International Women's Day Celebrations in Paris

UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and a partner of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, celebrated International Women's Day 2009 this past Sunday, March 8, by organizing a series of events in collaboration with various partners at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris from March 9 to 25.

To celebrate International Women's Day, UNESCO will host a flagship programme consisting of round tables, conferences, exhibitions and cultural events that highlight issues relating to the empowerment of women and promotion of gender equality. Events will take place from March 9 to 25, all in their Paris headquarters.

For a schedule of International Women's Day celebration events, click here.

On November 11, 2006, UNESCO and the Tour announced a landmark global partnership to further gender equality and promote women's leadership in all spheres of society. The social responsibility program, which draws upon the history of the Tour and its players in fighting for equality, marks the high level of commitment by the Tour and players to raise awareness of gender equality issues and advance opportunities for women. It also represents the first time that UNESCO partnered with a professional sports league.

Multiple Grand Slam champion and former world No.1 Venus Williams volunteered to serve as the first Global Promoter of Gender Equality under the partnership. Tatiana Golovin also became an official promoter in May 2007, as did Zheng Jie, in September 2007. For more information on UNESCO, visit www.unesco.org. To make a donation to UNESCO's Gender Equality programs click here.