Tuesday 19 November 2024

Women of the World (WOW) Festival 2024 in Nepal

19 November, Nepal – As part of its Women and Girls programme, the British Council, in partnership with Kathmandu Metropolitan City and The WOW Foundation, UK—and a diverse group of Nepali and British collaborators—is organising WOW Nepal 2024, an arts and culture programme that celebrates the achievements of women, girls and non-binary people and takes a frank look at the obstacles they face across the world.

Festival details:

  • Date: 23 – 24 November 2024
  • Time: 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM
  • Venue: Nandi Keshar Bagaincha (Narayanchaur), Naxal, Kathmandu
  • Entry to the festival is free for all
  • FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

WOW Festivals are organised to build, convene, and sustain a global movement that believes a gender-equal world is desirable, possible, and urgently required. WOW Festivals currently take place in over 19 cities around the world. In South Asia, WOW chapters are organised by the British Council with the support of local curatorial partners, artists and collaborators. The event will congregate participants from across Nepal and the world to engage in awareness and capacity-building programmes. The programme features talks, panel discussions, workshops, performances, and film screenings. 

Commenting on the importance of continued engagement of women, girls, non-binary people, men, and boys on topics of gender equality, Rustom Mody, Country Director British Council in Nepal, shares, “We are delighted to be able to bring to audiences in Kathmandu one of the biggest arts-culture festival that focuses on gender. WOW features extensive programmes—from conversations around climate change, sports, and identity to women in diverse professions, including media. The festival aims to raise awareness regarding gender issues, build the capacity of women and girls, provide a voice and platform to women speakers and artists, and build a strong network of women who believe that a more equal world is needed. I cannot wait to be a part of the programme.” 

This year, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City will host the festival. The organising team leader, Sunita Dangol, Deputy Mayor, shared, “We are overjoyed to work with the British Council along with a diverse group of curators, artists, partners, and collaborators to organise WOW. While the conversation about gender is mostly limited to closed conference rooms, WOW is important in the context of Kathmandu and Nepal as it brings the conversation to a wider public, where everybody has a safe space to express themselves and talk about topics that concern them. Art as a medium has immense power to explain, communicate, bring people together, and transform our society. I am proud to be a part of WOW and hope many people will join us to celebrate women and their achievements.”

Notes to Editor

About Kathmandu Metropolitan City

The Kathmandu Metropolitan City Office is the governing body of the Kathmandu City. Consisting of 32 wards, the city office is led by Mayor Balendra Shah and Deputy Mayor Sunita Dangol. Kathmandu City has been officially designated as the UNESCO Creative Cities – City of Film since 2023. KMC is the official city host of the Women of the World Festival Nepal 2024. The festival is being organised in collaboration with the Naxal Community Service Centre, Naxal Community Police and Kathmandu Ward No 1 office.

The WOW Foundation

The WOW Foundation was created by Jude Kelly CBE in 2018 to run the global movement that is WOW - Women of the World Festivals. The festivals began in the UK in 2010 and were launched by Kelly at Southbank Centre London to celebrate women and girls, taking a frank look at what prevents them from achieving their potential, raising global awareness of the issues they face, and discussing solutions together. WOW has reached over 2 million people in 17 countries on 6 continents with more than 65 festivals, including in Australia, Brazil, China, Egypt, Finland, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Somaliland, the UK and the USA. In 2018, WOW has been in Rio, Cardiff, Bradford, Baltimore, London, Exeter, Norwich and Perth, with events in Karachi and Beijing still to come, as well as London, New York, Baltimore, Dhaka, Atlanta, China and more across 2019 and 2020. Over the last nine years, the festivals have developed a reputation as a space for world-renowned artists, activists, thinkers and performers, including Angela Davies, Malala Yousafzai, Annie Lennox, Patrick Stewart, Baroness Doreen Lawrence and Salma Hayek, to come and participate, alongside thousands of women and girls who don't have public profiles but are doing amazing things. WOW provides platforms for people of all kinds, changes attitudes, brings communities together and provides a unique space for people to work together towards gender equality in their own communities. For more information, please visit www.thewowfoundation.com

About the British Council

The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide. We work with people in over 200 countries and territories and are on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 2021-22 we reached 650 million people. For further information, please visit: www.britishcouncil.org
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