WoW Awards 2021

On Monday, 8 March 2021, the City of Women – Association for the Promotion of Women in Culture will announce the prize winners for feminist heroines – the WoW Awards!

Out of this year’s 180 nominations, the five-member committee again selected five winners! The following are the WoW Awards winners for 2021: the activist in the field of support and solidarity with refugees Zana Fabjan Blažič; the International Feminist and Queer Festival Red Dawns – Rdeče Zore; a fighter for the rights of the erased, the unemployed, migrant workers, and refugees Aigul Hakimova; a sexologist, gynaecologist and obstetrician Dr Gabrijela Simetinger, and Lezbomanija – the lesbian and LGBTQ+ radio show by Radio Študent.

The WoW Awards, in 2021 bestowed for the second time, are a response to the systematic erasure of women (we understand the term women to signify women, trans- and intersexual persons), their work and achievements from the historical canon. The awards are presented with the following motto in mind: If we want history to be written in our name, we have to write it ourselves. They are thus awarded with the purpose of highlighting and exposing the invisible work, stories, courage, and determination of individuals as well as collectives, those fighting for a better world, and feminist heroines

Last year, the winners of the WoW Award were the pioneer in the field of work with imprisoned women and active drug users Sabina Zorec; the director of the institute Pekarna Magdalenske mreže Urška Breznik; the Č I P k e Initiative for Women with a Touch for Technology, Science and Art; the No-Border Craft self-organized initiative against racism, sexism and for open borders; and the cult Radio Student feminist radio show Sektor Ž!

In recent weeks, a selection of more than 180 suggestions were received in the web campaign for nominees, which includes individuals, feminist collectives and initiatives. The five-member committee chose five winners from the diverse selection of nominees for social justice. Among the nominees, which include well-known names, are many women who have not yet been recognised for their work and efforts, while some of them frequently even work in less than tolerant conditions.

The WoW Awards will not only be bestowed in Slovenia, but also in Croatia. They are awarded within the European Women on Women project, in which together with our partners (Vox Feminae, Tiiiit Inc., Outlandish Theatre Platform) we test new models of solidarity and knowledge exchange between different communities and celebrate the achievements of women with the help of nominations, portraits, and collective staging, the mapping of places, artistic actions in public spaces, and with the formation of artistic programmes that reflect the cultural diversity and reality of contemporary societies. 

More about the WoW Project >>>