THE University of Winchester is celebrating International Women’s Day with a month-long series of events.

Thetis and the Nereids

On Wednesday, March 6 Dr Polly Stoker, who leads the University’s BA (Hons) programme in Classical Studies, will give a free lecture, Thetis and Her Sisters: Nereids in Greek Myth and Thought at the West Downs Centre.

The Nereids were sea nymphs, the attendants of Poseidon, who befriended and protected sailors. Polly’s talk, which begins at 6pm, centres on Thetis, the mother of Greek hero Achilles.

The Nereids are also the subject of an exhibition running at the West Downs Gallery until April 23.

Women of Winchester

Students and staff from the BA (Hons) Event Management programme have been researching the lives and achievements of six notable Victorian women.

The result of their work, part of their Introduction to Event Operations’ module, will be a pop-up exhibition, The Women of Winchester at the West Downs Centre from 1-3pm on Thursday, March 7.

The redoubtable women featured are Mary Sumner, Laura Ridding, Josephine Butler, Ellen Joyce, Charlotte Moberly and Charlotte Yonge.

READ MORE: New scholarships to allow six students leaving care to live rent-free

Business power

The University’s Startup Hub is holding EmpowerHER: A Discussion with Women in Entrepreneurship at the Stripe Auditorium on Friday, March 8 from 10.30am to 11.45am.

The discussion will feature women who have started their own businesses or play key roles in commerce.

The panel will include Michelle Dabenett, artistic director and founder of Mich Mash Theatre Company CIC, Daisy Harris-Reid, founder of @hampshire_parents and @hampshire_soloparents group, who is also columnist for Hampshire Life and author of Mum about Town’s Separation Survival Guide: How to Push the Reset Button and Sam Gaskell, CEO and founder of DataFit

Taking to the stage…

Student actors will be performing two short productions at The Point in Eastleigh on Friday, March 8 as part of their third-year company projects.

The Just Add Water Theatre Company will perform The Only Way Is Athens which re-imagines the way women of Mount Olympus dealt with their husbands, the Gods.

XOXO Productions present Go Piss Girl, set in a women’s toilet where a group of 20-somethings are panicking about growing up.

Howl against violence

On March 16, The Nutshell arts centre and the university will bring together students, young people and members of the local community for a script-in-hand performance of Lucy Kirkwood’s play Maryland. 

Olivier Award-winner Lucy penned her passionate piece in the space of 48 hours in response to the murders of Sarah Everard, Sabina Nessa, Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman.

The 25-minute play centres on two women, both called Mary, who meet at a police station where both are trying to report a sexual assault.

The evening will feature an exhibition from the film and media students. Doors open from 6.30pm and the performance is at 7pm. The show lasts 40 minutes and will be followed by a conversation with cast and company.

SEE ALSO: Alcohol licence for West Downs Centre approved, despite neighbours' opposition

Upwardly Mobile

The University of Winchester’s careers and opportunities team has teamed up with Enterprise Mobility to host an exclusive networking evening at the West Downs Centre on Tuesday, March 19 from 5pm to 7pm.

The event will feature motivational talks by female leaders from Enterprise Mobility, all at different stages of their careers.

There will also be a chance to network over free pizza and drinks.

Learning from the past

Later in the month the cluster for the History of Women's Education (CHWE) is hosting two events.

On Tuesday, March 19 Maureen Royce gives a talk entitled Memories and Impact - A Personal Perspective of the Importance of Arthur Mee’s Children’s Encyclopaedia In the 1960s.

On Tuesday, March 26 the CHW is holding a seminar by Alastair Jones entitled Bahaism and Women’s Education: Alice Buckton and Annette Schepel’s Journeys with Abdu’l-Bahá 1910-1913.

For more information or to book any of the events go to winchester.ac.uk/research/Public-engagement-with-Research/iwd/.