'Connecting Girls, Inspiring Futures'

8 March - It’s International Women’s Day!

‘Connecting Girls, Inspiring Futures’ is this year’s theme for the International Women’s Day website.

The first National Women’s Day was celebrated in 1910, and there’s been an International Women’s Day celebrated every year since. But the official date wasn’t fixed on 8 March till 1977.

I find this hard to believe, but it seems to be a coincidence that 8 March 1910 happens to be the day that Raymonde de LaRoche of France became the world’s first female licensed pilot.

Raymonde de LaRoche

It’s hardly surprising then that International Women’s Day falls in the middle of Women of Aviation Worldwide Week (5 - 11 March 2012). Women of Aviation Week aims to ‘celebrate history, raise awareness of aviation’s opportunities among girls and women, and shape the future.’

This year, women pilots around the UK are honouring that event, along with the 100th anniversary of the American Harriet Quimby’s first flight by a woman across the English Channel, with a cross-Channel fly-out and many flights by women throughout the country. (I did actually have a flying lesson on Tuesday... Learning to land using 'point and power' which I am told is how the RAF trains 'em to land, but makes sense, since it gets you in the right place on the runway without a lot of floofing about. I am prone to floofing about.)

Harriet Quimby. Yes, she flew across the English Channel in that thing.

Part of the celebrations include a ‘Fly it Forward’ challenge in an attempt to get as many non-flying women and girls as possible behind the controls of an aircraft this week. Pretty ambitious, but what a fabulous way to apply the theme of ‘connecting girls and inspiring futures’! I’ve done a couple of author library visits this week and have not failed to mention these themes and occasions to all the young people whose paths have crossed with mine, since they are captive audiences anyway. Yesterday's group was all girls, which was a surprise, but a lot of fun.

As a pilot, I've been working at re-validating my own currency requirements and haven’t yet re-qualified to carry passengers on my own, but I have booked a 4-seater Piper Warrior and a female flying instructor and I’m going to take two of my friends along with me. It will be more of a joy-ride than a lesson but at least we’ll be in the air together!

-----------------------------------

The overall theme for International Women’s Day 2012, declared by the United Nations, is ‘Empower Rural Women – End Hunger and Poverty’. I like the idea that ‘rural women’ could include many people in my both my homes, the UK and the United States. And of course, the call to arms for empowerment doesn’t just apply to women who are living in hunger and poverty themselves. It can be a call to arms to those who can help others.

Spread the word!

International Women’s Day website:
http://www.internationalwomensday.com/theme.asp

International Women’s Day website theme:
http://www.internationalwomensday.com/theme.asp

International Women’s Day on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Women's_Day

Women of Aviation Worldwide Week:
http://www.womenofaviationweek.org/