City of Joy - V-Day
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City of Joy

30 Dec

Posted at 11:44h in City of Joy, Newsletter, One Billion Rising, V-Day, Voices

2024 marked the twenty-sixth year of V-Day, a year during which survivors, artists and activists gathered together, channeling art and creativity with a shared vision and mission for a world free from violence. They rose to address the devastating consequences of the ongoing vicious systems of patriarchy, fascism, capitalism and racism in the world today and the destructive battle for power fought over women’s bodies and the Earth. Photo Credits: Australia (Lyn McCarthy), South Africa (OBR South Africa), Hong Kong (@phyang81), Eswatini (Colani Hlatjwako), India (Jagori Grameen), Philippines (Sarah Elago) This year, V-Day and One Billion Rising activists once again shattered traditions,...

23 Dec

Posted at 12:55h in City of Joy, Newsletter, V-Day

Ambassadors of Peace and Advocates for Women, the Displaced & Exploited: 82 Young Women Graduate from City of Joy On 19 December, the City of Joy celebrated the graduation of 82 young women, bringing the total number of COJ graduates to 2240. Political and administrative authorities, civil society activists, the press and the Panzi Foundation were in attendance. The graduates - deeply affected by the ongoing political, security and health crisis sweeping across Eastern Congo, expressed their outrage at the horrors of war ravaging the DRC which disproportionately impact women and children and criticized the silence of the Congolese authorities. They...

18 Dec

Posted at 13:50h in City of Joy, Newsletter, One Billion Rising, V-Day, Voices

Dearest friends, activists & supporters, Many of you have asked how you can give a gift that has impact this season. As an activist movement to end violence against women, gender expansive people, and the Earth, V-Day’s work is global and grassroots. Led by extraordinary activists in communities around the world, it demonstrates that when art and activism come together, they can transform systems and change culture. We believe that change takes time and that giving is an act of solidarity. Communities know what they need the most and sharing is an act of caring. By investing in grassroots projects, we are...

10 Jul

Posted at 13:35h in City of Joy, Newsletter, V-Day

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...

22 Apr

Posted at 15:45h in City of Joy, Newsletter, One Billion Rising, V-Day

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...

07 Mar

Posted at 18:33h in City of Joy, Newsletter, One Billion Rising, V-Day

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...

23 Feb

Posted at 12:04h in City of Joy, Newsletter, V-Day

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...

23 Feb

Posted at 07:00h in City of Joy, Press Releases, V-Day

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...

23 Feb

Posted at 06:55h in City of Joy

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...

22 Dec

Posted at 12:16h in City of Joy, Newsletter, V-Day

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,...