City of Joy - V-Day
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City of Joy

Photo: Patrick Lwaboshi On 28 June, the 25th class graduated from the City of Joy, a formidable accomplishment amidst increasing conflict in the Eastern Congo. 89 women have turned their pain to power, becoming young leaders who are environmentalists, journalists and storytellers, public speakers, peace activists, and advocates for freedom and gender equality among so many emerging talents. Photos: Carlos Schuler Following is an excerpt from the report by co-founder and director of City of Joy and V-Day Congo, Christine Schuler Deschryver: June 28 marked the completion of training in women's leadership and emotional healing for 89 residents of the City of Joy...

On Earth Day and every day we RISE for Climate Justice & MotherEarth. We amplify the connections between the exploitation of women and the exploitation of the earth. The global climate crisis impacts communities around the world. Women and girls suffer the most in terms of long term loss of livelihood, forced migration, trafficking and other climate related conflicts. Indigenous populations everywhere have suffered gravely – displaced and forced to flee and relocate – making them the world’s first climate refugees. This Earth Day, we renew our call for justice against the aggressive greed and global exploitation of nature and people...

One Billion Rising events are taking place and will continue through 22 April, Earth Day with the 2024 theme: RISE for FREEDOM, Be the New World. Rising Freedom Festivals are 1-2 days in length, including theatre, music, poetry, songs, painting, murals, workshops, massage, storytelling, oral histories, testimonies, drumming, planting, talks, connecting with nature, discussions, bodywork, rituals, ceremonies, circles, and more. If we saw ourselves as artists, what would we imagine and design? What world would we see? What new language and expressions for freedom would we find? How do we create and envision deeper, bigger and bolder? We are in a...

Christine Schuler Deschryver's TED Talk has just been released and is available for viewing. In the talk entitled "The 5 Tenets of Turning Pain into Power," Christine details how rape is often used as a weapon in the war over the Democratic Republic of Congo’s vast mineral resources, and how City of Joy helps survivors empower themelves, breaking the destructive cycle that sexual violence often has on individuals and communities. "The reason for this unrelenting violence is an ongoing proxy war for the country's vast mineral resources, which are essential to the production of your computers, phones, and electronics. In Congo, rape...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, February 23, 2024 CONTACT: media(at)vday.org OUT NOW: Co-Founder and Director of City of Joy, a Leadership Center for Survivors of Sexual Violence in Democratic Republic of Congo, Gives TED Talk on “Turning Pain Into Power” Christine Schuler Deschryver How Rape is Used as Weapon Over Congo’s Vast Mineral Resources, How City of Joy Helps Break the Cycle of Victimization to Empower Survivors Today, TED released a new TED Talk featuring Christine Schuler Deschryver, co-founder and director of City of Joy and V-DAY Congo, a leadership center for survivors of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, on the five...

Christine Schuler Deschryver’s TED Talk has just been released as is available for viewing. In the talk entitled "The 5 Tenets of Turning Pain into Power," Christine details how rape is often used as a weapon in the war over the Democratic Republic of Congo’s vast mineral resources, and how City of Joy helps survivors empower themselves, breaking the destructive cycle that sexual violence often has on individuals and communities. "The reason for this unrelenting violence is an ongoing proxy war for the country's vast mineral resources, which are essential to the production of your computers, phones, and electronics. In Congo, rape...

WHEN THEY LEFT CITY OF JOY, EACH WOMAN LEFT WITH HER KEY, THE KEY TO HER LIFE: 2069 WOMEN HAVE GRADUATED FROM THE CITY OF JOY TO DATE Update from Christine Schuler Deschryver, Director of V-Day Congo and Co-Founder/Director of City of Joy Director: This week in Bukavu, 82 women graduated from the City of Joy. The six months of leadership training and healing from post-traumatic stress disorder served as a headlight that shone through the darkness created in each woman’s life. After her physical and mental destruction from an environment haunted by discrimination, subordination, patriarchy, religion, and culture, everything seemed hopeless. In our communities,...

Conflict and escalating violence have displaced 6.9 million people in the Democratic Republic of Congo – a record high number that has impacted all 26 provinces of the country. According to the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM), 81% of internally displaced peoples live in Congo’s eastern region, which has been engulfed in a brutal proxy war for minerals for over 25 years. This displacement increases the prevalence of sexual violence, disease and hunger. Millions have died, and hundreds of thousands of women and girls have been raped and sexually tortured. These crimes are committed with near total impunity and, despite...

With gratitude Atlanta! Our Sunday, October 8 V25 gathering - AN EVENING OF RECKONING & RISING at The Carter Center to celebrate V’s book and V-Day’s 25th anniversary was a stunning success and raised over $80k for the City of Joy. Our deepest thanks to V-Day board members Pat Mitchell, Jane Fonda, Rosario Dawson and Maya Penn for leading the host committee and whose performances captivated the audience. With gratitude for our host committee: V (formerly Eve Ensler), Paige Alexander, Angie Allen, Nikki Noto Benitez, Sara Blakely, Sarah Cipperly, Tena Clark, Enid Draluck, Staci Fox, Pat Mitchell, Laura Turner Seydel, and Susan...

Selling fast! An Evening of Reckoning & Rising with V, Rosario Dawson, Jane Fonda, Pat Mitchell, Maya Penn, Christine Schuler Deschryver & More to Benefit the City of Joy Visit vday.org/atlantaV25 for ticket info and to purchase Tickets are $50*, $500 and $1000. *We have a special discount of 25% off $50 tickets by using promo code ACTIVIST Proceeds to benefit City of Joy, a revolutionary center for women survivors of gender based violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Note: The $500 and $1000 tickets include admission to a pre-cocktail reception from 5:00-6:00 pm to honor Christine and the work of City of Joy in...