SANTA ANA, Calif. (PRWEB) December 16, 2019
Global G.L.O.W. (Girls Leading Our World), an international nonprofit dedicated to empowering girls to self-advocate and strengthen their communities, held its inaugural GirlSolve event on November 15th. Over 40 girls ages 14 to 18 from countries including Afghanistan, Kenya, Nigeria, Nepal, Haiti and the United States convened to collaboratively discuss how to overcome barriers to economic opportunity in their communities through the lens of entrepreneurship and advocacy.
The two-hour virtual panel event featured presentations from and a Q&A with female leaders from organizations including Global Mamas, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering financial well-being, happiness, and health for Ghanaian women and their families; Hot Bread Kitchen, a New York City-based social enterprise creating economic opportunities through its incubator program for food businesses and its flagship training program for women with barriers to employment; and Uganda-based Art of a Child, an organization that has partnered with Global G.L.O.W. to empower girls to enact their own community-based project to address barriers to education.
“Data shows that girls around the world face unique barriers to participating in their local economy and the broader global economy, inhibiting their ability to overcome poverty,” said Crystal Sprague, Executive Director of Global G.L.O.W. “In holding our inaugural GirlSolve event, Global G.L.O.W. aims to give young women the tools to face these economic challenges head on by collaborating with female leaders already on the ground and succeeding in their initiatives. It is our hope to continue to convene these opportunities as part of our larger programmatic work in the economic opportunity space, and we are thankful to our many partners for helping to bring this inspiring event to life.”
The GirlSolve participants were comprised of girls enrolled in Global G.L.O.W. programs with partner organizations including Aschiana Foundation in Afghanistan, Cara House in Kenya, Nigeria Reads in Nigeria, Rukmini Foundation in Nepal, TOYA Foundation in Haiti and Bronx Academy of Letters and Detroit International Academy for Young Women in the United States. After hearing compelling panel presentations touching on the issues of access to education, grassroots advocacy, financial wellbeing, technology and health, the forum opened up to the young women participants who asked questions, shared their local perspectives on the issues facing their communities and collaboratively discussed how to address their respective challenges and what successes they have had thus far. The participants were particularly inspired by the panel presentation of their peers, 14 year-old Patience Nakintu and 13-year-old Kashish Khan, who are working with Art of a Child and Global G.L.O.W. to provide access to menstrual supplies to combat school dropout in their Ugandan community. The GirlSolve participants left the event energized and eager to take their learnings back to their communities.
Panelists discussed a range of issues, including lessons learned from their specific initiatives and organizations, the need for young women to enter the technology space and taking actionable steps to make change. Insights and quotes from the panelists included:
“Be solution-minded. Ask tough questions and be willing to brainstorm to find solutions,” said Alice Grau, Creative Director of Global Mamas. “Then, take the steps to start enacting them. Connect with people and organizations in your community who have resources you don't.”
“Read a lot, especially books and memoirs about women. It could spark an idea or give you the motivation and confidence you need to move forward,” said Naseem Kapdi, Former Training Manager & Lead Instructor at Hot Bread Kitchen. “There is a lot of anxiety around technology and automation stealing jobs. Go and learn the technology. Someone needs to manage it and right now it’s mostly men.”
“Education is not only for boys. All of us need to be educated,” said Kashish Khan, GirlSolve panelist and participant in Global G.L.O.W.’s programming with Art of a Child in Uganda.
A video detailing the participants’ thoughts on economic opportunity in their respective communities is available at: http://bit.ly/GirlSolve.
For media inquiries regarding Global G.L.O.W., please contact Kaitlin Stewart Hollander at (212) 337-8870 or kaitlin@thetascgroup.com.
About Global G.L.O.W.
Global G.L.O.W. (Global Girls Leading Our World) is a 501(c)(3) organization working to accelerate girls’ greatness today so that they can build a better tomorrow. Founded in 2012 and operating in 23 countries, Global G.L.O.W. empowers young women and girls worldwide to self-advocate, strengthening themselves and their communities. Through its innovative girl-led model, Global G.L.O.W. works collaboratively with girls and communities to develop unique programs that address the most critical barriers affecting girls globally. Global G.L.O.W. incubates, operates and accelerates programming across the impact areas of educational attainment, self-advocacy, community impact, health and well-being and economic opportunity. Working alongside grassroots organizations, key global stakeholders, NGOs and educational institutions, Global G.L.O.W. activates girl-driven change through its programming and partnerships. For more information, visit http://www.globalgirlsglow.org or follow Global G.L.O.W. at https://www.facebook.com/globalgirlsglow/, https://twitter.com/GlobalGirlsGLOW/ and https://www.instagram.com/global_glow/.