The British Council Pakistan brings the 7th edition of WOW – Women of the World Festival to the Alhamra Arts Council, Lahore. This is the first edition of the festival to be ever held in Lahore and is organised in collaboration with Standard Chartered, Shan Foods, UNFPA, ECDI Pakistan and Olomopolo Media. The festival is free and open for the public.
The programme for the WOW festival includes one-of-a-kind panels, workshops, film screenings, immersive performances, vibrant marketplaces, and puppet shows and films for children. There is a huge line up of performances on day one including popular music artists Natasha Noorani and Eva B. The closing performance will be from an ensemble of powerhouse women including AmnaRiaz, Romaisa Tariq, Annural Khalid and Natasha Baig featuring Hassan and Roshan.
Presented in partnership with the WOW Foundation, the theme for the festival this year is Sakhiyan(Friends),an ode to friendship between women and as space to be yourself – where one can reclaim themselves. This friendship is explored and celebrated as it unfolds in the world, in digital spaces and forms the web of our lived realities. The theme also will look at friendship as the third space and as the foundational backbone of our support systems. This theme will be further explored through topics that are most relevant for women in a Pakistani context including education, women in public spaces, bridging the digital divide, support networks as well as mental health, climate change challenges and being inclusive of disability. To ensure inclusion and participation of the deaf and disabled community, access support in the form of sign language will be provided and the complete programme will be printed in Braille. MaaryaRehman, Deputy Director, British Council Pakistan said: “Our landmark WOW Festival is coming to Lahore for the first time ever and I strongly encourage people to come.
