Pics from the first International Day of the Girl

21st October 2012

Brilliant ethical entrepreneur Becky 'Pants' from Who Made Your Pants

Fashion blogger Reem Kanj from addictive Five Five Fabulous

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Why is International Day of the Girl important?

75 million girls around the world are out of school
Globally, 1 in 3 girls is denied a secondary education
Girls' primary school completion rates are below 50% in most poor countries
Every year, 10 million girls are forced or coerced into marriage
Every 3 seconds, another girl is forced or coerced to marry

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International Day of the Girl is incredibly important as it aims to push girls' education and rights to the top of the UN agenda and raise awareness globally. We're so lucky in this country to have access to education but for so many girls around the world this isn't the case. And this needs to change.

The launch for the first International Day of the Girl was pretty amazing. The day started off with a huge speed mentoring session in the London Eye pods. Groups of business women, journalists, bloggers and sporting heroines were teamed with school girls and given two rotations of the Eye to do speedy mentoring sessions. The mentors then gathered in the Festival Hall for a chance to meet each other and hear presentations by speakers such as Sarah Brown.

From PlanUK website:

"Award-winning designers, artists, actors, film directors and athletes are among an array of women involved in speed mentoring 180 schoolgirls on the Eye.

October 11 was adopted a global Day of the Girl by the UN following a Plan-backed campaign led by young activists from some of the world’s poorest communities. The day kicks off with speed mentoring, then the girls will go to Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall for a programme of debates, talks, performances and workshops focused on the choices girls face in all areas of their lives, both in this country and abroad. There will be sessions on education and careers, confidence and positive self-image, relationships, family and friends and empowerment to change the world for girls, with speakers from Malawi, Pakistan and Sierra Leone and live performances from some of the UK’s most exciting young female performers.

Plan and Southbank Centre hope WOW Girls and the Day of the Girl will help draw attention to poverty and discrimination issues faced by millions of the world’s poorest young women. Speaking ahead of the event Marie Staunton Plan’s UK chief executive said: “We are privileged to be collaborating with Southbank Centre on this special event. WOW Girls presents an opportunity to celebrate young women’s accomplishments and highlight the unique challenges encountered by many. One in three girls around the world is denied an education by the daily realities of poverty, discrimination and violence. Every day, young girls are missing from school, forced into marriage and put to work against their will – not only is this unjust, it’s a huge waste of potential.”

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