A women’s conference and a film screening are among events planned at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in conjunction with National Women’s History Month.
The University hosted a McNeese State University history professor earlier this week who discussed the grassroots women’s movement in the South, particularly Louisiana.
UL Lafayette’s annual Women’s Conference will be held from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, March 22, at the Student Union on campus. In its 10th year, the conference is hosted by the Office for Campus Diversity.
This year’s theme is “Honoring Trailblazing Women in Labor and Business.”
Speakers from UL Lafayette and several businesses will lead presentations throughout the day. Topics will include entrepreneurship, business development, empowerment, finances, health and fitness, higher education, leadership and self-defense.
The morning keynote speaker will be Dima Ghawi, a professional development coach who focuses on empowering women to become leaders.
Alyssa Carson, a teenager who has begun training to become an astronaut, will be the lunchtime keynote speaker. She aspires to be the first human to visit Mars. An international speaker, Carson has been featured on BBC News, CBS News and the Steve Harvey Show.
In 2013, she became the first person to complete NASA’s Passport to Explore Space Program. That program enables guests at NASA’s Visitor Centers to collect commemorative stamps. Carson visited all 14 centers in nine states.
“She’s pretty amazing when you consider that she is in high school and aspires to go into space,” said Dr. Taniecea Arceneaux Mallery, director of UL Lafayette’s Office for Campus Diversity.
The conference is open to the public. Cost is $60. Students can attend for $25. Tickets are available online.
Learn more or register at diversity.louisiana.edu.
A screening of the documentary film “!Women Art Revolution” will be held from 6-8 p.m. later that day at Hilliard University Art Museum.
The award-winning film chronicles the feminist art movement. It includes archival footage and interviews with artists, historians, curators and critics that were compiled over more than 40 years by director Lynn Hershman.
The film details influential developments in women’s art during the 1970s, including art education programs, political issues, exhibitions and installations.
The free event is open to the public.
On Tuesday, the University’s Center for Louisiana Studies sponsored a book talk and signing led by Dr. Janet Allured, a McNeese State University history professor. She is the author of “Remapping Second-Wave Feminism: The Long Women’s Rights Movement in Louisiana, 1950-1997.”