Media advisory: International Women's Day March for Gender Equality and Women's Rights

Media Contacts:

Oisika Chakrabarti, Ph: +1 646 781-4522; Email: oisika.chakrabarti[at]unwomen.org

Sharon Grobeisen, Ph: +1 646 781-4753; Email: sharon.grobeisen[at]unwomen.org

WHAT: MARCH FOR GENDER EQUALITY: STEP IT UP! PLANET 50-50 BY 2030. The event is co-hosted by UN Women and the City of New York, with the UN Women for Peace Association, NGO Committee on the Status of Women, NY (NGO CSW/NY), Man Up and The Working Group on Girls NGO. Marking International Women’s Day, the event will bring together diverse partners on the eve of the 20-year anniversary commemoration of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

WHO: Leading the march will be Leymah Roberta Gbowee, Nobel laureate, UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, actor Paul Bettany, actresses AnnaLynne McCord and Kelly Rutherford, and women’s rights leaders and activists. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and First Lady of the City of New York Chirlane McCray will be among those giving short remarks at the opening.

WHEN: Sunday, 8 March 2015, 2.30 – 5 p.m.

WHERE: New York City [Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza (47th Street and 2nd Avenue) to Times Square (42nd and 7th Avenue)]

INFORMATION FOR MEDIA: Media arrangements on-site include a cordoned area for press at the start and end of the march, where leaders will make short speeches from a stage in both locations. Please contact media contacts listed to attend the march, and for interviews with participants. [Please note, UN media accreditation is NOT required for this event].

Background: The year 2015 marks the 20th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, a significant turning point in the global agenda for gender equality. The Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action, adopted unanimously by 189 countries in 1995, is a visionary blueprint for gender equality and the empowerment of women. Twenty years on, the Beijing promise is only partially fulfilled, and its 20-year anniversary provides new opportunities to galvanize political will, reconnect and mobilize the public. To this end, the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day, celebrated globally on 8 March, is the clarion call of UN Women’s Beijing+20 campaign “Empowering Women, Empowering Humanity: Picture it!”. To celebrate achievements made in ensuring gender equal laws and practices, as well as to readdress the gaps that remain, a march for gender equality and women’s rights will take place.

Detailed Programme: The march will be held on Sunday, 8 March 2015 and will run from 2.30 to 5 p.m. Participants will assemble at the Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza, at the corner of 47th Street and 2nd Avenue starting at 1.30 p.m. The march will end at Times Square, at the corner of 42nd Street and 7th Avenue, where participants will collectively urge for renewed commitments to gender equality.

TIMELINE

1.30 p.m. Participants begin to assemble

2.15 p.m. Flagging off programme with short opening remarks

2.40 p.m. March begins

4.30: Final Convening point: Renewing commitments to gender equality through closing speeches by participants

5.00 p.m. March concludes

Hashtag: #Beijing20 Follow: @UN_Women

See more: Announcer and flyer. Check out our Facebook event page.