Nollywood meets Hollywood: Stephanie Okereke shares the stage with Meryl Streep in New York!

Stephanie Okereke will feature in the March 12th opening night play of Seven in New York, as part of a 3-day summit. The three-day summit titled “Women in the World: Stories and Solutions”  co-hosted by The Daily Beast, Vital Voices Global Partnership, Diane von Furstenberg, and the UN Foundation will be attended by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton among others.

The three-day Women in the World summit will bring together an extraordinary group of 300 global leaders from government, media, social activism, business, and the arts. Topics will include human trafficking and modern slavery, the rise of rape as a tool of war, the ways new technologies can help empower women financially, and how traditions can be toppled in cultures that devalue women.

Stephanie is one of the seven acclaimed actresses that will dramatize the issues highlighted in the play. Meryl Streep heads the line-up, and other world actresses include  Marcia Gay Harden, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Archie Panjabi, Julyana Soelistyo and Lauren Vélez. The reading is directed by celebrated Broadway director Julie Taymor in an evening made possible by HP.

Secretary Clinton will introduce an exclusive one-night reading at the Hudson Theatre of SEVEN, the documentary play created for Vital Voices Global Partnership to honor the courage of brave female activists from Afghanistan, Cambodia, Guatemala, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Pakistan, and Russia. SEVEN is a collaboration by playwrights Paula Cizmar, Catherine Filloux, Gail Kriegel, Carol K. Mack, Ruth Margraff, Anna Deavere Smith, and Susan Yankowitz.

“The play powerfully portrays the transformative way that seven courageous women have changed their societies for the better – from peace-building, to fighting corruption to combating violence against women.”- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

“The most powerful thing about SEVEN is that it gets to the heart of some of the most critical issues facing our world today. It reminds us of the power of the human spirit to rise up when faced with adversity and as we rise…it reminds us that we have a responsibility to bring others along with us.”- Alyse Nelson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Vital Voices Global Partnership.

Well what do we say but “Kudos to Stephanie Okereke!” Not only does this further Nigeria’s visibility on the world stage, but it’s another respresentation that entertainment is a great tool to educate and mobilize people into thinking about critical world issues and devise solutions to various problems. More grease to your elbows Stephanie! Hopefully more Nollywood actors and Nigerians in general will emulate her and use their talents and popularity to really be of contribution to this world.

Tags: Stephanie Okereke