V-Day Europe
Uniting art and activism across borders to create a world where girls and women live free, safe, equal and with dignity.
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Get Involved!
Produce your own V-Day
Every year during the V-Season (between 1 February and 8 March), you can organise your own special fundraising performance of The Vagina Monologues.Why?
The success of the V-Day campaign depends on the commitment and enthusiasm of local groups and local campaigners. Local organisers do essential work to raise the profile of V-Day and break the silence about violence against women. The performances also raise vital funds for local service providers that work with female survivors of violence and abuse. Around the world, funds raised by V-Day organisers have saved women's refuges, rape crisis centres and many other organisations that work to end violence against women from closing down or helped them to expand their services, and helped to commit policy makers to end violence against women and girls.
How and when?
The V-Season is from 1 February (Valentine's Day season) until 8 March (International Women's Day).If you are interested in doing a benefit performance of The Vagina Monologues, you can register from September at: www.vday.org/signup
For information in languages other than English, you can contact V-Day Europe partners for information in French and German (emilie@vdayeurope.org) or in Spanish (contact Annemarie: aminbcn@hotmail.com)
Once you have registered in September you will be an official member of the V-Day campaign (You can withdraw from the campaign at any point). You will have access to all the relevant information for V-Season 2006 including a copy of the special V-Day script and an Organiser's Kit, which will give you guidelines for organising a performance of The Vagina Monologues.
By registering to do a performance you are entering into a contract with V-Day and this means that there are certain rules and regulations that you need to adhere to. In return V-Day staff and national coordinators will support you and offer advice and help.
Click here to contact your national coordinator.
They will advise you and help you to organise your performance. You may also, at any time, contact the director of the Worldwide or College Campaign for additional information.
Support V-Day
Become a volunteer
V-Day Europe and its network members all over Europe are always looking for people who are happy to share their experience and knowledge. We would like you to join our team of volunteers especially if you have experience with/are a:And we are of course open to and grateful for any new ideas on ways how you could contribute!
If you are interested please contact:
| V-Day Europe: | emilie@vdayeurope.org | |
| V-Day in the UK: | tamsin@vdayuk.org | |
| V-Day in France: | vday@paris-mcr.com | Eva Hornung |
| V-Day in Germany: | vday@traceygrey.com | Tracey |
| V-Day in Belgium: | info@vdayeurope.org | |
| V-Day in Luxemburgo: | serge@kulturfabrik.lu | |
| V-Day in Finland: | vdayhelsinki@yahoo.co.uk | Miia |
| vdayhelsinki2006@yahoo.co.uk | Anna | |
| V-Day in Spain: | aminbcn@hotmail.com | Annemarie |
Make a donation
For more information on how to make a donation to V-Day in Europe, contact info@vdayeurope.orgBecome a partner
Partner organisationsIf you are interested to be part of our network, have information on your organisation and your activities publicised on our website, develop projects with other V-Day Europe partners, don't hesitate to contact us: info@vdayeurope.org
Commercial partners
V-Day is a unique opportunity for your business to support charities and to celebrate and honour women. To discuss the different ways in which your company can become a partner of V-Day in Europe, please contact info@vdayeurope.org
Media partners
V-Day is looking for media (print, online, radio, TV) partners. If you are interested in a partnership and for press material on V-Day in Europe and in your country, please contact info@vdayeurope.org
Political partners
Political support is invaluable for V-Day, and in many countries, V-Day has established strong partnerships with national and local political decision makers. To discuss possibilities to become a partner of V-Day, contact info@vdayeurope.org
V-Day Stories
"Having produced two V-Day events now, I'm hooked. It's like an addiction; you get hooked on the energy, vibe and wave of positivity that overwhelms everyone who comes in contact with it."Tracey, British, Germany
"This is the second year I've organised an event and I've found it an even more rewarding experience this time. I did loads of research into local rape and domestic violence statistics and some of the stuff on the internet made me so angry and even more passionate about the work that V-Day does."
Fiona, UK
"It has been so much fun, we've overcome a lot of negativity from people, made some good friends and 95% of the people who attended took home information leaflets and the warrior statement which was printed on the free programme."
Debbie, UK
"Needless to say, we had a fantastic V-Day, which surpassed even our expectations. We had to put on an extra night, there were so many people queuing at the door. The audience had a fantastic time, and we had a "pussy party" afterwards with the guys from our campus radio and Ni Putes Ni Soumises Grenoble."
Rosie, France
"Just the enormous fun and challenge that my fellow actresses and I had putting on our show, which went incredibly smoothly, considering we were six women - many of whom had never acted before or not since they were at school. I plucked my cast from friends, whom I could see in specific roles and magically, they mostly all accepted and excelled. I cannot speak highly enough of them all. We found the experience liberating, embarrassing, terrifying, exhilarating, amusing and highly satisfying! I guess the best surprise was Hilary, frightfully British and stiff upper lip, who (when our fearless Australian actress went down with bronchitis before the show) gingerly asked whether she could perform 'Reclaiming Cunt'. Hilary was stunning - hilarious in fact, and all the more so because she is the last person one would expect to revel in that particular monologue!"
