International Museum of Women
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The International Museum of Women (I.M.O.W.) is a social change museum that "connects and inspires people with powerful ideas and new ways of thinking that transform women’s lives and the world"[1]. The mission of I.M.O.W. is to value the lives of women around the world. I.M.O.W.’s exhibitions, education, events and programming are offered globally and locally in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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[edit] History
I.M.O.W. was originally founded as the Women's Heritage Museum in 1985. For over 10 years, the Women's Heritage Museum produced several exhibitions, hosted public programs, sponsored an annual book fair, provided teacher resources for Women's History Month, honored unknown women from our local history and recreated historic events.
In 1997, a group of local teachers were seeking a place to take their students. After a few years of serving on the board and working with the Women’s Heritage Museum, Elizabeth Colton and other board members decided to transform the existing Women's Heritage Museum into the International Museum of Women. The small group then asked 100 women and men to each donate $1,000 to create the new museum.
Since it's inception in 1997, I.M.O.W. has organized seven major exhibitions, hosted public forums, developed educational curriculum for schools and created a speaker series drawing world-class artists, authors and political leaders including Alice Walker and Riane Eisler, among others.
In 2005, I.M.O.W. embarked on a plan to build an "innovative twenty-first century museum model"[2] to engage and impact women around the world through strategic partnerships, innovative global online exhibitions and local events. This model consisted of a combination of local exhibitions and events in the San Francisco area, and online web content, making the museum an institution with both a conventional and virtual existence.
In 2006, I.M.O.W.'s strategy culminated with the launching of Imagining Ourselves: A Global Generation of Women, I.M.O.W.'s first interactive, multi-lingual online exhibition that connected more than a million participants around the world. Founded and directed by Paula Goldman, the wildly successful project garnered worldwide recognition and awards including the Anita Borg Social Impact Award.
[edit] I.M.O.W. Today
I.M.OW.'s dual approach continues in 2008 with the launch of the global online exhibition, [http://www.imow.org/wpp/index Women, Power and Politics]. The exhibition runs from March 8 - December 31, 2008 in four languages - Arabic, English, French and Spanish - just as the spotlight intensifies on the campaigns, elections and leadership of women from Argentina to the United States. Women, Power, and Politics aims to connect visitors to the stories of women who have harnessed politics and power to transform women's lives and society. Through online exhibitions, online community-building tools, and a live speaker series, Women, Power and Politics will spark conversations to inspire women to take action in their own communities and participate in broader political arenas as well.
Women, Power and Politics connects visitors to stories of remarkable women claiming and exercising their power to transform the world. I.M.O.W. invites people of all cultures and political affiliations to submit their own stories.
[edit] The Power of Politics
In conjunction with [http://www.imow.org/wpp/index Women, Power and Politics], I.M.O.W. is spearheading an online campaign to inspire people around the world to connect with each other and spark a global dialogue on why women's political power matters. The Power of Politics Campaign (P.O.P) provides five steps that people can take today. Steps include connecting to I.M.O.W.’s online community, taking action in your own community to help increase political knowledge, becoming active in the political process or supporting women who are interested in running for both informal and formal political positions worldwide.
[edit] About I.M.O.W.
I.M.O.W. operates under a Board of Directors consisting of philanthropic, business and community leaders, a professional staff and hundreds of volunteers.
I.M.O.W. also receives strategic guidance from its Global Council members, a group of distinguished women leaders from around the world. The Global Council is a group of diverse international leaders such as Eve Ensler, Dolores Huerta and Mary Robinson (former president of Ireland) who are committed to strengthening and improving the lives of women throughout the world through: education, health care, social welfare, community development, politics, law, the arts, media, science, technology, sports, philanthropy, business, protection of the environment and the promotion of world peace and justice.
