Our panel on the power of the arts and storytelling to spark social change at the 2nd Annual Vital Voices Festival was one of the highlights of this year’s Vital Voices Festival for social justice creatives and advocates for gender equality of all backgrounds. The panel featured thought leaders from film, TV, fine arts and the stage, including Sesame Workshop‘s President Sherrie Westin, the President of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Deborah Rutter, Filmmaker Samar Minallah Khan and the Executive Director of For Freedoms artist collective Claudia Peña, who play an integral role in last fall’s Eyes on Iran campaign to remove Iran from the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women. Geraldine Laybourne, Co-Founder of Oxygen Media, former CEO of Nickelodeon and Vice Chair of the Vital Voices Board, served as moderator of the session.
These powerhouse women leaders spoke about their role in the creative spaces that they occupy and how they are making an impact every day.
Watch the replay below.
Panelists included:
- Samar Minallah Khan: Documentary Filmmaker & Human Rights Activist (Pakistan)
- Claudia Peña: Executive Director, Freedoms & Faculty at UCLA School of Law
- Deborah Rutter: President, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
- Sherrie Westin: President, Sesame Workshop
- Gerry Laybourne: Co-Founder, Oxygen Media; Former CEO, Nickelodeon; & Vice Chair of the Board, Vital Voices
