Actress and producer Yvonne Ossei held the Empowering Women and Girl-Children Programme at the British Council Accra on the International Day to End Violence Against Women 2024.
The audio-visual and Interactive Programme was created by Yvonne and launched in partnership with the British Council as Ghana’s answer to the United Nation’s call to protect women and girls from violence and discrimination across the globe. The annual 16 days of activism begins on the International Day to End Violence Against Women and ends on the 10th December 2024 which is the International Human Rights day.
The Empowering Women and Girl-Children Programme started with a screening of a short fictional TV drama on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)- titled “Cuts”, written and Executive Produced by Yvonne. Following the screening Yvonne engaged in a question and answer session with members of the audience who were keen to understand more about FGM and her inspiration for the creating the TV drama.
The second part of the Programme consisted of a guest panel discussion on ‘Creating Spaces for Gender Based Experiences in TV & Film.’ The panel included Nosisa Doe (Channel Head, Akwaaba Magic TV), Veda Smith (Grammy Nominated Producer and CEO of Dogsled Productions) and Dr Felicia Odame PHD (Gender Specialist). Overall the event was a success and audience members were particularly engaged with issues surrounding sexual the harassment of women and girls in the workplace and educational institutions. Five poets from the Creative Writing Academy Accra ended the evening with performances inspired by gender based performances. The event was filmed live by numerous TV stations including Joy News and GH One.
Yvonne wrote one of the earliest stage plays in the United Kingdom which tackled the topic of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), was performed live at Channel 4 Studios and toured theatres including the Pleasance Theatre. Yvonne says that she “sees it as a privilege to be in a position to represent the welfare of women and girls in Ghana, across the continent and beyond.”
Yvonne is the creator and executive producer of other shows including the ‘Celebrity TV Couch’ and ‘Heart of the Matter’ (TV debate series). Additionally, Yvonne Was the first African Woman to win the British Urban Film Festival Award, and is a double award winner in the categories of Executive TV Producer and Actress of the Year, GPA 2024.
Source: Ameyawdebrah
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