Not Just A Pretty Face

Candied Thinking in association with Funny Women invites you to a conversation entitled:

‘Not Just A Pretty Face’
If women were running things, how would the world be different?

A Cultural Forum at the New Players Theatre Doors open 5.00pm, Conversation 5.30pm to 7.30 p.m.
Part of the ‘See You Next Tuesday’ cultural festival
Produced by Funny Women and Candied Thinking

These are tough times - we are faced with broken social support structures, a volatile economic system, continued violence against women, religious conflict and war.

Women are a powerful force in affecting change in the world. But we need to learn how to get our views heard, lead and influence at all levels. It’s not just about making decisions, but how we explain those decisions, communicate them, and use our psychological, emotional and intellectual strength to make a difference.

Any change will be aided and abetted by those things that reflect our culture – like media, music, art, film, theatre and sport. What we read, watch and talk about in our everyday lives is conveyed to our friends, family and colleagues via a new generation of social networks, both real and imagined.

As women we have to accept our own complicity in this cultural conundrum – the media reflects what we demand: celebrity, diets, fashion, cosmetics… Media content is revenue driven, so we can’t expect it to change our culture unless we demand it – until we insist on something else, we will just get more of the same.

It’s time to start changing the culture. Our discussion starts where the anger and violence ends and focuses on the future. Whether you are a creative or business person, social worker or stay-at-home mother, man or woman, you are a necessary part of this conversation: If women were running things, how would the world be different?

The line up of speakers includes:
DR. LINDA PAPADOPOULOS, is one of the foremost counselling psychologists in the UK, and is well known as a media psychologist, author, magazine columnist and corporate consultant. She recently published a review of the ‘sexualisation of women and children’ for the Home Office.
KAREN DARBY, social entrepreneur and founder of the price comparison business Simply Switch, she recently created Call Britannia and through it, is on a mission to create 10,000 jobs for the UK's unemployed.
DR. MALCOLM EVANS, semiotician, consults to major brands on cultural issues, helping them to communicate in a relevant and progressive way. Malcolm is twice winner of the Market Research Society's conference awards and winner of WPP's Atticus Grand Prix Award for outstanding published work.
DAVINA JAMES-HANMAN, director of the Greater London Domestic Violence Project. She was a Home Office advisor, and worked on the government’s strategy to stop violence against women – she has worked in the field for over 15 years.
MARAI LARASI, director of Imkaan, a national organisation that supports and advocates for Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic and Refugee services as well as those experiencing violence and abuse.
DIANNE NELMES, is one of Britain’s leading lifestyle television creators. She launched the award winning This Morning; Stars in their Eyes and You’ve Been Framed and was the first Controller of Daytime television at ITV where she created the iconic daytime panel show, Loose Women.
KRESSE WESLING, is an environmental entrepreneur, founder of Bio-Supplies, Baballo, Yew Clothing and EaKo. She won the Entrepreneurial Woman of the Future award in 2007 and EaKo won the 2008 HSBC Start-Up Stars Green Award.

This forum is being hosted by leading female comedy producers, Funny Women, in partnership with the social impact initiative Candied Thinking. The event takes place on Monday, 15th March during a two week festival to celebrate International Women’s Day, See You Next Tuesday, which runs from 8th to 20th March and plays host to a programme of cultural activities based at the New Players Theatre.

Funny Women has been at the forefront of cultural change within the comedy industry for eight years. With the launch of the 2010 Funny Women Awards, there has never been more talented women active on the comedy scene. The competition has gone from strength to strength and now attracts over 250 new female comedy acts a year from across the UK and beyond. We’ve seen hundreds of new and established performers over the last eight years and shown that women really can be funny. A small, but significant step in changing comedy culture.

Candied Thinking is a social impact initiative that brings together groups of sweet natured, serious minded people to discuss important issues in a fun and light spirited way. Its main objective is to create safe environments for people to engage in issues that may be controversial or challenging. This approach, conversation not combat, supports the idea that through the right kind of conversations, we can affect social change and build the right kind of world. Candied Thinking is run by Sarah Farrugia & Noël Theodosiou, two friends and colleagues, who bring their professional experience of research and planning to real world issues.

See You Next Tuesday has been conceived by the producers of V-Day London 2008 and 2009, and is part of the global V-Day movement to end violence against women and girls in which local artists produce events and performances to raise awareness and funds. In the last two years the festival has featured innovative re-imaginings of the controversial classic The Vagina Monologues and the new collection A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant and A Prayer, by writer, campaigner and V-Day founder Eve Ensler.

The festival showcases fantastic feminine and feminist talent for an action-packed two weeks, and aims to encourage discussion about all aspects of violence against women, including gender, sexuality, identity, equality and more in a lavish and experimental playground of fancy.

If you have a view about the future, a passion for conversation and a desire to make change happen, join us.

Tickets £25 to include tea and cake. FOR MORE INFORMATION about this event and other shows within the festival please check out the See You Next Tuesday website www.newplayerstheatre.com. www.funnywomen.com or email stuff@sarahfarrugia.co.uk