The previous editions of Women’s Worlds have solidified this Congress as one of the most important in the international context of the field of gender studies and the situation of women. As an academic event, the Congress has great strategic importance, but its impact transcends the field for various reasons. First, there is the centrality of its thematic, considered by many as one of the most important questions, or perhaps a question, above all others, of the twenty-first century world in which we live. Second, there is the breadth of subjects studied in this Congress, which are not only of an interdisciplinary nature but also include the interest of society in this crucial thematic. This subject is studied in conjunction with the academic contents of the Congress. Also, it is important to remember the role played until now by Mundos de Mujeres/Women’s Worlds in expanding and strengthening of international networks in gender studies. In all of these ways the Congress crosses the boundaries of the purely academic. Finally, the congress pays close attention to the analysis of the situation of women today as well as the on-going transformations affecting women’s lives.
The magnitude and excellence of the activities taking place at Mundos de Mujeres/Women’s Worlds 2008 show its strategic importance. This is the case with the important talks that will be given on the first day, the more than one hundred talks that will be given the over following days, and the close to two thousand eight hundred proposals received from all parts of the world. In order to find a place for such an immense amount of work, the structure of the Congress will be divided into three types of sessions: plenary, semi-plenary, and regular sessions. The plenary sessions are all scheduled on the first day, and will take place entirely in Madrid’s Palacio de Congresos, which is located in the heart of the heart of the city and is the work of a distinguished Spanish architect. The Palacio de Congresos will also play host to the event’s opening ceremony, to be attended by political and academic figures of the highest rank. The plenary sessions to follow will most definitely also have a great impact, not only on the Congress as a whole, but also in the Complutense University community, the city of Madrid, and the media.
The following day, July 5, the semi-plenary sessions will begin. The semi-plenary sessions will all take place in the mornings, on the Moncloa Campus of the Complutense University, located in Madrid’s Ciudad Universitaria. The variety of the topics to be dealt with, as well as the invitations extended by the Scientific Committees, has led to the inclusion of more than one hundred talks into the semi-plenary sessions. All will be given by persons of the greatest scientific, professional, and social renown, both on a national and international scale. These experts will share participation in individual semi-plenary sessions, numbering almost fifty, and the groupings were carried out so as to ensure the mutual interest of the topics addressed. In addition, an attempt has been made to encourage the richness of the discussions and the varieties of focuses, offering space for different voices and perspectives. In these morning sessions are also included talks suggested by some of the groups that have sponsored and participated in the organization of the Congress, and in some cases these groups have organized semi-plenary sessions on topics of great academic, political, and cultural importance.
The morning activities will doubtless enjoy a wealth of reflections and debates at a very high level. The afternoon regular sessions stand out for the sheer volume of interesting presentations. Accommodating all the participating speakers has required the design of more than four hundred different regular sessions, which will take place over four days, from July 5-8. The first three days will have three scheduled starting times for regular sessions. The last day, regular sessions will be reduced to two sessions, one of which will be switched to the morning schedule. On this day, July 8, special sessions will be held for the purpose of arriving at conclusions and an overall appraisal of the Congress, conducted by each of the thirteen scientific groups. The closing ceremony will also be held on this day. The proposals that will be presented in the regular sessions will not only be significant for their number, but also because of their diversity and quality. Among them will be oral presentations, panel discussions, round tables, workshops, performances, book presentations, poster presentations, etc. Proposals have been received from all over the world, a trend that has grown with the celebration of previous editions of this Congress. Their volume and quality show the strength of the ties made during the three years of the preparation of Mundos de Mujeres/Women’s Worlds 2008, as well as the interest awakened by this new edition of Congress in Madrid.
The great diversity of the proposals received has necessitated also the inclusion of a space specifically devoted to parallel meetings to complement the three types of sessions already mentioned. These encounters have been promoted by entities and groups of very different natures, a list of which can be found in the Congress programme. Each of these activities has its own structure and schedule, and no doubt their incorporation into the event will contribute to enhancing in a substantial way interest in this edition of Mundos de Mujeres/Women’s World 2008.
This Congress will also offer a rich cultural programme, coordinated by the directors of Mundos de Mujeres/Women’s World 2008, in collaboration with the Office of the Vice-Chancellor of Culture and Sport of the Complutense University. Sincere thanks are due to Vice-Chancellor’s Office and especially to the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Álvarez Junco, who is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Congress. Thanks to their efforts, a wide variety of initiatives have been included in the cultural programme, all of which have been prepared well in advance to ensure a warm welcome to Mundos de Mujeres/Women’s Worlds attendees. The programme, which revolves around the presence of in women in very diverse artistic and cultural expressions, is made up of musical performances of different types, and exhibitions – also of very different modalities, such as the plastic arts, presentations of associations, books, and artisans’ work – theatre, cinema, and sports. These initiatives combine an introduction to different artistic expressions of Spanish women and a look at the situation of women in our country with the chance to experience other expressions of a decidedly international character. All this will evoke the situation of women in very different contexts. Furthermore, many of these expressions will stand out for their mix of cultures and the transnational character of their content and identity, something that is the case with so many other realities of our time. Certainly all of these creative proposals, which we will be offering in Mundos de Mujeres/Women’s Worlds 2008, will contribute in a decisive way to enhancing the development of the Congress and to make this event an unforgettable occasion for all who attend.
