PANEL FOR ‘OUR VOICES, OUR LIVES!’
Saturday 7 March 2020 for International Women’s Day at Aberystwyth Arts Centre
The first part of the evening (6 to 7.30pm) is a panel discussion with the theme of Speak Up! We are fortunate to have three inspiring women on the panel:
Maria Constanza Mesa
Maria is the Operational Director of Women Connect First – a Cardiff-based charity to empower BAME women – and a WEN Board member. Originally from Colombia, she arrived in Wales as a refugee and has over 30 years’ experience in social work and community development, specialising in gender and race issues.
Leena Sarah Farhat
Leena is a computer science student at Aberystwyth University and a young activist with the Liberal Democrats. She is first generation British, multilingual and international in outlook. Leena has campaigned to prevent violence against women and for improved Welsh language provision, among other passions. She is a prospective candidate for the Senedd.
Shrouk El-Attar
An activist for the rights of refugees and LGBT+ people, Shrouk is herself a refugee from Egypt. She is based in Bristol where she is an electronics engineer by day, a Dancing Queer by night (as we will see when she performs for us later on!). Named by the BBC as one of the 100 most influential women in the world.
Facilitator: Helen Sandler
Our Aberration co-programmer will be facilitating the discussion. Helen runs Tollington Press, publishing new books by women. She is an experienced chairperson and enjoys getting people talking and drawing out common threads. (Photo by Heather Broster)
We will ask:
- How do we get heard?
- How have our panel members been effective in their work?
- How do they use their voices to campaign around the issues facing women in their lives today, in Wales, the UK and the world?
- And what can the rest of us learn from their experiences?
There will be time for questions from the audience and discussion. After an interval, sit back and enjoy our live entertainment.
Get your tickets for Our Voices, Our Lives (including panel and entertainment) from Aberystwyth Arts Centre >>
