On 12 February a kickoff event of the150th birth anniversary of Marjory Scott Wardrop was held at the Bodleian Library in Oxford. The launch event was initiated by the Embassy of Georgia to the UK and generously supported by the Marjory Wardrop Fund and the Bodleian Library. 150th birth anniversary of Marjory Wardrop is celebrated throughout 2019 in association with UNESCO, mainly in Georgia and the United Kingdom.
Ambassador of Georgia Tamar Beruchashvili opened the event and elaborated on Marjory Wardrop’s role and importance in a broader context of Georgia-UK relations.
An extensive talk on the legacy of Marjory Wardrop was given by Dr Gillian Evison, Head of the Marjory Wardrop Fund and Bodleian Libraries’ Keeper of Oriental Collections. She stressed the fact that there is an increasing interest towards the Collection among modern scholars which produces more academic research. Dr Evison also read abstracts from Wardrops’ letters, which besides Marjory’s love and interest in Georgia, also showed her aspiration towards progressive ideas and change in general.
The launch of the Marjory Wardrop’s UNESCO anniversary year in the UK coincided with the exhibition in Weston Library’s Gallery ‘Sappho to Suffrage: women who dared’ showcasing some of the Bodleian's most remarkable and treasured items about women, including Marjory Wardrop, who had the big impact on political, cultural and social environments of their times.
After conclusion of the official part of the launch event the audience was invited to view the exhibition and leave notes in a special guests’ book.