Take a look at today’s newspapers with WOW Founder Jude Kellyand special guests. Together we discuss what the headlines mean for gender equality and how to deal with the press in the age of fake news, tabloid gossip and more. Expect outrage, laughter and puns.

Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves MP joins for an in conversation with Jude Kelly.

Venue: The Clore Ballroom

“Do not underestimate how wonderful it is to be free and to live in a free country.” - Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was trapped in Iran for six years before she was finally freed and reunited with her daughter and husband back in the UK. Almost exactly a year after her release, Nazanin joins us at WOW to be in conversation with Tulip Siddiq MP, her local MP who fought tirelessly for her release, about freedom, family, fighting for change, and her support for women and girls in Iran today.

Venue: Royal Festival Hall

Women artists currently make up just 1% of the National Gallery collection in London. The same museum only staged their first major solo exhibition by a historic female artist, Artemisia Gentileschi, in 2020, while 2023 will mark the first time the Royal Academy of Arts has ever hosted a solo exhibition by a woman in their main space (Marina Abramović).

In her new book, curator and art historian Katy Hessel challenges the canon as we know it and showcases the female and gender non-conforming artists who are so often excluded from the history books. Katy will be in conversation with Kate Mosse, the author of Warrior Queens & Quiet Revolutionaries, which brings together Kate’s rich and detailed knowledge of unheard and under-heard women’s history. Go to www.katemosse.co.uk/events for details of the Warrior Queens one-woman theatre tour.

Come along and be shocked and inspired - and be prepared to leave with a brand new set of favourite women from history.

Venue: The Clore Ballroom

In this workshop, come and learn the basics of DIY so that you can sort easy problems out yourself at home, and learn what to ask for when you need professional help. From drilling holes in walls to finding your own stopcock, we'll give a full DIY MOT.

It'll be fun and informative, and all levels of knowledge are welcome - the less you know the better.

This session is led by Hattie Hasan MBE, CEO and Founder of Stopcocks Women Plumbers.

Stopcocks are launching a programme called Community Champions, training up women and girls to be empowered with DIY knowledge to support those leaving refuge accommodation into independence. To find out more about becoming a Community Champion, email mica@stopcocks.uk

Venue: Foyle Pavilion

Join us as we discuss the power of visual storytelling and the significance of the person behind the lens in this fascinating session on documentary filmmaking.

BBC Reel speaks to special guests about their work and how their unique perspective sheds light on new and different ways of seeing, exploring, and documenting the world, people, and society.

Speakers include BBC Reel award-winning senior video producer Griesham Taan; Bafta winning documentary maker Cherish Oteka; writer and director Ella Glendining; and award-winning director and writer Kathryn Ferguson.

This session is presented in partnership with BBC Reel.

Venue: Level 4 Green Bar

A recent study carried out by With You – the UK’s leading drug, alcohol and mental health charity – suggests many women find addiction support services daunting and intimidating; and that associated trauma is often ignored and overlooked, rather than being bound up in treatment methods. With alcohol consumption at an all time high during the pandemic and services stretched to capacity, it seems even harder for women to get the right help. We bring together a range of speakers who write and speak out about addiction and recovery.

Speakers include writer and broadcaster Octavia Bright and author of Black SheepSabrina Pace-Humphreys, in conversation with Sam Missingham, Founder of The Empowered Author.

Venue: Level 4 Blue Bar

Do you want to learn how vulvas have been admired in art and culture throughout history and how powerful your period really is? Join Florence Schechter as she presents themes from her debut book V: An empowering celebration of the vulva and vagina, the book for those who are ready to begin an all-important adventure to reach a place of confidence and admiration for your vagina, vulva and incredible body. In this hour long interactive talk, which is fully inclusive of trans and non-binary communities, you’ll find out how to smash stigma, label your labia, fight for your vulva's rights and find your Big V Energy!

