Why New Orleans?
V-Day Spotlight 2008: The Women of New Orleans and the Gulf South
When considering where to stage our tenth anniversary event, V-Day reviewed a number of possible cities and locations. Previously, V-Day has staged marquee benefit events in New York City, Cairo, Brussels, New Delhi, London, Mumbai, Los Angeles, and Paris, in addition to the thousands of locally produced V-Day benefits taking place throughout the world. For the movement’s biggest event ever, V TO THE TENTH, V-Day is thrilled to invite our thousands of national and international supporters to New Orleans to celebrate ten years of ending violence against women and girls, and to honor the women of New Orleans and the Gulf South.
The women of New Orleans and the gulf south - Katrina Warriors - have
survived the fall out of global warming, failure of public structures, racism, economic hardship, and domestic abuse. All of these are pieces of the story of violence that continues to impact women here in this country and around the world.
This years V-Day Spotlight on Women in New Orleans and the Gulf South will honor Katrina Warriors for their strength and resilience in the face of devastating loss. The spotlight will highlight the daily ongoing work of women in their communities who have steadfastly kept New Orleans and the Gulf South alive with little to no resources. It will bring attention and funds so that women may be safe and empowered in a region whose pulse beats like no other.
“Although we cannot prevent such events as Hurricane Katrina, we can be there with and for each other when they occur. We can extend our hand; we can remember those who have lost their homes, their jobs, their minds and their way. We can bring water and food and hammers and nails to rebuild the broken walls. We can support and empower the women and the men left behind so that violence does not become the solution or the norm. When disasters occur, we can stand in solidarity and make a commitment to end violence itself.”
- Eve Ensler
- Eve Ensler
Through the 2008 V-Day Spotlight Campaign on the Women of New Orleans and the Gulf South, thousands of women and men throughout the world will be exposed to the issues facing women in New Orleans. The Spotlight Campaign will raise funds to ensure lasting impact on the ground. The disbursement of funds will be determined by the needs of women in New Orleans and will be directed toward education and grassroots projects that economically empower the women of the Gulf South through self-sustaining businesses, businesses that are improving the economy of women as well as spreading, increasing and sustaining their wealth, for example: community kitchens, building and contracting businesses, shelters and other such women-run entities. Vagina Warrior Scholarships will support undergraduate as well as post-graduate degrees.