CHANGEMAKERS GATHER TO DISCUSS HOW MEDIA CAN SUPPORT SOCIAL CHANGE AND GENDER EQUALITY
Women and Girls Lead Global, Ford Foundation, USAID, ITVS, CARE, Corporation for Public Broadcasting Screen indie film Driving with Selvi
WHAT: ITVS, the leading supporter of independent filmmakers and the driver behind Women and Girls Lead Global, together with its partners the Ford Foundation and USAID to host a robust discussion titled “Unstoppable Stories: How Media Can Support Social Change, Gender Equality and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals”.
Since the launch of the Millennium Development Goals in 2000, the world has seen significant changes in the lives of women and girls. Yet a new era of communications, data and storytelling has brought us closer than ever to the reality of persisting gender inequality and to the human experience of child marriage, gender-based violence, and reproductive health challenges, among other issues.
Speakers will focus on today’s global story of women and girls, how they are being told, and the way these narratives affect continuing efforts to achieve gender equality. There will also be a screening of Driving with Selvi, an independent documentary funded by ITVS.
Driving with Selvi chronicles the life of Selvi Kunjee Gowda, an abused child bride, turned South India’s first female taxi driver, entrepreneur, activist and working mom. The filmmakers will offer insights on how the creation and deployment of independent films can help to shift public perceptions and drive broader acceptance of gender equality.
WHEN: Thursday, January 14, 2015 from 5:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Ford Foundation Auditorium at 320 East 43rd Street, New York, NY, 10017
WHO: Sally Fifer, president/CEO, ITVS
Catherine M. Russell, ambassador-at-large for Global Women’s Issues, U.S. Department of State
Pat Harrison, president/CEO, Corporation for Public Broadcasting
Susan Markham, senior coordinator for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, USAID
Margaret Hempel, director, Gender, Racial, and Ethnic Justice, Ford Foundation
Kimberly Sevcik, Director, Women and Girls Lead Global
Mahmud Hasan, CEC, Women and Girls Lead Global
Maria Noel Vaeza, director of Programme, UN Women
Doris Bartel, senior director of Gender & Empowerment, CARE
Elisa Paloschi, filmmaker, Driving with Selvi
Selvi Kunjee Gowda, the subject of Driving with Selvi
Tamara Gould, senior vice president, National Production & Strategic Partnerships, ITVS
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MEDIA RSVP: Media should contact Dom Hawkins at 202-464-9522 or dhawkins@skdknick.com