While we would work β and I realized we would have to work very hard to reach and mobilize ONE BILLION β the phrase itself held incredible meaning for me, representing the women and girls I had met in the past 15 years and the countless women I would never meet but whose stories I knew intimately because of the violence they had encountered. It was my new mantra. By just saying it, inviting people to say it and understand it, we were accomplishing a key goal of the campaign β showing the world how central the issue of violence against women and girls was by showing them how many women had been affected.
Eve felt strongly that if we could pull this off, the issue of violence against women and girls would never be marginalized again. V-Day prides itself on accomplishing a lot with a small core team, and an army of volunteers.
We immediately knew that we would need to expand our team with activists who were passionate and could work fast, at V-speed as we say internally. We started by contacting our superstar activists, and immediately engaged 10 coordinators in key regions including the United States, Central and South America, UK, Europe, Africa, Asia. Eve recognized that rural women, unions, and workers had to be the core of the campaign. Digital and online would be a centerpiece of the campaign, as it has always been for V-Day.
We engaged a digital strategy firm. CNN and Associated Press immediately supported us when we decided to announce officially the campaign on February 14, with Eve in Sydney, Australia and Los Angeles on the same day due to the international date line something our team would come to know intimately.
She did interviews in Sydney before getting on the plane and immediately upon landing in Los Angeles. A truly global launch. Within two weeks, activists in over countries had signed up for One Billion Rising. Activists loved the idea, and immediately understood that One Billion Rising could lift up their current work, not take away from it. The global platform would make each voice, each organization more visible.
