Why you should head down to Women of the World this weekend

Prepare to feel empowered…

The Woman of the World Festival (WOW) is back at London's Southbank Centre, and as always is celebrating and championing women, girls, and the struggle for gender equality around the world. WOW promises discussions, debates, live music and performances with some of the most relevant female artists, writers and activists of the moment.

Gillian Anderson and Jennifer Nadel kick off the weekend with the launch of their new book WE: A Manifesto for Women Everywhere. The pair are decade long friends who came together to create a mentor (in book form) for young girls - they'll be speaking to Jude Kelly, founder of the WOW festival, about their rules for living and their passion for addressing low-self esteem in young women.

The festival will also play host to best-selling author and feminist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie,who is best known for her powerful essay 'We should all be feminists', which was sampled by Queen Bey herself in her hit single ***Flawless (Adichie's reading of her essay has over 3 million hits on YouTube). This year, Adichie's talk will take the form of a letter to one of her childhood friend's, who asked her how to raise her baby girl as a feminist - expect to hear some compelling, direct and funny suggestions for how to empower a daughter to become a strong, independent woman.

The festival will also host talks on a range of topics which affect women in all walks of life. Journalist Reni Eddo Lodge will be speaking about her new book 'Why I'm no longer talking to white people about race.' Radio 1's Gemma Cairney will talk with Lauren Laverne about what it means to be a girl today, and (former Marie Claire Beauty Editor) Anita Bhagwandas will discuss BBW (Big Beautiful Women), and ask if fat is still a feminist issue. Other talks will look at sex education, how technology has the power to transform women's lives, and why it's important to include men in the conversation around gender equality.

There will also be plenty of drop in sessions throughout the weekend, including an Under 10s Feminist Corner, WOW Speed Mentoring and even a gigantic, gender-equality themed salsa class.

For a full list of events, see the programme here.

Southbank Centre's Women of the World festival runs until 12 March, supported by Bloomberg.