A Milestone Event to Promote Global Gender Equality featuring Secretary Hillary Clinton, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, Melinda Gates and More
On the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of the historic Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, Empire served as producer of a major event at New York's Manhattan Center to advance the global movement on women’s rights and gender equality.
Presented by UN Women and the United Nations Foundation, the evening was attended by over 2000 VIPs and featured participation by many global leaders including Secretary Hillary Clinton, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, Melinda Gates, and many others.
The evening began with red carpet arrivals and a reception featuring installations by all female contemporary visual artists such as Swoon, Kara Walker, AM-NYC, Marilyn Minter, Olek and Ayana Jackson.
Once guests were seated, a powerhouse program of speakers galvanized the room. New York’s WABC news anchor Sade Baderinwa was the emcee for the evening and introduced a series of impactful appearances and speeches. Presenters included Mayor Bill De Blasio, Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, UN Women Executive Director, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Melinda Gates, Transgender Rights Activist Geena Rocerro, and Academy Award winning Actress, Patricia Arquette who reinforced the importance of a gender equal society and immediate action.
“Twenty years ago, declaring that women’s rights are human rights was considered ground-breaking – thankfully it’s now routine,” said former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. “I see a future where we unlock the vast potential for women. To realize this vision we’ll have to step it up – step up our commitment to finishing this, the great unfinished business of the 21st century.”
After the program and call to action, followed a series of high-energy musical performances by UN Women Goodwill Ambassador Farhan Aktar from India, Grammy nominated artists, Les Nubians, Melanie Fiona and Jill Scott. Musical performances were backed by an extraordinary live band led by Musical Director Onree Gill.
A confetti blast in United Nations colors of blue and white marked the finalé of the celebration as the women gathered onstage to sing “I’m Every Woman,” together in unity.
Guests received their first taste of technological innovation at registration, where they were welcomed by name on a reactive LED screen installation covering the full width of the entry wall. A large lunch café was created with a décor scheme that incorporated custom-built, ceiling-high steel LED frames draped with foliage to create smaller, intimate restaurant-style spaces that displayed both technology and nature.
A series of breakout sessions presented content targeted to attendees’ varied interests, while imagery displayed throughout the venue showcased real-life applications of how products designed to empower developers help to unleash the power of data and reimagine possibilities that will improve our world.
Every element of Microsoft Connect(); from registration, breakfast and keynote, to lunch and evening cocktails, were custom-designed to communicate exacting brand messaging and to deliver a high-touch guest experience to this important audience. The keynote and breakout sessions were livestreamed through an onsite studio built for this purpose and content was watched online by millions around the world.
Empire is proud to collaborate with Microsoft on this annual, top-tier business communication event.
To view excerpts of Connect(); 2017, please visit https://www.microsoft.com/connectevent
