On V-Day’s 15th anniversary, February 14, 2013, Eve Ensler is inviting one billion women and those who love them to walk out, dance, rise up, and demand an end to violence. One Billion Rising will move the earth, activating women and men across every country. V-Day wants the world to see our collective strength, our numbers, our solidarity across borders. Why are we rising? One in three women on the planet will be raped or beaten in her lifetime. One billion women violated is an atrocity. However, one billion women dancing is a revolution. One Billion Rising is:
- A Global Strike
- An invitation to dance
- A call to men and women to refuse to participate in the status quo until rape and rape culture ends
- An act of solidarity, demonstrating to women the commonality of their struggles and their power in numbers
- A refusal to accept violence against girls and women as a given
- A new time and a new way of being
There will be numerous events taking place surrounding V-Day. You can catch The Vagina Monologues on February 12 – 13 at Naropa’s Paramita campus. On February 14, you can tune into KGNU, 88.5 FM or 1390 AM to listen to a panel discussion with Diane DeBella from the Women and Gender Studies Department at CU Boulder, Kirsten Wilson from Niwot’s Arrow, and Oak Chavez from Vox Feminista as they address the history of women and violence: why and what now? Also, you can tune into KGNU at noon for a special musical broadcast celebrating One Billion Rising.
Also on February 14, you can join a dance to reset harmony at the Solstice Center at 11:00 am. Then from 3:30 – 5:30 pm, you can join the One Billion Rising celebration at The Avalon Ballroom. Both events are in Boulder. Speakers at The Avalon include CU-Boulder professor Beth Osnes, featured in the award-winning documentary Mother: Caring for 7 Billion, Diane DeBella, CU-Boulder Instructor of Women and Gender Studies, Carmen Cool, founder of Boulder Youth Body Alliance, and Louis Lopez from GRIP Gang Response and Intervention Program. In addition to speakers, this event will include a community dance led by Melissa Michaels and a World Cafe led by Mark Gerzon to discuss how individuals can work together as agents of change. To wrap up the day, you can attend a One Billion Rising celebration from 6:00 – 8:30 pm at Naropa’s main campus.
On February 15, SHINE in downtown Boulder will be hosting a fundraising event for the CU Vagina Monologues: “Vaginas and Valentines.” The CU Vagina Monologues will be held March 1-2 at the Old Main Theater on the CU Boulder campus. The Community Theater Vagina Monologues will be held April 25-27 at the Nomad Theatre. To learn more about V-Day and One Billion Rising, visit onebillionrising.org. You will be moved to action. You will be moved to dance on behalf of women worldwide. You will be moved to do your part to stop the violence.