Jane, British, France, 55
"All of it, especially seeing the diversity of the people in the theatre and their positive reaction to the V-Day message. The audience ranged from theatre people to people who worked for NGO's, those who worked for the local government, women from a local refuges and sex workers who use the service provided by one of the organizations we gave money to. We received very little acknowledgement at the beginning as V-Day is basically unknown in Spain, however, after the play we received a great amount of recognition and interest for next year."
Annemarie, British, Spain, 25
"My favorite story about our production of The Vagina Monologues takes place during the actual performance, when 'Memory of her face' was being performed. The girl who was reciting the piece had it memorized, but as she got going into it her lines came slower and slower and all of a sudden, she just stopped and had a tear running down her face. It was then, at that exact moment that I knew our production had been successful, for if not anyone else but her, she was touched and moved - this girl got the message, she understood about the horrors of what was taking place to women. It was a magical moment. Everyone in the room, both fellow cast members and people in the audience knew what was going on, and everyone felt the connection to the horror. I myself was sitting with the script in my lap ready, for a time like this to give prompts to the actors if need be, but I just sat and watched her. I knew that she needed a minute for this to sink in and that she needed to compose herself. Finally, with thehelp of another girl who was also reciting Memory of her Face, she came together and finished the piece. After the performance, she came to me and said how sorry she felt that she had let me down by her onstage breakdown. I gave her a hug and we both cried. I told her that it wasn't her fault at all, and I'm so glad that she did that, and that she understood what we were doing here, why we were performing, what our mission was. I was so touched by her honesty that night. Yes some of these monologues performed were hilarious and had me crying with laughter, but none like this touched me as much as this to realize the power of reaching people and just seeing them understand the core mission behind V-Day."
Victoria, Canadian, UK, 18
"It is difficult to choose. Could be Roma women V-Day 2002 , from Skopje Macedonia - Roma caravan performance, or Zagreb performance of actors and politicians in 2001, with the final "fire dance" of young women anarchists.. Here is: V-Day Sarajevo and Mostar 2003 Aim of the V-day Sarajevo 2003 was to challenge and change the notion of borders/boundaries in the region, effected by war and post-war situation. New borders/boundries and new political circumstances were not barriers for women who dared to present The Vagina Monologues in their languages and they brought "sparkle" into the often too demanding and tiresome work of the activists. V-day Sarajevo 2003 brought together activism and art, memories and singing, vision and celebration of women´s bodies. It helped strengthening women´s solidarity and support and sent a strong political message: women cooperate ! The performance of The Vagina Monologues in different Slavic languages enabled women across regional borders to understand each other through the universal language of their bodies and experience. And 400 activists and refugees in audience had the night to remember. While Sarajevo hosted known actors, Mostar´s performance gathered young actors of different ethnicities and brought togehter the whole, devided, community. Workshop with Eve Ensler - on viewing world without violence, made the participants more aware of the need to struggle against violence. Mostar V-day team since 2003 had several V-Days all over Bosnia and Herzegovina (in red V-van !)"
Rada, Croatian, Finalnd, 53
"After the last show we did of 'The Vagina Monologues', everyone, audience, cast and crew, gathered in the bar downstairs. I felt overwhelmed and proud as a whole room of people buzzed with talk of vaginas, women, feminism and the problems about violence against women. I achieved what I set out to do, to get people talking about it. Its was amazing."
Elizabeth, British, UK, 22
"It was an incredibly enlightening experience to be involved in our own production. It created a tremendous bond of friendship between six very different types of women, who normally would never have broken down the barriers the way we did and shared some very intimate, moving, funny and deep moments together. Thank you, Eve Ensler. We also managed to affect others in a very positive way and get the point across. People were made aware of how we Vaginas feel about life! For me personally, it was a very liberating experience, as I am was a sexually-abused child and I found it very therapeutic to be the "Angry Vagina" and let it out on stage! I feel liberated somewhat of my pain."
Lavinia, British, Monaco, 54
"I personally find every V-day so inspiring and strong and every time something amazing happens. The strongest experience though was probably during our first V-day Event, when a woman told her story of her abuse and the empathy it created among the 500 people audience who silently bowed their heads and cried or mummified. Another thing is when, during our 2nd V-day we involved men into the program by having a group of them sitting scattered in the audience and standing up one at a time saying one phrase each about how theV-world looks a like when we've ended the violence against women and girls. It was so powerful and beautiful and the men were so moved by participating. Another strong experience is the young girl's choir who performed at our last V-day. It was an absolute heart moving performance and such a strong reminder of how young and innocent so many of the girls are when abuse starts, f.ex. the victims of the female genetal mutilation we talked aobut before their appearance on stage."
