Long Live March 8th,
The International Women's Day!

 

Sunday's program of Red Dawns is dedicated to the celebration of the 100th anniversary of The International Women's Day. The program includes a public performance, a panel discussion, exhibition and choir performance.

Concept and organization: Lidija Radojević, Jelena Petrović, Andreja Kopač, Tanja Velagić and Ana Jereb.

 

12.00, city centre of Ljubljana
Public performance
Long Live March 8th, International Women's Day!

The public performance will take place on March 8th in the city centre of Ljubljana (gathering at Prešeren Square).

 

18.00, Menza pri koritu
Panel discussion
100th Anniversary of International Women’s Day

Speakers: Vesna Leskošek (Faculty of Social Work, Ljubljana), Milica Antić Gaber (Faculty of Arts, Ljubljana), Irena Selišnik (Faculty of Arts, Ljubljana), Mojca Ramšak (Ljubljana Graduate School of the Humanities - ISH) in Vida Deželak Barič (Institute of Contemporary History).

Moderators: Jelena Petrović, Lidija Radojević

The discussion is going to evaluate the history of March 8th - the date known as the first National Woman's Day. Initiated by The Socialist Party of America, the date was first celebrated in 1909. A year later, in 1910, when the First International Women's Conference was held in Copenhagen, Denmark as part of the Second International, Clara Zetkin proposed that March 8th would be celebrated internationally as a symbol of women's struggle for the right to vote. From 1911, March 8th has gradually gained international recognition, inspired many activist initiatives and has been, as a consequence and in different historic settings, also censored.

The central themes of the panel discussion are going to be the politics of memory, women's activism, their alliances with other struggles and other forms of politically motivated work that are often overlooked in both the local and international context. Specifically, the speakers will focus on the current financial crisis, the consequences of neoliberalism in postsocialist states, the worsening working conditions for women (part time jobs, non-equal pay for equal work, gendered and discriminating age limits for pensions) and some of the issues that remain amongst feminist priorities: discrimination based on gender and sexual orientation, abortion rights, violence against women, prostitution and sexist media representations.

Adopting a multi-viewpoint approach, the debate wants to review the history and present significance of women's movements and practices while addressing the suppression, undermining and devaluation of achievements of women's emancipation, feminism and other forms of women's participation in the public sphere. The speakers will furthermore address the necessity of continuation of feminist social and political involvement.

In Slovenian. Simultaneous translation to English provided.

 

21.00, Menza pri koritu
Exhibition / Opening
Long Live March 8th, The International Women's Day!

The exhibition of old posters, speeches and leaflets is going to reflect on the struggle for women's rights which has been symbolically represented by Women's Day or 8th March. The aim of this event is to show the present view and perception of the past, and in this context, to reflect on the question about our present responsibilities toward the past struggles. New posters on the theme of March 8th, which were made in response to Red Dawns' call for submissions, are also going to be exhibited. The exhibition will bring forward the information about the rich, but troubled history of women's activism, in order to point out the necessity of continuing political activism within theory and praxis of the so called women's issues that are today again becoming a burning political question.

Choir performance
The garage women's choir Kombinat (Slovenia)
Women's "garage" choir Kombinat consists of a group of thirty girls who met on the Day of Uprising Against Occupation, on April 27th 2008 and decided to start singing together. Their repertoire consists of songs of rebellion from all around the world. "We are not nostalgic", they say, "we sing with faith in values such as solidarity, allegiance, heartiness and courage".

http://kombinatke.blogspot.com/

 

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Web: Anna Ehrlemark