The first Festival of Womanhood 2022 was outstanding. For three days (from 8th-10th April), hundreds of ladies gathered on an interactive online platform to enjoy panels, workshops, presentations, and performances created to empower women from all walks of life.
We were among the lucky ones who had the opportunity to attend the whole program, and we only had words of praise.
The preparations for any festival take months and can be challenging even if you’ve done it a million times before, and the Festival of Womanhood (FOW) team did it all in two months without any prior experience. From action plan to execution, the event was a huge success.
“We are proud to say that everything was done by women and for women. The organization, technical aspects, branding, web design, finding sponsors, and promotions. Everything.”
Many volunteers connected with this idea and offered their help. It was a true blessing and a wonderful experience. We all had the same goal, we worked hard, and it paid off.
Our initial idea was to inspire, transform and empower women of the world, and see the whole world blossoming through this change.
We have done a great job and laid a solid foundation for many future projects.”- said Jelena Fasbender, initiator of the festival.
DAY 1: FORM RELATIONSHIPS & REDEFINE MOTHERHOOD TOGETHER
The theme of this year’s edition was “Redefining motherhood”. After the opening session on Friday, participants had the opportunity to attend the “Redefining motherhood” panel discussion with Jelena Djokovic (Entrepreneur & Humanitarian), Erica Ballard (Coach & Founder), Ida Prester (Entrepreneur), and Laura Blumenthal (Councillor).
It was interesting to hear how motherhood inspired Jelena, Erica, and Ida to rise to their full potential and learn about the challenges they faced. It was also valuable to take advice and insights on the importance of active engagement of women in politics from Laura.
The session, which lasted for two hours, felt like a blink of an eye. The great and relaxed atmosphere made us feel like it was not an official event but rather some casual gathering of old friends who couldn’t wait to share experiences and laughs.
After the panel discussion, a powerful video message Womanhood and Speciesism, by Ingrid Newkirk, founder of PETA, was presented.
In her talk, Ingrid reminded us that motherhood is not exclusive to humans, and in an eye-opening way, she showed us how some of the best moms in the world are from the animal kingdom.
She also explained the animal industry’s core concept, which involves exploiting motherhood. Her lecture attracted a lot of attention, and many participants sent messages of support.
At the end of her speech, Ingrid called on all people to act on behalf of the animals in their communities, switch to plant-based food, and be a voice for those who cannot speak.
The last two hours of the first day were very relaxing. First, we enjoyed Conscious Dancing, a wonderful and liberating technique led by Devi Mohan, and in the end, we all sank into the angelic voice of Kristin Hoffmann, who composed and wrote a song, especially for this occasion.
DAY 2: DIVE INTO WOMANHOOD, IN ITS TRUEST VOICE, AND OVERCOME BLOCKAGES
On the second day of the festival, the focus was on traumas and overcoming blockages.
During the two-hour panel session, Sanela Feković, Parizad Mazda, and Suzy Singh shared their expertise on the most common types of trauma that women experience and explained how they affect their lives.
The different approaches of these three facilitators helped us understand the trauma healing process and inspired us to question our limiting beliefs and accept our unlimitedness.
After the panel, we watched the premiere of the short film “Lea” – a personal trauma story by Lea Kosovac.
Since the second day was reserved for trauma and overcoming blockages, Ivana Kalinić, MTM (Mohanji Transformation Method) & MFMP practitioner, led the Journey to the Inner Garden process, during which we were able to face our deeply repressed traumas.
Some participants shared their experiences, noting that this process was unique and powerful.
The next panel, led by Shaswathi Siva, was about stigma related to divorce.
Shaswati explained how many Indian women don’t dare take a step towards divorce because of Indian customs and deeply entangled family relationships.
The last workshop on the second day was Tap into the power of the Feminine, led by Martina Tišljar, an internationally acclaimed EFT coach.
Tapping is an effective and powerful technique that can help us reach deep layers where impressions are stored, and heal the cause of our pain and limitations.
The program ended with the musical performance of the beautiful Aklea Neon, which enchanted us all.
DAY 3: CELEBRATE YOU!
The third day of the festival was full of panels, talks, and workshops. It was all about empowering women and encouraging them to live to their full potential. Ana Divac, Brenda Kali, and Deepa Reddy spoke on what it takes to achieve success. They encouraged the participants to strive for the highest goals and never give up on their passion and dreams.
Heal yourself with reflexology workshop was led by Asja Dupanović.
She explained the basics of this healing modality to the participants and showed how to implement reflexology in everyday life.
One of the most inspiring talks was the one of Sangeeta S Bahl, India’s oldest lady to conquer Mt Everest.
She shared how all it takes to conquer the world is determination, persistence, and courage.
Her talk was so inspiring that we had to watch it twice!
The process that everyone was looking forward to was Awaken the Goddess in You, led by Devi Mohan. It is not easy to describe the processes with Devi, so we will not go into that. We can only say that this was one of the most magnificent and that, if you haven’t tried it, you should do it as soon as possible.
Cooperate or compete?
Deeksha Ahuja and Jelena Šribar talked about the importance of solidarity among women and the potential we can realize if women globally choose to be supportive of each other.
A theoretical lecture, “Awakening of woman’s vital energy” by Ana Žikić Burtscher, was a beautiful closure to this three-day event. We’ve learned which organ resonates with which body point and ways to help ourselves and our bodies in different stages of life.
Before the closing ceremony, we enjoyed the beautiful performance of Natalija Mejandzieva, whose energy and beautiful voice added to the final celebration.
“I am immensely happy and grateful to have the opportunity to participate in this first Festival of Womanhood, designed to reconnect with our essence, celebrate femininity, and heal our relationship with our sacred feminine. This mix of women, coming from all over the world and from different cultures created in the Festival the enormous opportunity to connect with the pure feminine essence of our Being, to realize that we are all daughters of our lineage and, despite all our own and inherited suffering, that what unites us always is Love. Everything is love, even what we think of as not. Love is the only force that moves the world and this Festival was a tool of empowerment and an almost mystical union of our hearts in a single heartbeat.”- said Pelka Evdenic Kuzelka, one of the participants.
We also feel grateful and blessed for being a part of this great initiative,
and we have to compliment the F❤️W team one more time.
See you at the Festival of Womanhood 2023 🙂
TAT editorial team
photos: FOW
