Life

Here's How To Watch Meghan Markle's International Women's Day Panel Discussion

by Emily Dixon
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The Duchess of Sussex has consistently placed women's empowerment at the top of her agenda; little wonder, then, that she'll be speaking at a panel on International Women's Day, alongside Adwoa Aboah, Chrisann Jarrett, Angeline Murimirwa, Julia Gillard, and Annie Lennox. But alas, tickets for Meghan Markle's International Women's Day panel discussion, held at King's College London, won't be available to the general public: according to the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust, which organised the event, the panelists will speak before "an audience of students, opinion formers and young leaders." Panic not, however: you'll still be able to follow the event on the Trust's social media accounts, so there's no need to miss this important panel.

On March 8, the Trust will "bring together a special panel of female thought-leaders and activists to discuss a range of issues affecting women today," Kensington Palace said on Twitter. Meghan will speak about "the importance of International Women’s Day, and the spotlight it can bring to obstacles which still affect female empowerment across the world, including access to education and limitations within employment," the Queen's Commonwealth Trust said. According to the Trust's website, the #IWDxQCT event "will also cover the positive opportunities that come when women are given wider access and equal opportunity, whether that be in the UK or elsewhere in the world."

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Adwoa Aboah, who'll join Meghan, founded Gurls Talk, an online platform for young women to discuss issues like mental health, education, and sexuality. Angeline Murimirwa is Africa's executive director of the Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED), as well as a co-founder of CAMA, a network of CAMFED alumnae. Fellow panellist Chrisann Jarrett founded Let Us Learn, a campaign to help young migrants access higher education.

Former Australian prime minister and Global Institute for Women’s Leadership chair Julia Gillard, as well as singer and activist Annie Lennox, founder of charitable women's organisation The Circle, will complete the line-up. Anne McElvoy, senior editor of The Economist, will chair the panel.

As People points out, International Women's Day has long been an important day for Meghan. In 2015, the year she became the United Nations' Women's Advocate for Women’s Political Participation and Leadership, she spoke at a UN Women's event, saying, "It is said that girls with dreams become women with vision. May we empower each other to carry out such vision — because it isn’t enough to simply talk about equality. One must believe it. And it isn’t enough to simply believe in it. One must work at it. Let us work at it. Together. Starting now."

Last year, meanwhile, she visited the Stemettes project in Birmingham, alongside Prince Harry. The project encourages girls to pursue STEM careers (that's science, technology, engineering, and maths), according to ELLE. There, the couple met with students from local secondary schools participating in the project.

Only last week, the Duchess and Duke of Sussex visited Morocco, where their itinerary focused on "work being done to promote girls' education, empower young people and support children from disadvantaged backgrounds." At boarding houses run by Education for All, a charity which supports girls' education by providing them with a place to stay near school, Meghan spoke to students about their future educational and career aspirations.

According to the Queen's Commonwealth Trust website, the #IWDxQCT event will be broadcast on their Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Set a reminder for this Friday, friends: you'll want to hear what Meghan has to say.