Register here [1].
On Thursday, January 28, Girl Rising [2], Women Have Wings [3], and NGO Committee on the Status of Women NY [4] will host a special event with NASRIN Producer Marcia Ross, Girl Rising CEO Christina Lowery, feminist activist Azadeh (Azi) Khalili, and two young human rights activists who are inspired by NASRIN’s story. NASRIN, an award-winning documentary narrated by Academy Award winner Olivia Coleman and with music by Tony Award-winning composers Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty and Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Angelique Kidjo, tells the story of Nasrin Sotoudeh, the Iranian human rights lawyer who has bravely led ongoing battles for the rights of women, children and minorities. Filmed in secret, NASRIN inspires with the courageous and personal story of Iran’s leading women’s rights activist.
The Girl Rising Film Discussion event explores the power of storytelling to change hearts and minds, and to create lasting change in our world. Our special panel brings together the voices of a new generation of activists – Selin Ozunadim of Turkey and Maya Angulo of the US – to share how the story of Nasrin fuels their fight for human rights. Together we will discuss the importance of amplifying the voices of women and girls, the power of stories, and the role of stories in driving global action and fueling social change.
About NASRIN: Secretly filmed in Iran, NASRIN is an immersive portrait of a remarkable woman as well as the story of Iran’s resilient women’s rights movement. The film features acclaimed filmmaker Jafar Panahi, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi, and journalist Ann Curry.
About Girl Rising: Girl Rising uses the power of storytelling to change the way the world values girls and their education. Through our original storytelling, media campaigns, and educational tools, we work to ignite change so that girls are free to go to school, stay in school, and pursue a future of their own choosing. The evidence is clear – educating girls and advancing their opportunities radically transforms families, communities, and entire nations, helping to end cycles of poverty, improve environmental conditions, and increase health, peace and prosperity.
About Women Have Wings: The Women Have Wings Award honors women of courage who have taken bold risks to ensure a more just and peaceful future for us all. The inaugural year of the Women Have Wings Award – 2012 – celebrated the 75th anniversary of Amelia Earhart’s notorious global flight. With an endowment funded by the sale of the fully restored sister-ship of Earhart’s 1935 Electra 10E, Women Have Wings has honored forty-one courageous women. This global recognition increases the awareness of their work, infuses their in-country movements with desperately needed resources and fosters collaboration between annual Award recipients and the larger global community. Women Have Wings acknowledges the generous efforts of the Women Have Wings Global Council of Advisors, for without their wisdom, this Award would not be possible.
About NGO Committee on the Status of Women, New York (NGO/CSW/NY): is one of three women’s committees of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the UN (CoNGO). Established in 1972, it provides an open forum for women’s voices to be heard at the United Nations. The NGO/CSW/NY assists girls and women of all ages to advocate and organize for the implementation of global agreements, including the Nairobi Forward-Looking Strategies, Beijing Platform for Action, UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (among others), the Millennium Development Goals and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). The committee works in cooperation with the NGO Committees on the Status of Women in Geneva and Vienna.
Meet the Panelists
Marcia Ross produced the documentaries Every Act Of Life, The State of Marriage, Father Joseph, and The Savoy King. Additionally, she has an over 3-decade career as an independent casting director and casting executive, serving 16 years as EVP for Casting at Walt Disney Motion Pictures, and 5 years as VP for Casting and Talent Development at Warner Brothers TV. Some of her film and television credits include Clueless, Cujo, thirtysomething, Murder in Mississippi, 10 Things I Hate About You, The Princess Diaries, Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, The Lookout, Enchanted, Oblivion, and Parental Guidance. She has received career achievement awards from the Casting Society of America and the Hollywood Film Festival.
Azadeh (Azi) Khalili is a feminist activist dedicated to strengthening the social justice movement. She is the Former Founding Executive Director of the NYC Commission on Gender Equity with the de Blasio Administration and the former Deputy Commissioner for the New York City Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs under the Bloomberg Administration. Azadeh is one of the original writers of dozens of the New York City laws and policies mandating over 50 agencies to ensure meaningful services to women and non-English speakers. From 1994 to 2001, Azadeh served as the CEO of the Youthbase, an agency that worked in collaboration with the New York City Department of Education to stop the spread of HIV among young people. This successful program was replicated in 7 other cities in the United States and South Africa. Prior to founding Youthbase, Azadeh worked on behalf of marginalized communities and individuals serving prisoners, former-offenders, and inner-city youth. During the last two decades, Azadeh has facilitated national and international workshops on gender and racial equity and leadership skills for activists. Born in Iran, Azadeh holds an M.P.H. from Columbia University and was a fellow with the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Children and Families and with the Charles H. Revson Fellowships. Azadeh has served on numerous boards including the New Economy Project and Adhikaar. She is the recipient of many awards including a proclamation from the NYC Council.
Selin Özünaldım is an 18-year-old gender equality activist from Istanbul, Turkey. She is the youngest representative of UN Women’s global gender equality movement HeForShe, the Founder of the first Girl Up Club in Turkey, a campaign started by the United Nations Foundation to help girls build leadership skills, and a member of the Guiding Group of United Nations Girls Education Initiative’s Transform Education Campaign. As the Founder of Girls Who Code Turkey, Selin and her team focus on teaching the basics of coding to young girls. Selin is very much proud to be one of the 300 activists around the globe chosen by the United Nations to be Gender Youth Activists. She has recently started her own platform We Ground Zero, where she conducts 10-minute interviews with change-makers to inspire and empower Gen Z. Selin aims to support and empower young girls in Turkey by encouraging them to use their voices to advocate for their passions.
Maya Angulo is a human rights and gender equality advocate based in Los Angeles, California. She was the Lead Student Coordinator for the 2019 UN Week of Gender, Sexuality & Collective Action at Occidental College, where she is a student majoring in Diplomacy & World Affairs, with a minor in Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies. During her role as the Student Coordinator, Maya exhibited a first of its kind, student-centered photo project, “TAKING UP SPACE: A Photo Collection Celebrating Resiliency [7],” highlighting over 50 women/queer community members on the Occidental College campus. Maya has most recently supported the UK Mission to the UN’s digital human rights campaign along with the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee on Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Issues through her graphic design skills and advocacy. For the next few months, she will focus on completing her senior thesis, which explores applying a human rights-based approach to education development projects for adolescent mothers in Tanzania.