A talk was given to raise awareness of the POPPY project and £179.49 was donated from money collected on the day. 

A Brief History of International Women’s Day (IWD) 

IWD was honoured for the first time on 19 March 1911 in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. On 8 March 1917 (23 February according to the old-style calendar then in use in Russia), Russian women began a strike for ‘bread and peace’ in response to the death of over 2 million Russian soldiers in war. IWD has now grown to become a global day of recognition and celebration across developed and developing countries alike. For many years the United Nations has held an annual IWD conference to co-ordinate international efforts for women’s rights and participation in social, political and economic processes. Women’s organisations and governments around the world have also observed IWD annually on 8 March. IWD is now an official holiday in Armenia, Russia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. The tradition sees men honouring their mothers, wives, girlfriends, colleagues, etc with flowers and small gifts. In some countries IWD has the equivalent status of Mother’s Day where children give small presents to their mothers and grandmothers.