The London based WOW Foundation exists to build, convene and sustain a global movement that believes a gender equal world is desirable, possible and urgently required. Founder Jude Kelly established the first WOW festival in London in 2010 with the goal to establish, bring together, and uphold a worldwide movement that advocates for gender equality — because women, girls, and non-binary people deserve to live in a world that is safe, accepting, and supportive.

Since its launch, The WOW Foundation’s reach has expanded across 45 countries and six continents, touching the lives of more than five million women and girls — reaching 65 million people a year through events, campaigns and media. Through festivals and events, WOW uses the power of the arts and cultural celebrations, to advocate and bring together people from all walks of life to work together in their own communities to effect change. To date, there have been over 100 WOW Festivals around the world with events running all year round, licensed to a network of organisations all raising their own support to build the movement in their own city or country.

In Australia, this organisation is nonprofit company Of One Mind established in 2014 by Leigh Tabrett PSM, Cathy Hunt AM and Brian Tucker to create and invest in cultural activities that deliver social outcomes. We recognise that to achieve social change such as a more gender just world, we need to change culture: beliefs, values, processes and systems. Only by changing culture, including the way we think about problem solving and the way we go about problem solving, will we achieve real social outcomes.

In our experience this can be brought about through one of the outputs from culture itself – creative expression- through storytelling, art, performance and community cultural gatherings.

Although every stat tells a story we believe every story explains a stat. We are in the business of storytelling, changing the hearts and minds of those who listen and leading to new ways of solving problems.

WOW was first staged in Australia as part of the Sydney Writers’ Festival in 2013. It has since taken place in Katherine, Brisbane, Melbourne, Charleville, Longreach, Cairns, Logan Biloela and as part of the 2018 Commonwealth Games cultural program and has featured The Hon Quentin Bryce, The Hon Julia Gillard, June Oscar AO, Senator Malarndirri McCarthy, Jane Turner, Jackie Huggins, Kathy Lette, Elizabeth Broderick, Kate Jenkins, Chanel Contos, and Laura Geitz to name but a few.