Karachi: The British Council in Pakistan and Southbank Centre and the TAF Foundation along with six local partners bring the second Women of the World (WOW) festival to Karachi. The festival will run from December 2-3 at Alliance Francaise. This year WOW Karachi will present panel discussions on critical issues, bite-sized inspirational talks, workshops, musical performances, a space for young children, speed mentoring sessions, readings, art installations and a market place with talks ranging from food to a pop-library. Topics cover women in science and technology, gender equality, violence against marginalised communities, emotional wellbeing, and raising children that contribute to equal gender roles in communities. Performances include classical, qawwali, dramatic readings and more. Raania Azam Khan Durrani, director arts, British Council Pakistan, said, “As a cultural relations organisation we must focus on mutuality and collective strength of all parts of the community. We believe in the significance of exploratory spaces for creative expression, poetic thought, and appreciation of the intangible arts. WOW is powerful extension of that safe and celebratory space; a festival that welcomes girls, boys, men and women. I am proud to be a part of this global movement, now in its second year in Karachi, and a catalyst for conversations across South Asia and the world.” Aatiqua F Lateef, chief executive officer of TAF Foundation, said, “The TAF Foundation is proud to partner with the British Council Pakistan for the WOW Karachi festival for the 2nd year in succession. We believe in promoting platforms that celebrate the achievements of women and inspire those who have the potential to realise their dreams through professional guidance and mentoring. Through its vocational training institute we aim to achieve the same by training women and providing them with respectable employment opportunities while making them better citizens by inculcating legal and financial literacy.” WOW endeavours to curate an inclusive, empowering space that pushes at the boundaries of conventional gender roles through programming that is booth celebratory and reflective. By pulling together diverse contributions from the wider community, WOW Karachi draws upon a lived reality to inspire real change. WOW was launched in 2010 at Southbank Centre in London by its Artistic Director Jude Kelly, to mark the 100th anniversary of International Women’s day and to start conversations on a wider scale with people from all walks of life. She has said “WOW is a festival because celebration creates optimism and optimism creates determination and energy that makes you feel anything is possible.” In the six years since its inception, WOW has grown into the largest women’s festival network in the world, involving over a million people across five continents. Curating partners for WOW Karachi 2017 include Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Entrepreneurship and Community Development Institute (ECDI), Salt Arts, Saturday Studio, Alternate Media Concepts (AMC) and Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research. Published in Daily Times, November 25th 2017.