The Carmarthenshire International Women’s Day and Community Achievement Awards 2020

International Women’s Day (normally celebrated on March 8) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender equality. A Women’s Day first took place on February 28, 1909, in New York, German revolutionary Clara Zetkin proposed at the 1910 International Socialist Woman’s Conference that 8 March be honoured annually in memory of working women. Since then it has been celebrated as International Women’s Day or International Working Women’s Day. After women gained suffrage in Soviet Russia in 1917, March 8 became a national holiday there. The day was then predominantly celebrated by the socialist movement and communist countries until it was adopted by the feminist movement in about 1967. The United Nations began celebrating the day in 1975.

The theme for International Women’s Day 2020 is #EachforEqual

“An equal world is an enabled world. Individually, we’re all responsible for our own thoughts and actions – all day, every day. We can actively choose to challenge stereotypes, fight bias, broaden perceptions, improve situations and celebrate women’s achievements. Collectively, each one of us can help create a gender equal world. Let’s all be #EachforEqual”

(Source https://www.internationalwomensday.com/Theme)

Delivering the Carmarthenshire International Women’s Day and Community Achievement Awards 2020 is a collaborative partnership between three organisations at the forefront of equalities and working with under represented groups in the community.

The Celebrations will feature live entertainment, including the acclaimed Women’s Choir, Côr Curiad, a range of inspirational and talented speakers including Deputy Minister and Chief Whip Jane Hutt AM and Founder of the African Centre and Race Council Cymru Mrs Uzo Iwobi O.B.E. and a number of stalls and stands from a wide range of Community Groups and Organisations.

The Free event welcomes everybody and there will be a free buffet and refreshments available. The organisers would like to offer their thanks to the team at “Anyone Waiting” for the complementary use of the  venue at the The New Selwyn Samuels Event Arena 

This year, for the first time the event will feature the Community Achievement Awards Ceremony, an opportunity to acknowledge the tremendous contribution of local women to life in Carmarthenshire.

The Women’s Community Network

The Women’s Community Network, Chair Cllr. Fozia Akhtar told us

I have always been passionate about supporting people in my community and in particular people who feel that they do not have a voice. In the past I have been instrumental in setting up support groups for people from minority communities. Over three years ago I saw that there are still many women who are not involved in the life of the community, often because of cultural, language and issues of geographic isolation. Along with my sister, Cllr. Shahana Najmi and a group of like-minded people we formed The Women’s Community Network to address and tackle these issues and offer opportunities for women to take active roles and be involved in their communities. Its been amazing to see the fabulous support we have received from women and men alike.  I’m delighted that we are for the third consecutive year, taking the lead in delivering the International Women’s Day Celebrations, celebrating the contribution of women locally, nationally and internationally, whilst highlighting the issues of gender inequality that still exist.

Llanelli Multicultural Network (LMCN)

Annie Evans, Chair of Llanelli Multicultural Network (LMCN) told us,

We formed the Multicultural Network in 2007 and we now have over 500 members from 60 stated ethnic backgrounds. We have always been working to highlight issues around social isolation and have noticed how this can particularly affect women in our community. It is important that we work to remove barriers to participation and integration. We are so happy that we can be part of planning and delivering International Women’s Day in Carmarthenshire. Many of our members tell us of how life is very different for women in their home countries and we are keen make this a truly “International” and Multicultural Women’s Day

Llanelli Community Partnership

Chair of The Llanelli Community Partnership, Paolo Piana said

The Llanelli Community Partnership now in its sixth year, bringing together voluntary and statutory sectors and community members for community led action. We are honoured and privileged to once again working with amazing partners to bring Carmarthenshire’s International Women’s Day and Community Achievement Awards Ceremony to Llanelli. We have a strong focus on equalities and offering equal opportunities to people irrespective of gender, background etc. We are firmly committed to the Equalities Act 2010 which enshrines in law that people should not be discriminated against because of who they are. Personally, I have always seen inequality in all its forms as a social issue that we all must work together to eliminate. I’m  pleased to see that when describing the 2020 theme, International Women’s Day .com, said “Collectively, each one of us can help create a gender equal world. Let’s all be #EachforEqual.” We hope that people from all sections of our community, from Carmarthenshire and far beyond come and join us for the celebrations on March 7th

The Carmarthenshire International Women’s Day and Community Achievement Awards 2020 Principal Sponsor is DPA Law.

DPA Partner Kathryn Devonald-Davies told us

“I’m delighted to be sponsoring such an important event on behalf of DPA Law. I was recently named one of the top 5 businesswomen in Wales for 2019 at the I Am Woman Awards in Cardiff; an uplifting experience that really strengthened my existing belief in the importance of recognising and rewarding the efforts of women, both within business and in other areas of life. I love nothing more than to see other women succeed, and DPA Law is proud to offer a wide variety of tools and supportive resources that help empower others in all they do.”

The organisers were delighted to announce that nominations for the awards is now open

Apart from sponsors, DPA Law, Llanelli Standard has kindly stepped forward to sponsor an award this year and at the time of writing there has been other interest from potential sponsors.

Nominations will close on February 28^th and the judging will by a panel of representatives of the principal organisations and the sponsors.

The Categories will be

• Community Volunteer Award
• Outstanding Contribution to the Community Award
• Good Neighbour Award
• Promoting Women’s Rights Award
• Gender Equality Champion Award

Nominations should be emailed to … Nominations.IWDCarms2020@outlook.com

They should include the name of the person being nominated, the category, a brief reason (no more than 50 words) of why they are being nominated, and the nominee’s contact details. (phone number and/or email address). Please ask their permission before nominating anybody

• Nominees should live, work or study in Carmarthenshire, or have a strong connection with the County
• Nominees should be willing to take part in related publicity, including social media
• Nominees should (ideally) be available to attend the event on March 7^th
• People related to the organisers or sponsors cannot be nominated
• People can be nominated for more than one category
• Judge’s decision is final

For further Information regarding the Event or Awards please contact Paolo Piana on 07956-592806 or email pianapaolo@hotmail.com

All information correct at time of going to press