WOW Derry-Londonderry

WOW Derry-Londonderry first took place in 2013, as part of the city’s year as UK City of Culture, and continued annually until 2016. It was one of the earliest regional WOW Festivals in the UK and a landmark event for women in Northern Ireland.

WOW Derry-Londonderry emerged from local WOW Think Ins that revealed a hunger for honest, courageous conversations in a city shaped by conflict and division. Local women came together to form the North West Women’s Collective (NWWC), which became WOW Derry-Londonderry’s primary organising group and a lasting legacy of the festival.

Made up of arts facilitators, retired health visitors, civil servants, young mums, accountants and entrepreneurs, the NWWC pooled their talents to work collectively and proudly to produce WOW Derry-Londonderry.

Held each year at The Playhouse, WOW Derry-Londonderry tackled topics ranging from breastfeeding, domestic abuse, access education, and body image, to the often-unheard histories of the city's factory girls, and the role women played in keeping communities together during the Troubles.

Keynote speakers over the years included Dr. Urvashi Sahni, who spoke about empowering girls in India through drama and film, and Shami Chakrabarti CBE, addressing women in politics. The festival also included powerful schools days, where students from across the city came together for a day of youth-led learning and expression.

WOW Derry was a space of courage and creativity, where stories were shared across generations and community divides. It made a lasting contribution to the cultural landscape of Northern Ireland, and recognised the empowering capacity of conversation and celebration in bringing healing, challenge, and collective purpose to post-conflict contexts.