International Women’s Day 8th March 2012


Kate Nustedt (Executive Director, Women for Women International in the UK) calls for action!


International musician Annie Lennox was a great supporter in 2011


came out in force to celebrate the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day on 8 March 2011 with Women for Women’s Join me on the Bridge campaign. There were 55 events across the UK, and 464 in 70 countries across the world. 2012 promises to be even bigger!


Soroptimists will be leading the charge in making sure that the 21st century is the woman’s century, and we’ll be doing this by growing a bigger and bigger global movement that joins together in calling for peace. The idea for this bridge campaign first


Soroptimist members across the globe


Women student societies - and these made a great impact in building wider support and solidarity locally as well as globally. Women for Women gives you full support in organising your events, and can provide you with a campaign toolkit and ongoing advice and support in organising your event.


came about in 2010 when the Women for Women country directors for the Congo and Rwanda called for all women, whether they were Hutu, Tutsi, Rwandan or Congolese, to join them on the bridge that connects their two countries, and was the scene of the mass exodus when people were fleeing the genocide that tore Rwanda apart in 1994. Many more people wanted to join them


“We’re not asking for any new policies or laws. They already exist. We have UN Resolution 1325, and we have the Millennium Development Goals. It’s time to act, and we’re calling for everyone who wants to make a stand against the brutalities inflicted on women in Afghanistan, and in areas of conflict around the world, to join us on a bridge on International Women’s Day, 8th March 2012.” Says Kate Nustedt, Executive Director of Women for Women UK.


in taking this stand for peace and hope in 2010, not only in other war-torn countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia and Sudan, but also from Australia to Hawaii, where women stood in solidarity with their sisters. Amongst the 75,000 people on bridges worldwide were many Soroptimists. 8 March 2012 will be the third year of the


Join me on the Bridge campaign, and we are calling for you all to mark this date in your diaries, and to get ready by joining or organising a bridge event near you. It’s very easy - you simply get together with a group of friends, select a bridge, and promote your event to your wider networks. Last year, many Soroptimists joined forces with other groups, including Women for


campaign has been the actions of the women of Liberia. Their campaign, with Christian and Muslim women coming together to stand against the atrocities committed against them and their children by the dictator Charles Taylor and the opposing militia, has been brilliantly documented in the film Pray the Devil Back to Hell. They have shown that by coming together, women can build peace and hope. Leymah Gbowee, one


of the key activists of this campaign, and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia, were recently awarded the Nobel Peace


TIS December 2011 Page 7 One of the big inspirations for this


Prize and this is further encouragement to the belief that women can bring peace to in a world that is going through so much change and revolution. Women for Women is encouraging all bridge organisers to hold their own screening of Pray the Devil back to Hell before their bridge campaign, as a way to raise awareness, and build support and understanding for the campaign. Women for Women holds the distribution rights to this film and can also provide you with a toolkit for your screening. Women for Women is honoured to be in


partnership with all Soroptimist members for the Join me on the Bridge event, and on behalf of all the women who will be standing on bridges in war-torn countries we say thank you and We Stand Together. Thank you for joining us on the bridge! Further information, toolkits and film screenings available at:


www.womenforwomen.org/bridge


Actress Cherie Lunghi supported the 2011 event


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