In an Irish Home

Still looking for something to do today or tired of the “usual” Valentine’s Day activities? If you answer “Yes!” to either of these questions, then perhaps you’ll want to  join one of the many flash mobs participating in the global  One Billion Rising movement.

You may remember from my Valentine’s Day post of 2013, One Billion Rising is a global movement promoting an end to violence against woman and girls, initiated by the American playwright Eve Ensler, author of The Vagina Monologues .

Ireland’s Mary Robinson lends her support to One Billion Rising.

Ensler introduced her anti-violence V-Day campaign in 1998, when UN figures showed one in three women was beaten or sexually assaulted in their lifetimes, which amounted to one billion women worldwide. Sadly, 16 years later, the casualty count remains pretty much unchanged. In response, last year locally organised events on Valentine’s Day saw one billion women and men from 200 countries gather to promote action and awareness.

If you’re in Ireland, a One Billion Rising flash mob will be meeting shortly on Grafton Street (outside St.Stephens Green Shopping Centre) at 5pm. The event is being organised by Amnesty International UCD. Check out the dance moves here:

Another event is being held tomorrow from 6.00-10.00pm at Tai Chi Ireland. More details here:

To find an event in your part of the world, please visit the One Billion Rising website.

Notes:

One Billion Rising Irish Website here: https://www.facebook.com/VDayOneBillionRisingIreland

UCD Amnesty International Website here: https://www.facebook.com/amnestyinternational.ucd

Hilary Fannin’s article in the Irish Times mentioning One Billion Rising event in Ireland here: http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/happy-loved-up-lemmings-day-here-s-your-card-1.1690678

One Billion Rising blog posts at: http://www.jackizehner.com/2014/02/13/one-billion-rising-for-justice-rise-release-dance/ and http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kristi-york-wooten/eve-ensler-more-than-a-bi_b_4775067.html .