To mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, the United Nations, and the European Union screened: ‘City of Joy‘
This film follows the first class of students at a leadership center in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a region often referred to as “the worst place in the world to be a woman.” These women have been through unspeakable violence spurred on by a 20-year war driven by colonialism and greed. In the film, they band together with the three founders of the centre: Dr. Denis Mukwege, 2018 Nobel Peace Prize winner; radical playwright and activist Eve Ensler; and human rights activist, Christine Schuler-Deschryver, to create this safe haven in the middle of violence-torn Eastern Congo, a place they call The City of Joy.
For more on the film click here.
Introduced by Dagmar Schumacher, Director of UN Women.
The film was followed by a panel discussion with:
- Christine Schuler Deschryver – Co-Founder and Director of City of Joy, and Director at V-Day Congo
- Sietske Steneker – Director of the Brussels Office of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
- Mr. Jean-Louis De Brouwer, Director for Europe, Eastern Neighbourhood and Middle East (ECHO)