SAARC International Women’s Day 2019 – A celebration of the struggles, triumphs and legacy of women

The first ever Women’s Day was celebrated on 28th February 1909 in the United States and subsequently 8th March was adopted as the International Women’s Day.  The International Women’s Day was formally adopted by the United Nations in 1975 the International Year of Women and universally celebrated on 8th March each year.  The International Women’s Day often highlights the struggles of women and their ability to overcome them and bring to the fore powerful and inspiring iconic female change agents.  The International Women’s Day is designed to evoke positive change, promote personal and professional growth in women, raise awareness of those who assist in empowering women and give women an opportunity to reflect and celebrate the extraordinary journey of feminism, equality and acceptance in society.

The SAARC International Women’s Day 2019, will be organised by the SAARC Cultural Centre in collaboration with the University of the Visual and Performing Arts, Colombo, on Friday the 8th March 2019, at the Dr. Lionel Edirisinghe Rostrum, with a particular focus towards women, art and culture.  The main purpose of the programme is to highlight the development and advancement of women in all fields, but particularly as artistes and agents of cultural development.  As such, we endeavour to witness the prowess of women in the cultural and performing arts, through a cultural performance highlighting the ever advancing and growing status of women in the South Asian Region.  The SAARC Cultural Centre would like to highlight the varied and wonderful triumphs, struggles and achievements of women, through cultural performances and inspiring discussions with iconic female role models, from diverse fields on the occasion of SAARC International Women’s day 2019.

Objectives of the SAARC International Women’s Day Programme

  1. To highlight the changing role of women and acknowledge their selfless contribution to the nation.
  2. To build self-confidence and boost self-esteem by appreciating the role of women in society.
  3. To improve awareness of the psychological factors that affect and influence performance in this competitive world and to provide guidance on how to deal with them.
  4. To create awareness of the challenging roles women face, often in difficult conditions.
  5. To acknowledge the character and strength of women and appreciate their place as the corner stone of any society.
  6. To appreciate and acknowledge the beauty of women as displayed and depicted in songs, music, dance and education.
  7. To create awareness and emphasise the stature and multi-faceted role of women, particularly with young people.
  8. To celebrate the glory and strong nature of women, their lives and their contribution to modern society.

The SAARC International Women’s Day programme is organised to celebrate journey of women and their progressive journey.  It is further hoped that this programme would lead to informative discussion geared to strengthen the lives of women and their families, to motivate through sharing of stories of iconic role models, to inspire and encourage the youth specially to strive for excellence in art and to make a difference to the social norms through culture, etc.  This programme is dedicated to the upliftment, inspiration and motivation of women and particularly women in culture.

Date:    8th March 2019
Venue:     Dr. Lionel Edirisinghe Rostrum at the University of the Visual and Performing Arts, Colombo.  
Time:     10am – 12 noon