Venue: Level 5 Function Room

Deborah Levy’s Living Autobiography trilogy is one of the finest literary examples of what it means to share a life on the page. In this conversation on writing and womanhood, we bring together the twice Booker Prize shortlisted author and Erica Wagner, author of Mary and Mr Eliot: A Sort-of Love Story and now Consulting Literary Editor for Harper's Bazaar. The two will delve into essential questions about womanhood, modernity, creative identity and personal freedom informed by her trilogy: Things I Don’t Want To Know, The Cost of Living and Real Estate.

Venue: Royal Festival Hall

Come and hear some of the world’s best and most compelling speakers talk about the things they care about most. From conwomen to a moving book reading – there’ll be something for everyone in this fascinating session! Including:

• Nazir Afzal, former Chief Prosecutor, who has spent a lifetime tackling violence against women and girls, shares why he thinks the time has come to call it what it is – MALE violence against women and girls so that the cause is addressed and not just the outcome

• Actress and author Shobna Gulati performs a moving reading from her book Remember Me?

• Writer Alice Sherwood on what she’s learnt from conwomen

• VICE and VICE UK editor in chief Zing Tsjeng on Forgotten Women from history

• Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London on male allyship

Venue: The Clore Ballroom

Hear WOW Bites on how to freeze your eggs to the 411 in Brazil. Soapbox moments by women with incredible stories including:

• Irene Agbontaen, Founder of TTYA Talks demystifies the not-so-age-old secret of freezing your eggs

• Monica Macias, Black Girl from Pyongyang author, on her extraordinary upbringing in North Korea

• Ana Paula Brasil and Ana Carolina Raimundi from Brazil will showcase strategies of how TV companies can address social issues by integrating campaigns into their content

• Rachel Auty, Founder of Women on Tap striving for equality in the brewery industry

• Tinuke Awe & Clotilde Abe, founders of Five X More campaigning for change in Black maternal health

• Gloria Brown, community cohesion expert raising awareness on big feet

We've all seen the increase in misogyny online and watched in horror as it continues to translate in real life, but what exactly is causing the uptick of hate on your feed? In this session we explore the incel movement, how widespread it has become and why it continues to gain traction. From key figures to the impact on marginalised communities, there'll be lots to cover in this eye opening panel discussion on men who hate women.

Speakers include journalist Harriet Hall; Laura Bates, Founder of the Everyday Sexism Project; writer and WOW Programmer Sabeena Akhtar; and Equimundo President and CEO Gary Barker.

Venue: Level 4 Green Bar

What does it mean to have a girl-centred approach to tackling gendered violence and how important is it? African based programme Girl Generation join us in person with five young people who are leading the fight against gendered violence in their communities. You'll hear from the girls at the very frontlines, and discover why the voices and experiences of young people must be at the forefront of meaningful change.

Speakers include Psychotherapist and activist Dr Leyla Hussein; Lucy Chebet, End FGM Activist, IREP, Kenya; Sarafina Loriakwe, End FGM/C Activist, Samburu Girls Foundation, Kenya; Muna Isse Mahad, End FGM/C activist, MESAF, Somaliland, Somalia; Adama Diallo, End FGM/C Activist, Senegal; and Lydia Rapankei, End FGM/C activist, Narok County, Kenya.

Venue: Level 4 Blue Bar

Come laugh and learn about ‘love’ today in a time of new sexualities, technologies and more.

Award-winning comedian Rosie Wilby shares funny, bizarre and poignant tales of heartbreak and recovery with writer, broadcaster and Sex Education script consultant Alix Fox in a live version of Rosie's acclaimed podcast The Breakup Monologues (also now a book!). Rosie has been obsessively researching the psychology of love for a decade and has even been dubbed the ‘the queen of breakups’ by BBC Radio 4.

Join Rosie and Alix for this heartwarming, heartbreaking and hilarious session – and who knows, maybe you can share some of your breakup stories too??

Venue: Level 5 Function Room

Join journalist and broadcaster Sali Hughes in conversation with Radio 4’s Desert Island Disc presenter and broadcaster Lauren Laverne about her new book Everything is Washable – with advice on everything from cutting your own fringe to splitting finances with your partner. Expect tips and insight on the big and the small – and everything in between.

