Nominees accepted for University’s International Women’s Day observance, Turkish filmmaker to keynote

UNC Charlotte will hold its 12th annual campus recognition of International Women’s Day from 3:30 to 5 p.m., Tuesday, March 28, in the Popp Martin Student Union, Room 340.

This annual event includes historical information and recognition of faculty, staff and students who have been nominated for their impact on the lives of women locally and globally. Nominations are accepted online through Friday, March 17.

Eylem Atakav, scholar and director of the documentary “Growing Up Married,” will be the keynote speaker for the University’s International Women’s Day Celebration on March 28. The film, which focuses on the stories of child brides in Turkey, will be screened at 6:30 p.m., Monday, March 27, in the Belk Gym, Room 201, as a part of UNC Charlotte’s International Film Festival. Atakav will lead a discussion of the film after the screening

Atakav is a senior lecturer in film and television studies at the University of East Anglia, where she teaches courses on women and film; women, Islam and media; and Middle Eastern media. She is the author of “Women and Turkish Cinema: Gender Politics, Cultural Identity and Representation” and editor of Directory of World Cinema: Turkey. “Growing Up Married” was her first exposure to filmmaking.

International Women’s Day is recognized by the United Nations on March 8 and celebrated in various countries around the world. The UNC Charlotte campus community has celebrated IWD since 2006.

The Office of International Programs and the Multicultural Resource Center are cosponsoring this year’s International Women’s Day Celebration, with support from the Women’s and Gender Studies Program and the Department of Languages and Culture Studies.

The March 27 film screening is open to the public; the University’s International Women’s Day celebration is open to the campus community.