Welcome to the Inspiring Girls Blog!
by Vicky Booth
Welcome to the brand new shiny Inspiring Girls International blog!
As the CEO of Inspiring Girls International, I’m delighted to have this opportunity to connect with our supporters in this way. As we go into the new year, I wanted to take the chance to reflect on some of the challenges and the achievements for the global charity over the past 12 months, as well as some exciting tasters of what we have planned in 2021. We all need a bit of optimism to inject into this rather gloomy January….
Of course, the pandemic has brought unimaginable challenges for the entire world, and has affected all our lives in different ways. Young people have faced specific challenges - including widespread school closures, isolation from their peers, cancelled exams, and anxiety about the future job market. Research by the Princes Trust in 2020 found that 55% of young people say the coronavirus crisis has made them fearful for their future - with 46% saying that thinking about their own future makes them feel ‘hopeless’. Sadly we also know that the aspirations of teenage girls are further affected by gender stereotypes, bias and lack of confidence - so it is clear that our charity has vital work to do to keep girls envisioning bright futures for themselves, whatever path they choose to take.
Our work connecting young women with role models has a proven positive impact, and research published last year showed that participating in Inspiring Girls sessions builds their self-confidence and boosts expectations of their own success. Inspiring Girls country teams understood how important it is to maintain these vital connections over the past year - despite all the challenges, they managed to reach over 24,000 girls via online and in-person events and activities. The online Video Hub resource has also been used extensively during lockdowns and is now available in six languages, fulfilling our mission that any girl anywhere in the world can access the career stories of amazing women.
As well as supporting our existing network, we were also delighted to welcome new country teams in France, Venezuela, USA, Turkey and Uruguay. This means that we are now active across 20 countries, and our network continues to grow in strength and size thanks to our exceptional Country Chairs. Last year we worked together with our network of Country Chairs to launch our first Young Ambassadors Network, made up of 11 fabulous young women aged 11-16 from France, Chile, Morocco, Spain, Italy, Panama, Brazil, Costa Rica, Serbia, Hong Kong and Colombia. They will play a key role in advocating on behalf of the charity and ensuring that the voices of girls remain at the heart of our work - we can’t wait to see what they will do!
We have also been touched by the levels of support and interest in the charity from across the world. In December, we ran our first ever crowdfunding campaign, raising over £5000. We also welcomed two new global partners, Cacharel and BBVA, to the organisation and we are really excited about working with them on a number of new innovative projects to reach girls in 2021. Watch this space for more details!
As we move forward into 2021, we’re feeling really positive and excited about what we can achieve together to inspire and support girls. If you don’t already, please follow our social media channels to get further updates, including ‘spotlights’ on our work in particular countries, blogs and videos from our Young Ambassadors, case studies about our work, interviews with amazing women role models, and information about fantastic events and activities that we have planned for the coming year.
Thank you so much for all your interest and support for Inspiring Girls - and don’t forget to follow us @inspiringgirlsint
