Women of the World announces first virtual feminist festival featuring Sandi Toksvig, Emma Dabiri and Maxine Peake

Event to include talks, classes and a feminist quiz

Women of the World (WOW) – a charity that celebrates and supports women and girls around the globe – has announced it will be hosting its first ever virtual festival.

Every year WOW Festivals take place to highlight the work being done by the charity and also the issues that many women and girls continue to face.

During lockdown, the charity has partnered with the BBC to deliver a free digital festival which will form part of BBC Arts’ Culture in Quarantine programming.

The event, which is set to take place on 16 and 17 May, will feature everything from talks and classes to a feminist quiz, spanning topics such as history, health, science and sexuality.

Among the famous faces set to take part in the festival is former Australian prime minister Julia Gillard, who will be interviewed by The WOW Foundation’s founder and director Jude Kelly.

Elsewhere, The Great British Bake Off star Sandi Toksvig, actor Maxine Peake and Don’t Touch My Hair author Emma Dabiri will shine a light on their favourite women from history whose stories have been silenced.

There will also be a debate on Chore Wars – the balance and divide of domestic tasks and childcare between genders in lockdown – a session with Suzanne Jacob, chief executive of domestic violence charity SafeLives, and a discussion about women and money during the coronavirus crisis.

Disability activists The Triple Cripples will also take part to discuss what it means to be black disabled women, and Radio 5 Live’s Nihal Arthanayake will host a panel discussion examining how to raise sons to contribute to a gender-equal world.

Both days of the festival will begin with live morning stretches, led by basketball player Asma Elbadawi on Saturday and bodybuilder Nia Ceidiog on Sunday.

Speaking of the online festival, Jude Kelly said: “At this time, when we are isolated from one another, the connections and conversations that WOW ignites are more important than ever.

“Amongst all the gravity and seriousness of the issues the WOW Festivals explore, they are also a place of warmth, inclusiveness and fun; places that are filled not just with serious intent but also with energetic spontaneous encounters, human connection, adventure, levity of spirit, and laughter.

“We will work with BBC Arts to replicate this experience online to bring people across the world together.”

Lamia Dabboussy, executive editor of BBC Arts, added that she couldn’t imagine a better way to spend a lockdown weekend than at a virtual WOW festival.

“The hugely ambitious programme responds to some of the most important global issues today whilst also providing a bit of a practical guide to surviving lockdown. It’s truly a cultural festival for now,” she said.

The festival will be available to watch and take part in at bbc.co.uk/arts. Many of the events will also be available to watch at a later date on BBC iPlayer.