Today, October 11, the women of SI Huntington Beach celebrate the International Day of Girls.
International Day of Girls is an international observance day declared by the United Nations. Also called the Day of Girls and the International Day of Girls, October 11, 2012, was the first Day of Girls.
The women of Soroptimist International of Huntington Beach empower girls by participating in Dream It, Be It: Career Support for Girls, one of the two Soroptimist International of the Americas signature programs. Dream It, Be It, a mentorship program, equips girls with the knowledge to reach their education and career goals. As a result, girls between the ages of 14 and 18 are better able to shape their futures with more self-confidence.
Did you know that millions of girls around the globe are being denied access to education? Without an education, girls are more susceptible to sex trafficking, living in poverty and entering into and remaining in abusive relationships.
The observation of the International Day of Girls increases awareness of gender inequality faced by girls worldwide based alone on their gender, something that all of the women who are members of Soroptimist International strive to eliminate.
The celebration of the day also “reflects the successful emergence of girls and young women as a distinct cohort in development policy, programming, campaigning and research.” (source: Wikipedia)
History
“The International Day of Girls initiative began as a project of Plan International, a non-governmental organization that operates worldwide.[11] The idea for an international day of observance and celebration grew out of Plan International’s Because I Am a Girl campaign, which raises awareness of the importance of nurturing Girls globally and in developing countries in particular. Plan International representatives in Canada approached the Canadian federal government to seek to the coalition of supporters raised awareness of the initiative internationally. Eventually, Plan International urged the United Nations to become involved.[12]
International Day of Girls was formally proposed as a resolution by Canada in the United Nations General Assembly. Rona Ambrose, Canada’s Minister for the Status of Women, sponsored the resolution; a delegation of women and Girls made presentations in support of the initiative at the 55th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. On December 19, 2011, the United Nations General Assembly voted to pass a resolution adopting October 11, 2012 as the inaugural International Day of Girls.[13] The resolution states that the Day of Girls recognizes:
(the) empowerment of and investment in girls, which are critical for economic growth, the achievement of all Millennium Development Goals, including the eradication of poverty and extreme poverty, as well as the meaningful participation of girls in decisions that affect them, are key in breaking the cycle of discrimination and violence and in promoting and protecting the full and effective enjoyment of their human rights, and recognizing also that empowering girls requires their active participation in decision-making processes and the active support and engagement of their parents, legal guardians, families and care providers, as well as boys and men and the wider community […]
Each year’s Day of Girls has a theme; the first was “ending child marriage”,]the second, in 2013, was “innovating for girl’s education”, the third, in 2014, was “Empowering Adolescent Girls: Ending the Cycle of Violence.”]and the fourth, in 2015 was “The Power of Adolescent Girl: Vision for 2030”. The 2016 theme was “Girls’ Progress = Goals’ Progress: What Counts for Girls.”[5] The 2017 theme was “EmPOWER Girls: Before, during and after crises”.
By 2013, worldwide, there were around 2,043 events for Day of Girls.] Theme for 2018: ‘With Her: A Skilled Girl Force'” (source: Wikipedia).
