Thursday, October 11, 2018, was the International Day of the Girl. Michelle Obama, our former first lady, chose that specific day to announce on NBC’s “Today” show that the Obama Foundation was proud and thrilled to launch the Global Girls Alliance. That is a program to use education to empower adolescent girls all around the world.
The goal of the Alliance is to support over 1,500 grassroots organizations that combat the many challenges that girls encounter in their communities, stress the strategies needed to overcome those challenges, and clear away the hurdles that many girls face. Featured will be fundraising to inspire and accomplish the efforts and to drive public awareness to encourage involvement and action.
Created has been an online network that connects leaders so they can share ideas, resources, and best practices. In addition, GoFundMe has launched the Global Girls Alliance Fund that will directly support leaders who work on education for girls.
Over 98 million adolescent girls worldwide do not go to school, and this new program will offer ways for the public to support its mission. When girls have gone to school, families become stronger, poverty in the community goes down, GDPs go up, babies are born healthier, and the whole world gets better.
October 11 has been designated as the International Day of the Girl since 2012. António Guterre, the UN Secretary-General, said that we should recommit to the support of every girl in developing her skills, be able to enter the workforce on equal terms, expand her learning opportunities and new pathways, and be able to reach her full potential and empowerment.
Girls of today are being faced with preparing to enter a work world that is being transformed by automation and innovation that make skilled workers in great demand. However, approximately 25 percent of young people, mostly female, are presently not employed nor in training or education. Of the 600 million adolescent girls, out of the existing one billion young people who will enter the workforce in the coming decade, over 90 percent living in developing countries will be employed in the sector where no or low pay and exploitation are all too common.
The Alliance has marked the beginning of a year-long effort to bring together advocates who will draw attention and investment to the opportunities for girls to attain the necessary skills to adequately prepare them for a successful transition into the work world.