International Womens Day with Soroptomists & Join Me on The Bridge Campaign

International Women’s Day
8 March 2012
SOROPTIMIST INTERNATIONAL and the Join Me on the Bridge Campaign
International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future.
Soroptimist International of Leicester are taking part in the Women for Women International “Join Me on the Bridge” campaign on
Saturday 10th March. 2012, 10.00am – 11.30am
We will gather in Castle Gardens, Leicester (King Richards Road/ Castle Street end, below St Nicholas Circle), then stand on the West Bridge with banners for an hour, in solidarity with women in and from war-torn countries worldwide.
This is the 3rd year of this global campaign which has a theme of Peace and Development. On this day, women and men will join together on bridges around the world to show that they can build the bridges of peace for our future. Where bridges are not available or suitable, metaphorical bridges will be built within communities. Last year, there were 75,000 Join Me on the Bridge peace builders (even in war and conflict torn communities) who took part in 464 events across 70 countries and 6 continents. This year the campaign will be even bigger. It calls for the equal and better representation of women to build peace, and say no to inequality and injustice. The Campaign was initiated by Women for Women UK, with Soroptimist International of Great Britain and Ireland working in partnership. This is now the largest women’s campaign worldwide calling for peace and Soroptimist International is proud to be part of it. Women can build peace and hope – we stand together in solidarity.
Send a peace message on the website www.joinmeonthebridge.org

Footnote: The idea for this bridge campaign first came about in 2010 when the Women for Women UK country directors for the Congo and Rwanda called for all women, whether they were Hutu, Tutsi, Rwandan or Congolese, to join them on the bridge that connects their two countries, and was the scene of the mass exodus when people were fleeing the genocide that tore Rwanda apart in 1994. Many more people wanted to join them in taking this stand for peace and hope, not only in other war-torn countries.

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