Congratulations

On behalf of the Seviqc festival, I congratulate all women on your important holiday. The holiday was also created in memory of all the women (there were more than 140 of them) who died in the fire at the Triangle Factory in New York in 1911. March 8 was later chosen because on this day in 1857, women employed in the textile industry in New York went on strike for the first time.

On this day, we celebrate economic, political and social equality and the achievements of women. Among other things, I am involved in the educational system, where I can see the great and decisive importance of women in raising children. I am also involved in broader European and global developments in the field of early music. I am pleased to note that in the field of early music, there is a strong equality of both sexes among performers. In the Seviqc programme 1997-2024 (and we have never selected this by gender, but exclusively by the quality and innovation of the proposals), 50.34% of performers are female, if we count by persons, and 51.63%, if we count by performances. In the Seviqc 2025 programme, 50.0% of performers are female, and 50.0% by performances. At REMA (Réseau Européen de Musique Ancienne), both executive secretaries are women, a woman is also the president, and there are three women on the five-member executive board. My grandmother Albina Zalar, Lt. Ramovš, was proud to be the first female professor at the Ljubljana Lyceum.

The initiative to celebrate March 8 was given by the German feminist and socialist Klara Zetkin, born Eissner (1857-1933). Zetkin began fighting for women's equality in 1889. She gave the initiative for a day dedicated to women at the 2nd International Conference of Socialist Women in 1910. The first Women's Day (at that time not yet international) was celebrated in the USA on February 28, 1909, when it was proclaimed by the Socialist Party of America. The international holiday was first celebrated in 1911 in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Denmark. At that time, March 19 was still considered a holiday for all women. International Women's Day has been celebrated on March 8 since 1917 (partially taken from www.rtvslo.si and www.sviz.si).

Greetings to you all
Klemen Ramovš