CREATING AN IDEA WHOSE TIME HAS COME

A  Revolutionary Commitment to Ignite the Power of Women Around the World.

IT IS TIME FOR BIG BOLD ACTION

We have just witnessed UN Women achieve a historic milestone for women at the Generation Equality Forum in Paris. Its bold agenda to accelerate gender justice for women will be under-written by nearly USD $40 Billion in investments and ambitious policy commitments from governments, philanthropy, civil society, youth organizations and the private sector.

This is the boldness we have been waiting to see, a powerful action-oriented agenda mobilizing all sectors of society to make it a “formidable force, ready to open a new chapter in advancing gender equality,” as Executive Director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, succinctly stated.

Bravo and bravo again! I am truly humbled and grateful for these commitments which gives UN Women’s visionary leadership a springboard to mobilize an unstoppable global movement to accelerate unprecedented levels of investment in the education and economic empowerment of women and girls worldwide. Its Co-Impact’s new Gender Fund and Global Acceleration Plan for Gender Equality can be a game-changer.

I dedicated my life to a bold and audacious vision to inspire change on behalf of the world’s women and girls, something I’ve been humbly trying to achieve for years. Music has always been at the heart of social justice movements. To make the ‘impossible dream of equality possible”, we committed to producing the Women’s Day Live Global Benefit Concert (WDL). The mission is to launch a live global mega-shed music event on International Women’s Day (IWD) to build a sustainable fund-raising and global advocacy platform that will align women’s voices, power and leadership. This day is celebrated in over 150 countries and is a national holiday in 35. Thousands of self-created events happen every year.

Live Aid proved the power of music to unite people around a common cause. It was seen by over a billion people and 40 nations held simultaneous telethons.  Charities are facing un-precedented hardships. All charities can use our Heart in Action Global Humanitarian Campaign for their benefit.

This is Live Aid Women. Global engagement. Global connectivity. Local impact. We stand poised at an absolutely revolutionary moment, with a transformational platform, in which we can harness the power of the world’s legendary stars, global media and technology to open the heart of humanity to feed hungry children and their families and launch a bold global women’s economic empowerment initiative. See video with Patron, Archbishop Desmond Tutu. 

As a human family we are at a decisive turning point. We have an opportunity to use the power of music to open eyes to the disparity between extreme wealth and extreme poverty. This is the moral issue of our time. What do we value most? We have the power of choice at this vital moment to change the future for the world’s women and children.

Global Mobile will be huge. Together we can lead a digital revolution in innovation with a vision of the possible future. We met with the marketing team for the GSMA, which represents the Worldwide Mobile Communications Industry. They think the idea of “a global event is fantastic. To use mobile phones for micro donations through a carrier. This is really a stroke of brilliance!” Imagine! The mobile ecosystem of 750 mobile operators worldwide to help mobilize a powerful global mobile fund-raising campaign to feed the hungry. This is historic. It has never been done before.

Given the severity of the global humanitarian crisis bold action is needed now. We cannot wait.

The spectacular International Girl’s Day Festival Benefit Concert and Telethon (IGD) on October 24, 2021 will celebrate girls worldwide. This is Coachella with purpose and heart to  give voice, urgently needed funds and hope to millions of girls worldwide. Support the youth-led movement for children’s rights and equality for girls. Let’s light up the world for the girl child.

Live Aid happened in 3 weeks. The back up date is Nov. 20^th, 2021, World Children’s Day. The Festival can be a social networking take over. It will give people, music and celebrity talent, brands and storytellers, new opportunities across digital, mobile and social platforms to make their mark in exciting new ‘disruptive’ ways to maximize global engagement and social activism. See Women’s Day Live PDF

The International Girl’s Day Festival is scalable. It can be a virtual digital festival and telethon. A global story-telling platform to give voice and a platform for the greatest unleashing of girl’s creativity and diversity around the world. We could produce a global competition for girl’s songs and music videos across nations with the creative flair of the Mask.

CALL TO ACTION TO WORLD LEADERS AT THE G20 Summit October 30^th, 2021.

