Walk over a bridge for International Women's Day

Nonprofit organization Women for Women International is organizing bridge walks all over the world on March 8 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day. With more than 100 events scheduled from Canada to China, the program aims to raise awareness of the crisis female survivors of war face every day.

On March 8, singer Annie Lennox will lead the march in London across the Millennium Bridge and Hungerford Bridge. Walks are also scheduled on the Great Wall of China, at Niagara Falls, on the glass Window Bridge in Eleuthera, Bahamas, in Brussels, on the President Costa e Silva bridge in Rio de Janeiro, in Cambodia, on the Nizamudin Bridge in New Delhi, on the Joe Dolan Bridge in Mullinger, Ireland, and in Nairobi, Mexico, Slovakia, Sri Lanka, and Turkey.

The program is called Join Me on the Bridge and was conceived by two program directors for Women for Women working in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo - two countries ravaged by war in recent years and where women are frequently subjected to violence as a result. The idea for the campaign is simple, a spokesperson says - to join women, men, and children together on a bridge while "holding banners calling for peace and asking for support for women in war-torn countries."

This year marks the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day, a global day celebrating the economic, political, and social achievements of women past, present, and future. In some countries, such as China, Russia, Vietnam and Bulgaria, it is a national holiday. Almost 1,500 events - the largest amount ever - will be held around the world to mark the occasion, including talks, discussions, exhibitions, workshops and a range of local events.

To celebrate, CARE USA, a humanitarian organization that fights global poverty, will host the CARE Conference & International Women's Day Celebration, March 8-10, in Washington, DC. The event will feature keynote speakers Melinda Gates, Laura Bush, and Judy Woodruff and panel discussions led by issue experts from around the world. For more about the conference: http://www.careconference.org/

Find out what is happening near you:
http://www.internationalwomensday.com

To find out more about the Join Me on the Bridge global event: http://www.womenforwomen.org/bridge/index.php

To find a bridge event near you: http://www.womenforwomen.org/bridge/attend-bridge-event.php

Watch a video about Women for Women and the bridge event: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Or-41SlRRw&feature