Here are some woman-centric events for your diary going on around the UK this week.

Across the UK:

19-25 January: Sundance Rising viewing parties.

On 19 January, the official One Billion Rising 2013 documentary short will premiere at Sundance, the preeminent film festival founded by One Billion Rising supporter, Robert Redford.

To celebrate this, One Billion Rising invites you to host a Sundance Rising viewing party as a lead up to your 2014 One Billion Rising for Justice events.

Gather activists, volunteers, community members, and organisations in houses, campuses, movie theatres, stadiums, auditoriums, parks and malls between 19 January and 25 January to screen the film and help build momentum for this years’ initiatives, while honouring last year’s accomplishments.

The short film is available for free. You can watch it online on YouTube, Vimeo, or download it by clicking here.

Bristol:

17 January: What the Frock! Comedy at Mauretania, Park Street, Bristol, from 7.30pm.

Joining resident MC Cerys Nelmes will be Rachel Parris (“One sometimes doubts that Britain’s got talent, but Parris has it in spades”, The Guardian), Cecilia Delatori (“a comedian of great calibre,” The Stage), and Katie Lane (Funny Women runner-up 2013).

This popular night ALWAYS sells out in advance, so book early to avoid disappointment.

Tickets £12/ £10 advance

18 January: The Mayor, the Minister and You: Where does the power lie? at Armada House, Telephone Street, Bristol, from 3pm-5pm

Is local democracy failing us? Is the system getting in the way?

Bristol For Democracy are pleased to be able to host the recently promoted Junior Minister for Communities and Local Government in charge of localism, Stephen Williams. He will be discussing options for devolving power from local government to communities, as well as plans for devolving power from national government.

We are equally pleased to get the Mayor at relatively short notice, as his office has a fundamental role in all these decisions.

This is your chance to question the Mayor and the Minister on where they think the balance of power should lie and what power they want to devolve to both the Council or to Neighbourhood level.

Edinburgh:

19 January: TRANSforming Arts Course 2014 at Out of the Blue, 36 Dalmeny Street, Edinburgh, from 12noon-4pm.

The Scottish Transgender Alliance is running a TRANSforming Arts course for people of any gender identity who are interested in using creative arts to increase positive visibility of gender diversity and the lived experiences of trans people and their loved ones.

The four workshop sessions will be run in Edinburgh by an experienced performance arts practitioner and will give participants the opportunity to develop the skills and confidence they need to share experiences through short theatre pieces, improvisation and comedy sketches.

Participants will be given the space and support to create individual and collective pieces of work which they will have the opportunity to present at an end of course showcase.

Further workshops will be held on 26 January, as well as 2 February and 9 February 2014.

London:

13 January: Demonstration against Love Productions at 43 Eagle Street, London, WC1R from 3pm.

This is a demonstration against the makers of Channel 4’s show ‘Benefit Street’ – Love Productions.

Fares to be reimbursed (by Unite) if cost is an issue.

15 January: The Reproduction of People by Means of People at Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House, London School of Economics, Aldwych, London, WC2B, from 6.30pm-8pm.

This is a lecture from Professor Nancy Folbre, chaired by Professor Gilat Levy.

Current understandings and analyses of the economy represent a partial picture. To provide a comprehensive understanding of the economy it is crucial to recognise that, firstly, the measurement of living standards should be expanded to include consideration of both the costs and benefits of unpaid work and intra-family transfers. Secondly, macroeconomic theory should acknowledge and measure the value of unpaid work as a dimension of output and expand its definitions of investment and consumption. Thirdly, public finance should focus more explicitly on both private and public intergenerational transfers.

This lecture applies a feminist perspective on the definition of output, income, and living standards to an alternative framework for national income accounting and budget analysis.

This framework disaggregates flows of money and time devoted to the care of children, other dependents, the maintenance of adult capabilities, the development of adult capabilities, and luxury consumption over the lifecycle.

By so doing it is possible to recognise the significance of all the work, both paid and unpaid, that contributes to national income.

Nancy Folbre is emeritus professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her research explores the interface between political economy and feminist theory, with a particular emphasis on the value of unpaid care work.

