Newsletter

As we write, survivors, artists and activists across the globe are gathering their communities to come together and RISE for women, gender expansive people and the Earth. Their creative, collective actions sit at the intersection of gender, racial, climate, and economic justice, amplifying that violence against women and girls is the most pervasive human rights violation and that home is the most dangerous place for a woman (UN Women). They rise against a wave of war, fascism, white supremacy, misogyny, femicide, homophobia, transphobia, corporate greed, and climate destruction, centering the voices and experiences of the most marginalized and excluded who face...

Today on the beginning of 16 Days of Activism and the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, we launch One Billion Rising 2025 as an invitation to survivors, artists and activists everywhere to RISE in 2025. The recent elections in India, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Argentina and that of a corrupt, predatory, adjudicated rapist to the US Presidency evidence that governments are moving to the right. Across the globe, we see governments led by authoritarian, corrupt leaders rolling back women’s and LGBTQ+ rights, undermining democratic institutions, denying human rights, enforcing militarization, banning books and erasing history, shutting down dissent...

V-Day's Afghan Women Speak: Stories From Inside Afghanistan Won Two Anthem Awards We are thrilled to announce that Afghan Women Speak: Stories From Inside Afghanistan has won two Anthem Awards. The V-Day series received the Silver award for Social Media Content, Campaign and Global Awareness Campaign in the Education, Arts & Culture category. Anthem Award Winners are selected by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences and this year was the most competitive season yet with more than 2,300 entries submitted from 34 countries worldwide. We honor and thank the brave Afghan women who shared their stories from inside Afghanistan and...

Our V-Day blog series Afghan Women Speak: Stories From Inside Afghanistan has been chosen as a Finalist for the 4th Annual Anthem Awards in the Education, Art, & Culture - Awareness Categories. Anthem Winners are selected by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. The 4th Annual Anthem Awards was the most competitive season yet with more than 2,300 entries submitted from 34 countries worldwide. Every day, the rights of millions of women in Afghanistan continue to be violated, stripped and threatened. The Afghan Women Speak series amplifies the stories and voices of Afghan women who can never be silenced. Each...

Dearest activists, friends & supporters, Join us and our incredible lineup of speakers, poets, artists, activists ready to fuel us with information, strategies, solidarity, and energy to ignite the movement we need right now. Throughout the day, we will unpack what fascism is in the US and globally and what we can do to combat it. We will explore the impact on all of us from women’s bodies to anti-Blackness and the suppression of LGBTQ+ and the disabled, to the banning of books, erasing history and immigration bans, union busting, increasing violence and expansion of the police state, and the destruction of...

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...

VOICES: a sacred sisterscape AUDIO PLAY AVAILABLE DIGITALLY IN ALL MARKETS TODAY VOICES: a sacred sisterscape - our newest artistic project and campaign out of V-Day - premiered to sold-out crowds at the historic Apollo Theatre on 31 May while honoring special guest Anna Deavere Smith. Grammy nominated poet aja monet (“When The Poems Do What They Do”) was chosen by V (formerly Eve Ensler) to spearhead this audio experience of stories written by, narrated by and centering Black women across the diaspora. LeahAnn “Lafemmebear” Mitchell, a Grammy nominated producer, composed new music to accompany the audio play. VOICES is produced...

Spearheaded by aja monet (V-Day Voices Artistic Creative Director), VOICES: a sacred sisterscape is an audio experience of stories written by, narrated by and centering Black women across the diaspora. “At a time where so many are being encouraged to speak, to voice, and tell their stories—we find it just as important if not more to listen. It is critical to facilitate art that encourages radical listening for the sake of connection, compassion, and community. This art piece is a celebration of the interior lives we embody and less about fixating on our identities or appearances. We seek to encourage and...

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...