The newly formed Women’s Partnership of Milton Keynes* is inviting you to join us on Sunday 7 March for a lively mini-festival. We are putting on a stimulating and entertaining afternoon where the entire focus will be on championing women’s voices. Our patchwork of FREE online events is a perfect introduction to the globally celebrated International Women's Day on March 8th. So let us get things started on Sunday 7th March with an array of panel discussions with local artists and activists, films focused on women, topical talks from NHS workers and other professionals, activities from crafts to yoga, podcasts to accompany you on an energising walk, and spaces to simply relax and enjoy yourself. We even have a special story for children being read by a local author, perfect for a Sunday afternoon. Please click on the link for more information about the programme and how to register. We will be recording the afternoon sessions and you will be able to watch the sessions on  You

Towards International Women’s Day. ‘Marching openly, with smiles …….’ Russia. The end of January 2021. On the news we see Anastasia Vasilyeva defiantly playing Beethoven on her piano as the police come to arrest her for supporting the opposition. Later, on a video post she says, ‘We are marching openly, with smiles. We will not be intimidated.’ Ten days earlier, in Washington at the presidential inauguration, the world watches as Amanda Gorman, 22 years old, raises her arms, smiles, and reads her inauguration poem.  ‘We will not be turned around or interrupted by intimidation’ says the ‘skinny Black girl……who can dream of becoming president, only to find herself reciting for one.’ Calm, resolute, brave young women standing up at the beginning of another uncertain year can surely give us cause for hope and optimism. And when we look back at 2020, we see wave upon wave of other resilient women, hundreds and thousands of them, public and private individuals, finding solutions, navig