Commemorating “International Women’s Day”
In the frame of “The Month of Francophonie” and commemorating “International Women’s Day”, the Embassy of Kosovo hosted on March 9th an evening of music, cinema, and cuisine at the Peninsula Hotel.
The audience was first delighted by an elegant welcome tea and conversation, followed by a piano recital with the works of French, Kosovar and Thai composers interpreted by the ten year old Thai prodigy Maria Ramida Montivalai (Maki). The ladies then watched “Hive”, a triple Sundance award winning and Kosovo’s Academy Awards submission. The movie is based on a true story and depicts the struggle of a community of widows in post-war Kosovo who, after waiting in vain for years for their missing husbands to reappear, band together to launch a business, against the men’s prejudices and without losing their virtue.
In the words of H.E. Ulpiana Lama, Chargé d’Affaires a.i, “We women, have everything to lose from war and everything to gain from peace. Let peace be the 2022 theme. Peace, this often underrated concept, cannot be taken for granted. Every wish we make should start with the call for peace. Today is an extension of March 8th, the International Women’s Day. A reminder of how much we can still achieve by leaning on each other.”
The event was attended by the Ambassador of Belgium – Sibille de Cartier, the Ambassador of Canada – Sarah Taylor, diplomats from Switzerland, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Maldives, Singapore, Morocco and others; representatives of major cultural and educational hubs such as “Alliance Française”, “River City Bangkok”, RBSO, academics, journalists, activists, and prominent expatsin Thailand.
H.E. Ulpiana Lama finally treated her guests with ‘Ajvar’, a Kosovo pepper relish that features extensively in the film and made by the Chargé d’Affaires herself, a diplomat of passion and commitment, a soirée of energy and enjoyment.
