PUTTING WOMEN BACK INTO HISTORY by Stephanie Matlock Allen
AWCH co-hosted a beautiful event on March 22 in celebration of Women ’ s History Month . Our featured speaker , Dr . Ailsa Holland , flew in from the UK and was the ideal guest for the national theme of Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories .
Dr . Holland runs a daily Twitter feed and co-wrote a book called On This Day She , which offers a short story every day about a significant woman in history . Her talk was inspiring , insightful , and often surprising . She highlighted the various reasons why women have often been eliminated , forgotten , or brushed aside in our history books , and traced a line of female journalists through the ages whose voices are imperative in keeping women in the collective memory . Dr . Merike Blofeld moderated a lively discussion after the presentation , highlighting cultural hurdles and social policies that continue to hamper gender equality .
In his introductory remarks , US Consul General Jason Chue stressed the importance of Women ’ s History Month , as it not only recognizes the contributions of women in shaping our democracies but the longstanding struggle to obtain this recognition , drawing similarities with the situations of several minorities . He was accompanied by new Deputy US General Mahvash Siddiqu .
More than 100 people joined us in the glittering Spiegelsaal at the MK & G , including AWCH members and guests , members of the German-American Club , the American Club of Hamburg , and the International Women ’ s Club of Hamburg .
After the presentation , the audience members engaged in spirited conversations during the reception , and they purchased every copy of On This Day She – including the personal copy Dr . Holland had in her bag !
This signature event was carefully planned in collaboration with Amerikazentrum . The AWCH team included Michaela Anchan , Brigitte Bernard-Rau , Merike Blofield , Carol Harbers , Tine Hestbaek , Sara Naumann , Diana Schnelle , Carol Strametz , and Stephanie Matlock Allen .
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