Film stars, UN officials and New York City came together this week to commemorate International Women’s Day by launching the inaugural HeForShe Arts week, a new initiative from UN Women geared towards leveraging the arts for gender equality.The 2016 theme for International Women’s Day is “Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality”, with a focus on mobilizing momentum for the recently adopted 2030 Agenda which addresses key challenges of the 21st century, such as poverty, inequality, and climate change.
UN Women Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson, SDG Advocate and UNESCO Special Envoy for Peace Forest Whitaker, First Lady of New York City Chirlane McCray, UN Women Executive Director PhumzileMlambo-Ngcuka, The Public Theatre’s Artistic Director Oskar Eustis, and others took part in a lively discussion on the powerful role arts have in evolving the behaviors, norms and perceptions that shape our culture and views of women’s rights and gender issues.

Read More at www.looktothestars.org