Chicago IL: American Telugu Association -ATA celebrated International women’s day (IWD) on March 19, 2017 at Royal Palace Banquets, Chicago Ridge, IL. International Women’s Day is is celebrated every year on March 8th since 1913.
ATA celebrated women’s day with great dignity & pride to honor women’s rights & celebrate the accomplishments of women in geo, political, economic and social sectors as well as great enthusiasm to showcase the achievements & issues facing women of their respective cultures and to come up with better solutions for a better tomorrow. The venue was packed with almost 250 exuberant women who actively participated in various activities. The theme of International Women’s Day was “Be Bold for Change” resonated with everyone.
The event started with a prayer song and lamp lighting ceremony followed by welcome speech and history of IWD by Sunitha Reddy and opening remarks by Dr. Meher Medavaram speaking on importance and the theme of the women’s day stressing the need for women to come together to work towards reducing the gender parity and recognizing IWD’s important agenda to call to action for gender parity, offering clear actions and solutions to help both individuals and organizations to create inclusive spaces for all the people all over the world.
They also had prominent Physician Dr. Sheela Konda- Vice chair of Radiology, Amita health care speaking on breast cancer awareness which was very informative and educational. She made a slide presentation on facts relating to breast cancer screening and prevention. This was followed by Mary Bedel, President of National Alliance on Mental Illness from Indiana, who spoke on the importance of recognizing the signs of mental illness and how women can reach out to help themselves and their families. She shared community resources that are available for the treatment of mental illness. Swapna Reddy an Attorney and Co-Director of ASAP at Urban Justice Center spoke on the burning issue of Immigration and her work with the refugee population.
The event included various games, like Jeopardy and Telugu speaking competition. Women enthusiastically participated and winners were awarded prizes. Women were entertained by Hari Madhuri with her live singing and they danced to the beats of the DJ. It was an overwhelmingly successful and memorable event made possible with active participation and help of the entire ATA Chicago team. Women from all walks of life shared a wonderful afternoon of learning, networking and empowering themselves.