Joining forces with the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre, we are delighted to invite you to the 4th WOW – Women of the World Festival in Greece.
The festival is taking place in Athens from 27 to 30 March 2026 in co-operation with the UK-based WOW Foundation – the world’s largest event dedicated to women, girls and non-binary people – and the British Council.
With a dynamic programme of panel discussions and talks by Greek and international guests, speed-mentoring sessions, concerts, workshops and much more, WOW Athens is an ambitious event aiming to empower women and femininities in tackling the barriers and inequalities they encounter daily and celebrate their successes to date, as well as the people behind them and their inspiring stories.
Diverse and interdisciplinary, the festival focuses on present-day Greek reality, while also looking at shared concerns and challenges from across the globe.
Beyond the Spotlight: Women Shaping the Future of Jazz
Friday 27 March 2026, 18.00
Beyond the Spotlight: Women Shaping the Future of Jazz
This year, we present the Beyond the Spotlight: Women Shaping the Future of Jazz panel discussion, in collaboration with Women in Jazz and with the support of the British Embassy in Athens.
The panel discussion brings together four influential women working at the forefront of contemporary jazz for a forward-looking conversation about how the industry can better support artists in building long-term, sustainable careers in 2026 and beyond.
The discussion moves beyond celebrating individual success stories to interrogate the structures, systems and cultural practices that shape opportunity in jazz today while focusing on what the music industry – including promoters, venues, broadcasters, educators, funders and audiences – can do to create conditions in which artists can thrive creatively, financially and emotionally over the long term.
Jazz has always been a genre rooted in collaboration, innovation and community, yet it has also been shaped by exclusion and precarity. The panel asks what meaningful progress looks like in 2026 and how the sector can collectively move towards it.
Moderator
- Tina Edwards – music journalist, DJ, broadcaster and curator (UK)
Speakers
- Arowah (she/they) – award winning and internationally recognised musician (UK)
- Tania Giannouli – Greek pianist, composer, improviser and bandleader (GR)
- Lou Paley – founder and director of Women in Jazz (UK)
- Dr Claire Renfrew – senior events consultant, producer and Music Psychologist (UK)
The day after the discussion, a unique DJ set will follow on Saturday 28 March 2026 (time to be confirmed) by Tina Edwards – music journalist, DJ, radio producer and curator (UK).
About WOW – Women of the World
The WOW Foundation exists to build, convene and sustain a global movement that believes a gender equal world is desirable, possible and urgently required.
WOW – Women of the World was founded by Jude Kelly in 2010, when the first WOW Festival took place at the Southbank Centre in London. Since then, WOW has staged more than 100 festivals and events, reaching more than five million people in 30 locations across six continents.