Sandie Okoro is Appointed Inaugural Chair of the Wow Foundation

The WOW Foundation, founded by Jude Kelly CBE, has today announced that Sandie Okoro, World Bank Senior Vice President and Group General Counsel, and World Bank Vice President for Compliance is to become the inaugural Chair of the UK based charity that runs WOW - Women of the World Festivals and events across the world.

Sandie is a hugely influential business leader and one of the most senior women in Finance -the procurement is an indication of an organisation which has gone from strength to strength in the last decade. Sandie is the first British national and the first Black woman to hold her current role at the World Bank Group.

WOW - Women of the World Festivals were created by Jude Kelly in 2010. In 2018, Jude left the Southbank Centre to found The WOW Foundation to run the global movement as an independent charity, creating a Board of Trustees now led by Sandie.

WOW Festivals began in the UK over a decade ago to celebrate women and girls, raising awareness globally of the issues they face. To date, they have now reached over three million people in 17 countries on six continents.

Sandie has been involved with the WOW Festival since it first began in 2010. She participated in a headline event with Jude Kelly and Lauren Laverne titled 'The Politics of Afro Hair' which became one of WOW's biggest hits in history with over 40,000 views on YouTube. Sandie returned to be part of a follow up panel, 'Weave vs Natural?' due to popular demand. She has also taken part in an event with Jude Kelly and Lauren Laverne about ambition, and chaired panels with other influential business leaders examining women's experiences in the workplace. Sandie recently took part in the Festival's 24-hour non-stop international edition during lockdown 2020, examining how to build a financial system that works for women.

Sandie Okoro said: "I am beyond delighted to have been appointed the Inaugural Chair of The WOW foundation. I am a huge fan, and passionate supporter, of WOW and I have been involved with WOW since its inception and was one of the infamous WOW Festival Panel in 2014 on "The Politics of Afro Hair". I have always been a champion of gender equality and the opportunity to twin this with my passion for the Arts was truly irresistible. The Arts hold up a mirror to society and this will be the century of gender equality. There has never been a better time for a global women's arts movement. I want to play my part. We can all be agents of change for gender equality. I am very excited and looking forward to working with the WOW CEO, Jude Kelly and the rest of the WOW Board and Staff in this exciting adventure as we use the creative arts to change the World."

At the World Bank Group, Sandie is the principal advisor and spokesperson on all legal matters for the world's leading development finance institution. She heads the Legal Vice Presidency where international development legal experts provide legal services essential to World Bank activities and operations. Sandie also heads the Compliance Vice Presidency that is responsible for developing and overseeing the World Bank data privacy framework that is based on the World Bank Group Policy on Personal Data Privacy. The two Vice Presidencies are separate and distinct.

Jude Kelly, CEO and Founder of The WOW Foundation said: "Sandie Okoro has taken a personal and fearless stand throughout her life against inequality. She has used her global status to open up difficult conversations and insist on policies for change on behalf of everyone experiencing gender injustice. This makes her a perfect fit to become our Chair, and the WOW global community and I myself am excited and inspired to have her join us as we seek to fulfil the potential of millions by celebrating amazing achievements and challenging systemic inequity. Her long-standing friendship and commitment to WOW makes her a trusted and powerful advocate as we embark on the next phase of our story."

From its home at the Southbank Centre 11 years ago the charity has made huge strides towards becoming a truly international movement, and now works online and in person all over the world in locations including Australia, Brazil, China, Egypt, Finland, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Somaliland, the UK and the USA. In 2020, following celebrations for their 10th birthday at the Southbank Centre in March, the Festival once again pivoted to respond to women's rapidly changing needs, and in June, just two months later, held its first ever worldwide online festival - WOW Global 24. Over the course of one turn of the earth, the festival travelled around the world everywhere from the UK to Nigeria, and Pakistan to Australia with localised and global events exploring the intersectional impact of COVID-19 on gender inequality, and responding to Black Lives Matter.

This March WOW celebrated International Women's Day across the month with digital festivals in Istanbul, Nepal, Pakistan, New York and the UK. WOW Australia is hosting a series of one-day in person festivals across Queensland this summer, and upcoming festivals include WOW Rio in Brazil and Taiwan's inaugural WOW Kaohsiung.

Following its successful WOW UK Festival 2021 in March, WOW UK will revisit some of its most popular workshops and talks in July, offering people worldwide a second chance to access ground-breaking 'In Conversations' and interactive workshops exploring everything from being a grandmother to being an artist in a pandemic. Audiences will be able to buy a £10 pass to watch the talks on demand, with speakers including Kimberlé Crenshaw, Ruby Wax, Sheila Heti, Avni Doshi and Arundhati Roy.

From 23rd-27th July, workshops will include Everyone's An Artist with Bryony Kimmings; The Radical Love of Black Feminist Politics with Jade Bentil; a discussion led by Sabeena Akhtar on her anthology of essays by Muslim British women; Finding Your Virtual Power with Sarah Blumenau; Under 10s Feminist Corner; a discussion of being an active bystander; a beginners guide to plumbing; and a discussion group for grandmothers.

Other upcoming WOW events include Shameless! Festival (26-27th November), a new festival exploring activism against sexual violence combining academic research, activism and art, in partnership with Birkbeck, University of London and The Wellcome Trust. WOW London will return to the Southbank Centre in March 2022.

To post a comment, you must register and login.