WASHINGTON, D.C. (Sept. 30, 2020) — Girl Up, the gender equality youth initiative of the United Nations Foundation, is celebrating a decade of advocating for young women across the world. Since its start in 2010, Girl Up has trained more than 195,000 girls globally to become leaders, advocates and activists for gender equality in education, sports, STEM for social good and the elimination of gender-based violence.
“Girls don’t join Girl Up to become leaders; they join because they want to make the world a better place for every girl, everywhere, and they become leaders in the process,” said Melissa Kilby, Executive Director of Girl Up and 2020 Fortune 40 Under 40 recipient. “I’m so proud of what our girls have accomplished, and I look forward to seeing the impact they will make over the next 10 years.”
In honor of this milestone anniversary, Girl Up launched the Girls Equal Change campaign featuring Club member and alumnae stories to highlight the organization’s key accomplishments and fundraise for Girl Up Club members’ future initiatives. Internationally-renowned photographer and Girl Up Champion, Nigel Barker, has joined the campaign to conduct photoshoots and provide creative direction. To fund new programs and bolster the progress toward its mission of driving social change and achieving gender equality, the organization set a goal to raise $200,000 as a part of the campaign.
Over the past 10 years, Girl Up’s platform and resources enabled girls to start a movement wherever they are – galvanizing young leaders as a force for social good, united by the common goal of achieving equal rights, access and opportunities for every girl. The notable achievements of Girl Up leaders include:
- 500,000+ advocacy actions taken
- $11 million raised for UN programs for girls’ education, health and safety
- Two U.S. bills signed into law protecting refugee girls’ access to education and demanding girls’ right to be counted at birth
- Global virtual and in-person Leadership Summits that have brought together more than 30,000 girls around the world
- Thousands of local girl-led movements for gender equality and other social issues utilizing Girl Up’s leadership development training
Girl Up has supported more than 6,300 Clubs in 152 countries around the world with a network of one million supporters, including celebrities like Cara Delevingne, Monique Coleman, Yara Shahidi, and leaders like Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton and Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. Over its tenure, the organization has partnered with corporations including Disney, WWE and Caterpillar.
To learn more about Girl Up, visit GirlUp.org. To support initiatives through donation, visit GirlUp.org/10years.
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About Girl Up
Girl Up is a global leadership development initiative, positioning girls to be leaders in the movement for gender equality. With resources in six languages and 4,000 Girl Up Clubs in more than 152 countries, we’ve trained 195,000 girls of all backgrounds to create tangible change for girls everywhere.
Girl Up provides leadership training and gives girls the tools to become gender equality advocates and activists. Through our programs, girls broaden their social impact skill set, benefit from a platform to tell their stories, and apply STEM for social good. Our girl leaders create real policy change at local and national levels, help raise millions of dollars to support United Nations programs that reach tens of thousands of girls around the world, and build community-based movements.
Girl Up was founded by the United Nations Foundation in 2010 and continues to work across a global community of partners to achieve gender equality worldwide.
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