The International Girl’s Day Festival global digital media platform offers a mega-phone to call on all countries to put girls’ and women’s health, wealth and rights at the center of global economic and social recovery efforts. G20 EMPOWER | G20 leverages its unique alliance among business leaders and governments across the G20 countries to jointly advocate for and enact women’s economic empowerment and leadership advancement. This is an immense opportunity we must seize.   We need FIRM COMMITMENTS.

A powerful roadmap to International Women’s Day – March 8, 2022.

We are at a pivotal moment in history. We have a rare opportunity to energize a series of real-world events in multiple countries, backed by strong public relations and advertising campaigns, all with the purpose of growing inter-connections to help UN Women succeed in raising historic levels of investment to implement an international Feminist Agenda to invest in women’s grassroots funds for the greatest short and long term impact.

This Bold Global Women’s Empowerment Initiative commits to help make gender equality a reality. Specifically, we will endeavour with our strategic partners to achieve the following:

1. Launch the Girl’s Day Live Benefit Concert and Music Festival October 24^th, 2021
2. Launch the Heart in Action Global Humanitarian Campaign year long campaign.
3. Women’s Day Live Benefit Concert – International Women’s Day March 8, 2022
4. World’s Biggest Giving Day – Biggest Shopping Day of the Year
5. Create the Digital Advocacy Fund to invest in Digital Infrastructure to bridge the digital divide for major impact. Advancing women’s digital and financial inclusion with usage unlocks an approx. $170 billion mobile market opportunity.
6. Create the Women’s Pledge Fund – $ 20 Billion Dollar Micro-Finance for Entrepreneurs. Model Grameen America for implementation.
7. Women of the World Expo – Toronto – Oct 11, 2023.  First of its kind Exhibition & Global Trade Show celebrating women entrepreneurs from around the world.

Launch the It’s Never Okay Action Plan to Alleviate Violence Against Women. The increase in Violence against women worldwide is now horrific. Former Ontario Premiere Wynne invested $50 million dollars to create this Action Plan in 29 languages. It went viral. It works. Why aren’t we implementing it?

We can create a PSA with iconic stars and athletes to air worldwide. We can access tens of millions of dollars in free media remnants worldwide to air it over and over. US Aid said they could help facilitate this as well when we presented Women’s Day Live to the White House years ago. The President of the World Parliament of Religions offered to share it with religious leaders to implement in their communities. Unless we change the cultural view of the value of women and girls in global society today and enlist the help of men to do so, nothing will change.

Feminist Political Mobilization and Leadership Localization Worldwide

• Unlock value in new digital assets and Curate local content in multiple languages to build WDL online networks. The Times Group agreed to be our media and production partner for WDL India. See their Bollywood extravaganza. TV Globo in Brazil, once agreed to produce a concert on Copacabana Beach. The President of the UN Assembly offered to invite all countries to champion their nation’s women on International Women’s Day, some years back.  Let’s make impact on International Women’s Day from here on.
• The Power of Amplifying FEMALE VOICES. Unleash the creative expression of women and girls worldwide. Songs, stories, dance, films, sports, fashion. A global story telling platform taking social activism to a new level.
• Join the Party of the Century. Put Your Heart in Action. From Live streams, telethons, to digital homes across all time zones and We invite your help in building an innovative and sustainable platform for globe-spanning philanthropy and global advocacy to create the biggest live global interactive social networking event in history. Our time is now.

Benefits and Impact  

WDL and GDL offer a powerful convergence of innovative globe-spanning philanthropy and a significant return on investment. We can build WDL and GDL to become two of the most popular International Music Festivals in the world, that keeps giving back to the future every year.

• Raise Big Money. Heart in Action Global Humanitarian Campaign. Globe spanning philanthropy.
• Produce a pop culture phenomenon to showcase the transformative value of women and girls.
• Capture the airwaves around the world to champion inclusion, diversity and equality.
• Convene iconic performers from around the world to spread a powerful cultural message.
• Global and National Advocacy worldwide will capitalize on long term demand for connectivity.

