welfare organizations for women such as the Sunday School, Asylum of Sainte Catherine and The Soup Kitchen. She launched the feminist movement in Greece with the founding of a newspaper, Ephimeris ton kirion (Women's Journal), in 1887. By 1908, thanks to her immense efforts, the "Ethniko Symvoulio ton Ellinidon" (National Council of Greek Women) was founded. In 1911 Kallirroi Siganou-Parren founded the "Lykeion ton Ellinidon" (Lyceum of Greek Women).

"The story of women's struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organization but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights," says world-renowned feminist, journalist and social and political activist Gloria Steinem. Thus International Women's Day is all about unity, celebration, reflection, advocacy and action - whatever that looks like globally at a local level. But one thing is for sure, International Women's Day has been occurring for well over a century - and continue's to grow from strength to strength. International Women’s Day is a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities. International Women's Day 2018 campaign theme: #PressforProgress Individually, we're one drop but together we're an ocean. Commit to a "gender parity mindset" via progressive action. Let's all collaborate to accelerate gender parity, so our collective action powers equality worldwide.

 

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