International Day of the Girl is celebrated every October 11th. This year, Status of Women Canada has announced a Day of the Girl theme of “Claim Your Place,” with the idea that girls of all ages are creating so much amazing change in their communities that they should be recognized for their efforts.
At the Women’s Centre, our programs for girls are all about creating change – in how we look at issues girls experience, how girls are expected to relate to each other, and how society supports girls to live full, complete and equal lives. Girls take on this work themselves, building their critical thinking skills, providing peer support to each other, suggesting issues they want to focus on, and taking on activism projects that address the things they care about.
We run three separate programs for girls at the Centre: Girl Power for girls in grades 5 and 6; Girl Force for girls in grades 7-9; and Girl Up for girls in grades 10-12. They’ve led multiple projects throughout the past year, including: leading a Girls’ Walking Tour of Bridgeland; launching a blog about the representation of girls and women in their school curriculum; running a bake and lemonade sale to raise money for Awo Taan Healing Lodge; hosting an art show to share both a “What Could the World Look Like?” photo project, an art project about stereotypes; and creating a banner to support the Sisters in Spirit vigil and march.
On this Day of the Girl, we want to recognize all the girls in our programs for their passion, dedication, creativity and vision for a better world. You are not just leaders of the future – you are leaders now! Thank you for inspiring us every day.
Know a girl who needs to be recognized for being great? Tweet, Facebook, or Instagram about her using the hashtag #ClaimYourPlace