Venue: Royal Festival Hall

Expect a massive harmonic pop explosion as Lips, the trans-inclusive women's choir, perform a sparkling set of beloved pop bangers in The Clore Ballroom. Join us, dance and sing along as Lips welcome you into their world. Celebrate community and sing in solidarity and sequins. Expect everything from family favourites to pop classics in this interactive and unmissable bling-along!

Venue: The Clore Ballroom

In this intimate discussion between mother and daughter, US based CEO & Founder of Leadership For Execs India Gary-Martin talks to her mum Eileen Cooper Reed about her lifelong work as an activist and social justice advocate. For more than 50 years, Eileen dedicated her life to the improvement of the human condition, particularly for children and families of colour whilst raising a family of her own.

Here at WOW, the mother and daughter duo join us all the way from the US to come together to discuss how activism has shaped both of their lives and the inspiration that they take from each other.

Venue: Foyle Pavilion

Inspired by the concepts from her bestselling book The Kindness Method, award-winning Behavioural Change Specialist Shahroo Izadi will share simple tools and advice for creating meaningful changes in our lives by building the self-esteem, self-belief and self-awareness we wish upon the people we love most.

Venue: Level 4 Green Bar

Many of us have been left gripped by the BBC’s The Capture, where deepfake technology is used to manipulate video footage for political gain. But for women who have been victims of deepfaked porn, this is not a thriller but a living nightmare. For a few pounds, anyone can now pay a bot to alter a happy holiday snap into a nude image with the subject in a sexually exploitative pose. How do we tell what is real anymore in a world of deepfake technology? Join to investigate and uncover this strange new world of misinformation.

Speakers include Jennifer Savin, a multi-award-winning journalist; Folami Prehaye, Founder of Victims of Image Crime; CEO and Founder of Glitch Seyi Akiwowo; and presenter, ex-model and campaigner Jess Davies.

Venue: Level 4 Blue Bar

RAW in WAR (Reach all women in war) return to the festival for the 10th time. To mark the anniversary of Anna Politkovskaya’s murder on 7 October 2006, and to honour Anna and other women like her in the world, RAW in WAR annually presents the Anna Politkovskaya Award to women journalists and human rights defenders from conflict zones who, like Anna, stand up for the victims of conflict, often at great personal risk. This year the award will be presented at WOW by RAW patron Baroness Helena Kennedy, RAW Founder Mariana Katzarova, 2009 Award winner Leila Alikarami (Iran) and Elena Kudimova, Anna Politkovskaya's sister. The two winners are: Tetiana Sokolova, a courageous midwife from Mariupol in Eastern Ukraine, who helped women deliver babies in the hospital's basement under the constant shelling and bombardment, and Svetlana Gannushkina, a human rights activist from Russia and board member of 2022 Nobel Peace Prize winner "Memorial", who uses her platform to speak out against the war in Ukraine and was detained and tried for staging an anti-war protest on Red Square in Moscow.

Venue: Level 5 Function Room

We all know it’s often very hard being a woman in the public eye. But it can sometimes feel even harder sticking to feminist principles in our personal lives. How do we admit to ourselves that we regularly drop the feminist ball or have it snatched from our grasp by family, friends, loved ones and colleagues? And what do we do about it? Why do people expect SO much from us in ways that contradict each other? And why do we feel the need to nod and offer to do even more?

In the closing session of the WOW Day Pass, Jude Kelly talks about the rewards of having daily conversation with yourself to help tackle the compromises and conflicts that arise, as we try to march down the path to a glorious future while at the same time as dealing with all the obstacles strewn in our way! This closing session asks for maximum honesty and a big sense of humour.

Plus, as part of this galvanising session, don't miss an in conversation with Marie-Celine Zialor the Minister for Youth, Sports & Family from the Seychelles. Starting in education and personal development, Minister Zialor is now leading the way in Government and will talk about the commitment the Seychelles has made to gender equality - and how it could be a blueprint for the world.

Venue: Royal Festival Hall