UCL: UCL launches ‘Stand with Hope’ campaign to advance the call for gender equality
The campaign is inspired by the display of ‘Hope the Lego Suffragette’ in the UCL Student Centre foyer from 14 February to 7 March 2022. It encourages UCL students, staff, alumni, and the public to take their photo with Hope, and share this on Twitter and Instagram alongside a message about why they #StandWithHope – outlining their vision for an equal world and the action needed to achieve this.
A life-size figure built from 32,327 Lego bricks, Hope was commissioned by UK Parliament in 2018 to help tell the story of women’s suffrage in the UK. Her display at UCL, and the accompanying exhibition from UCL Special Collections, aims to inspire reflection on the history of the suffrage movement, stimulate discussion on the gender inequalities that persist today, and create a space for conversations, untold stories and for UCL academics to share their research on gender inequalities.
UCL Vice-Provost (Research, Innovation & Global Engagement) (RIGE) Professor David Price said: “We’re excited to have been chosen to host Hope in the run up to International Women’s Day 2022. The Stand with Hope project exemplifies the collaborative spirit embodied not only within RIGE – as a UCL Grand Challenges, Public Policy and Library Services collaboration – but across the university and beyond. The project is a clear example of how crossing disciplines and boundaries is required to achieve solutions to societal inequalities.
“We look forward to sharing insights from the activities taking place during Hope’s time at UCL, which we hope will advance debate on gender equality, drive evidence-informed change, and inform decision-making.”
Several online events open to the UCL community and the public are taking place during Hope’s visit, including a panel discussion chaired by UCL’s Pro-Provost (Equity & Inclusion) Professor Sasha Roseneil on feminism and citizenship, a Lunch Hour Lecture on Covid-19 and gender inequalities from Dr Bożena Wielgoszewska (IOE), and a preview of the City of Women London map led by Dr Leah Lovett (the Bartlett).
UCL Pro-Provost (Equity & Inclusion) and Executive Dean of Social & Historical Sciences Professor Sasha Roseneil said: “I am delighted that ‘Hope’ will be visiting UCL from the House of Commons. Nearly a century after women were granted the vote on equal terms with men, the attainment of full and equal citizenship for all women remains an unfulfilled dream. ‘Hope’ reminds us of the optimistic, forward-thinking emotional investments that feminists have made in the long struggle for equality and inclusion, and, appearing alongside Jeremy Bentham in the Student Centre, this amazing Lego sculpture will perhaps provoke conversations about the inequalities between women and men that continue to exist today at UCL.”