Hlín Helga, Icelandic, Iceland, 32
"I thought I would
I was going to
I wanted to
write a poem
to express my feelings
my deep emotions
all of that
what was waving inside me
yesterday
the day after
but as it happened
I just couldn't
write a poem
just couldn't
words did not form anymore
there was just this
river of emotions
and this deep deep emptiness
yet silence
felt good
just wanted you
to know
how happy
I have been
working with you
sharing this all
with you
never felt anything like this
on a stage
never such feeling
of being there together
supporting, caring, loving
so as there was not three
but one person
one heartbeat
one soul
imagine
how something
so horrible (village, trans)
can be turned to
something so beautiful
as the whole thing was
it is very hard to let go
but that's the way it goes
thank you
for letting
me be me
luv'
This actor has also told me that doing this play has been a therapeutic expecience for her. Another one of the three told me that this particular production (she was one of the actors last year as well) has been the most therapeutic work experience she's ever had.
In addition to this, two people who saw our V-Day 2004 performance have e-mailed me and told me that our performance has changed their life. One of them was going through a really hard time in her life, but our show made her see humanity again.
It took the other member of the audience a year to go through the process, but now she can say that our show changed her life.
Our other V-Day 2005 producer just told me that our production has taught her how to treat people.
A 70-year-old woman came to talk to me on our V-Day on Sunday. She wanted to tell me her life story. (She had seen me on tv talking about the 72-year-old woman in "The Flood".) I asked her to record it (she doesn't live in Helsinki) and send it to me.
Finnish media found the V-Day (in Finnish V-päivä) concept this year. The radio channels were announcing that in Finland, today (March 6), we were celebrating an international V-Day against violence. I was interviewed on one of the national tv channels plus on three radio stations last week, and both of our main national newspapers (one in Finnish and the other one in Swedish) wrote about us. (In addition to other media.)
One of our three transsexual actors e-mailed me yesterday and told me that she was surprised to realise how important this production had been to her, subjectively. And she is very grateful that she was allowed to take part in our production.
Working with a transgender theme and actors has taught me a lot about transsexuality, transsexuals and the gender issue in general. And I've been able to talk about the TS issue on the media.
Being interviewed on tv made me realize that I could be me when I was interviewed. Because it was me that the radio stations and this tv channel wanted to interview. So I didn't need to use written Finnish when I was talking. I could talk like I naturally talk, I could be me, which was very therapeutic and liberating.
Last year I had to go onstage myself, because one of the actors left the production. I managed to forget about my looks (I'm overweight) when I went onstage, which was therapeutic.
All in all, doing these productions has changed my self-image, which is what good art does, I think."
Anna, Finnish, Finland, 38
"The public awareness created by active PR, V-Day becoming a concept in Helsinki and even in Finland (25 different median covered in some form the event with a total circulation of almost 4 million when the population of Finland is 5,2 million). Discussion of sexual roles at the V-Day round table was also enlightening and seemed to awake new thoughts in the audience. The willingness of people to volunteer was also impressive, as well as the fact that at some point the production is no longer merely in the hands the producers or the director but starts to live the life of its own. A brilliant learning process on an individual level."
Camilla, Finnish, Finland, 32
"Friendship: The great majority of the participants did not know each others as we decided to get involved. The rehearsals became a "free space" where the girls could express themselves through our work on the play. The participants have become friends and we have learned a lot about and from each others.
Organization: Our V-Day event encompasses the play and a series of events (a film projection, an exhibition, debates.) meaning that a good organization was required. As the V-Day organizer in my university, I dealt with the different aspects of the setting up from getting the funds, to renting a venue, to advertising. I also directed the play. Having different roles to play in the organization, I got a global view of the amount of work required to ensure the success of such an event. I have learned a lot about administration and communication. V-Day was in many respect a challenge but the result was very positive and the key word is LEARNING. "
Emeline, French, France, 22
"The best experience is when the idea becomes reality, when you receive the reaction and support from different people, when the performance gets real, when everybody likes it, when the press is full of reports, when you discover new friends all around the world, - when you make an effort to stop violence against women and girls."
Dovile Rukaite, Lithuanian, Lithuania, 31
"While helping my friends to organise a performance of the Vagina Monologues in Totnes, UK, and filming the show, I was happy to be involved in this local project. Two of my friends and our arts management lecturer performed, and all three had very different roles. My friend from Lithuania, Vilma, dressed up in a beautiful, princess like, rose colored dress down to her knees, with her loose blond hair looked like a sweet girl, telling of her first experiences at the women's workshops and realization of her sexuality. Amber, a very energetic theatre student had a role of a self-confident, experienced strong sexy woman, and was reading a part of the play with all the various sounds of orgasms. She wore a very sexy sleek black outfit, mostly consisting of tight underwear, and long high-heeled black shoes. Sat on a chair, she moved and moaned, and screamed, and shouted, and laughed in all different ways. Her curly long black hair swinging along with her moves was enlivening her wild role even more. Our lecturer, a woman in her late thirties, was reading a part of the Monologues about giving a birth. It was a quieter, a more concentrated part of the performance, with more seriousness. All three performers conveyed an idea of a woman in different stages of her life in a very persuasive, interesting manner. It was nice to see that the auditorium, half of it - men, was attentively watching and listening. After the performance, there was a colorful, exotic show of belly-dancing, culminating in a huge, crazy dance with the audience participation. All in all, a superb evening and an unforgettable experience!"
Sigita, Lithuanian, Lithuania, 26
With the support of the