 

UN WOMEN LEADS A GLOBAL CONSORTIUM FOR TRANSFORMATIVE CHANGE

Unprecedented Global Convening Power. “With the Economic Recovery Failing Women now is the time to act on gender equality”, states Melinda Gates. This spectacular all-out celebration and first-of-its-kind immersive global social networking event will unite people around the world to support UN Women’s ambitious global leadership effort to inspire world leaders, the private sector, the telecommunications industry and all the global music players to join a united effort to combat hunger which is sweeping across the world’s women and children with catastrophic impact. Women and children are being set back generations. This cannot be allowed to happen.

Women are the heart of Democracy. African American women helped win the White House, the Senate and the Congress. Women are experiencing a National and Global emergency, with African American women and minority women being especially hard hit. We have the solutions. Do we have the will?

Making the Impossible Dream Possible. This is my, ‘I have a dream’. After 9/11 I saw this dystopian future coming. Everything I prophesied has come to pass, regrettably, including this Humanitarian crisis. I took the first flight into Washington, and on a completely empty Washington Mall, I took a ‘sacred vow’ that I would make Women’s Day Live. It was called Women Aid Live then. I felt the ‘black boots’ were on the march again. I knew that the only anti-dote to saving democracy and countering the rise of global tribalism, the devil that never dies, was educated and empowered women. I spent a great deal of effort on the elections disseminating vote for choice videos to light a fire under women to vote, warning of the pending danger. For 12 years I have been a slave to this mission, having come close four times. I must be a megalomanic to think it was up to me to save the world. I’ve been so committed I should be ‘committed”. ?

I grew up in an oppressive Communist regime, where I was the wrong religion, gender and nationality. I was always told “you can’t, you’re a girl”. I was beaten for the best in me. I didn’t want any child to have to experience that kind of hate and violence. My parents had lost their families to the Nazis. When they fled to Canada I tasted freedom. It is an unforgettable experience. So a fire was born in my child’s heart to fight for justice and co-existence when I grew up. My dedication and sacrifice to achieve this dream for women and girls is a fight for the future of democracy. We have to fight for our freedom every day. This is our defining moment as a human family to come together for the future benefit of humanity.

CREATING AN IDEA WHOSE TIME HAS COME. It’s time to keep promises to Women. When I met Jeff Zucker (CNN), he said ‘who doesn’t want a live global-mega shed event that offers global engagement and global connectivity’. The Senior Gender Analyst at the World Bank said they are “ incredibly inspired by WDL. It would help them get Finance Ministers to keep their pledge commitments. If we worked from the grassroots up and they worked from the top down, we might actually see change happen.”

 

Social and Economic Justice. Diversity. Equality & Inclusion

In the struggle for gender, racial and economic justice, for diversity and inclusion, and the fight for equal opportunity which is at its historic apex today, we have a significant opportunity to ignite the Power of the Digital Revolution to take collective action to save the pillars of democracy and create the world we want to live in. The future depends on what we do now.

The opportunity for ‘soft power’ diplomacy is unprecedented. Women’s Day Live and Girl’s Day Live will be a true testament to the power of music to bring people together to celebrate the power of diversity, inclusion and equality. We can get this done together. A collaborative way of leading speaks to the Millennial Generation. We invite your pioneering vision for impact investing and global systems change that “will unite the Triple Revolution rise of Women, Millennials, and the $60 trillion wealth transfer that will go to 70 percent women — into catapulting capitalism into sustainability”, as so eloquently stated by the visionary Amber Nystrom.

The situational analysis. We are preparing to engage in an ambitious global effort. Given the timelines we need to have all systems go now. We invite your visionary leadership to help realize this bold and exciting initiative. In one stroke your BRAND becomes a Global Champion for women and girls.

If ever there was a time to use the power of music to share a new vision of hope for the future and lend a helping hand, this is it.

Together we can empower women and girls to be positive agents of change around the world. Working together is the great hope for the future.

I invite people of vision and heart with open arms. Join us in a dynamic partnership to make history.

 

Lili Fournier | lili@womensdaylive.com
www.womensdaylive.com
www.lilifournier.com