by Timmy Duncan

Created on: March 15, 2010

International Women's Day occurs every year on March 8 in honor of the achievements of women throughout history. Events ranging from small informal gatherings to large scale and highly organized events take place to celebrate the advancements of women all over the world. The celebration in 2010 marks the 100th annual International Women's Day.

The global theme for International Women's Day in 2010 is "Equal rights, equal opportunities: Progress for all" and many of the scheduled events focused around this theme. Individual countries are also welcome to embrace their own theme. The International Committee of the Red Cross is attempting to focus attention to the issues faced by women who are displaced either by war and armed conflict or by other circumstances

Join Me on the Bridge:

On March 8, 2010, nearly 9,000 women all over the world met on bridges for the Women for Women International's campaign to say 'yes' to peace and 'no' to war. In place the Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, New York, London, Denver, and Canada, women gathered on bridges, creating a sort of "human bridge" all over the world in support of peace.

Walk for Women:

In the United Kingdom, the Blackburne House Group organized a Walk for Women to benefit Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO). VSO is the leading organization that works to fight poverty in developing countries.

Congo Action Now! March with Code Pink:

In the United States, the New England based group Congo Action Now (CAN) organized a march and rally from the Boston Copley Square to bring awareness to the issues of the women in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

UNIFEM Australia's Perth Invitational Women's Day Breakfast:

In Australia, UNIFEM hosted a breakfast in Perth in partnership with some of Australia's prominent women's groups to raise money to empower migrant workers in Indonesia.

These are just a few of literally hundreds of events that took place on International Women's Day of 2010. A complete list of the events, by country as well as more information about the history of the day itself can be found at www.internationalwomensday.com.

Resources:

International Women's Day 2010: History, Facts And What You Need to Know About IWD. The Huffington Post. March 8, 2010. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/08/internation al-womens-day_n_490004.html

Women Watch - International Women's Day. http://www.un.org/womenwatch/feature/iwd/

Wikipedia - International Women's Day. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Women's_D ay

International Women's Day 2010 http://www.internationalwomensday.com/events.asp

Holidays: International Women's Day.

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