This event is free and open to all, with no ticket required. Entry is on a first come, first served basis.

16 January: Thinking Intersectionality and the transnational at Kings College, Strand, London, from 6pm-8pm.

What is meant by the term intersectionality, and how does it relate to contemporary feminist thought and activism? What does it mean to place the study of gender in transnational perspective? How can a concern with intersectionality and the transnational produce not just different knowledges, but better knowledges?

This lecture by Rachael O’Neill will provide a space to think through these and other questions, introducing students to some of the key writings and debates on intersectionality and the transnational. Discussions will be grounded in case studies as we consider the intersectional and transnational dynamics of sex tourism, global capitalism and contemporary protest movements such as SlutWalk.

Tickets: free.

17-18 January: From Civil Partnership to Same-Sex Marriage 2004-2014: An Interdisciplinary Workshop at the Kent Centre for Gender Sexuality and the Law, Birkbeck, 43 Gordon Square, London, WC1H.

The Civil Partnership Act 2004 and the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 are important legal, social and historical landmarks. For beyond their practical implications, same-sex relationship recognition, throughout the western world, has become a key site of political contestation rich in symbolic, material and cultural meanings.

While fiercely opposed by many, within mainstream narratives they are often represented as a victory in a legal reform process that commenced with the decriminalisation of homosexuality. Yet, at the same time, for others they represent a problematic and ambivalent political engagement with the institution of marriage. Consequently, understood and labelled as ‘revolutionary’, ‘progressive’ and ‘conservative’ these reforms provide a space for thinking about issues that arguably affect everyone, regardless of sexual orientation or relationship status.

This workshop brings together scholars and commentators from a range of professions and disciplinary backgrounds to critically reflect on the first ten years of the Civil Partnership Act and the introduction of same-sex marriage. The speakers have different views about these reforms – some are in favour, others more ambivalent. But rather than simply rehearsing the well documented arguments ‘for’ and ‘against’ relationship recognition, the papers collectively ask a different set of original questions and draw on a variety of methods.

Confirmed Speakers include Rosemary Auchmuty (Professor of Law, University of Reading), Aaron Balick (Psychotherapist; Honorary Lecturer, Centre for Psychoanalytic Studies, University of Essex), Nicola Barker (Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Kent), Katherine Browne (Reader in Geography, School of Environment and Technology, University of Brighton), Christine Cocker (Senior Lecturer in Social Work, University of East Anglia), Catherine Harper (Dean of the Faculty of Creative and Cultural Industries, University of Portsmouth), Brian Heaphy (Professor of Sociology, University of Manchester), Rev Canon Giles Goddard (St John’s Church, Waterloo; Chair of Inclusive Church and Member of Member Synod), Kenneth Norrie (Professor of Law, Strathclyde University),
Daniel Monk (Reader in Law, Birkbeck, University of London), Flora Renz (PhD Student, University of Kent), Yvette Taylor (Professor in Social and Policy Studies, Weeks Centre for Social and Policy Research, London South Bank University), Robert Wintemute (Professor of Human Rights Law, King’s College, London), Matthew Waites (Senior Lecturer, Department of Politics, Glasgow University), Jeffrey Weeks (Emeritus Professor of Sociology, London South Bank University).

18 January: Women-only NVDA (non-violent direct action) skills training at the Feminist Library, 5 Westminster Bridge Road, London, SE1

Action AWE is holding a day of women-only non-violent direct action training. It will be a safe space to learn NVDA (non-violent direct action) skills.

They will share skills for planning and taking non-violent direct action, to help you form a group to plan and take effective, empowered direct action safely and confidently. Key skills covered include understanding confrontation, supporting each other, and working together as a group. There will be a focus on what women’s NVDA might look like, and room to talk about fears and expectations. The trainers Denise Drake from Quaker training organisation Turning the Tide and Clare Cochrane from Action AWE are both experienced in nonviolent direct action and in training and group work.

Please feel free to come with a friend or with a group of women with whom you’d like to take action! There is space for up to 20-25 women.

Suggested donation for the day is on a sliding scale, between £5 – £10. However, if you cannot afford that, get in touch with Action AWE.