8th March – International Women’s Day

I enjoyed celebrating 8th march this year togehter with the american feminist blogger Jessica Valenti, Saudi feminist and groundbreaking film maker Haifaa Al-Mansour, prize-winning Danish author Suzanne Brøgger, Egyptian physician and feminist debater Nawal El-Saadawi, German cultural researcher and author Mithu Sanyal and former Icelandic president and present UNESCO ambassador for women's rights Vigdis Finnbogadottir.

The Royal Library celebrates the International Women’s Day Centenary with an international conference featuring some of the world’s leading women’s thinkers, artists and politicians.

The Royal Library, along with KVINFO and Goethe-Institut Dänemark, will host one of the biggest events of the year by holding an international conference at The Royal Library, marking the centenary of International Women’s Day.

Meet some of the world’s leading thinkers, artists, debaters and politicians on women’s issues including:

Naomi Wolf – feminist debater, political consultant and writer
Haifaa Al-Mansour – Saudi feminist and groundbreaking film maker
Suzanne Brøgger – prize-winning Danish author
Mithu Sanyal – German cultural researcher and author
Jessica Valenti – American writer, blogger and debater
Nawal El-Saadawi – Egyptian physician and feminist debater
Vigdis Finnbogadottir – former president of Iceland
Benja Stig Fagerland - CEO TalentTuning, a guru in the field of women and management

Over the course of the past century, the observance of 8th March has spread throughout the entire world. In spite of varying climates for commemorating the day, it has served as a gathering point for women, allowing them to attract attention for their issues.

Obviously, the centenary calls for a celebration of the victories hailed by women in terms of rights and equal opportunities. But it also lends an opportunity to evaluate the current state of affairs and ponder critical issues for the future. The nature of women’s living conditions varies widely, with basic rights yet to be achieved in some parts of the world. And in other places, even where gender equality appears to fare best, necessary demands remain to be posed.

In other words, there is good reason to keep 8th March alive!