You already know that Kent Place is hosting a 5k and festival fundraiser for BlinkNow in honor of International Day of the Girl, but what is this internationally-celebrated holiday really about?
First celebrated on October 11, 2012, the International Day of the Girl Child (International Day of the Girl, or IDG) was created by the United Nations (UN) “to recognize girls’ rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world.” IDG was established on December 19, 2011, in the UN’s Resolution 66/170 and was meant to correlate with the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Because girls are the most affected population in times of crisis, the UN designated this day to “commit to investing in skills training and education for girls and livelihood activities for young women around the world who are facing crises. Far from being passive recipients of assistance, these girls are leaders who will use the skills that they develop today to rebuild their communities, and create a better future for all of us.”
In an effort to aid displaced girls worldwide, UN Women reports that they used their Global Flagship Initiative to help young women enduring crises and that they established Women’s Leadership, Empowerment, Access, and Protection in Crisis Response (LEAP), a year-long initiative that gave girls around the world resources they need to create new futures for themselves. LEAP also created Empowerment Hubs, which trained women for jobs, helped them obtain job interviews, and created spaces for them to network with each other. LEAP mainly worked in developing countries to aid girls in at-risk environments, such as those with sexual violence, child marriage, and a lack of schooling for girls. Other hubs have been created with the goal of helping to achieve gender equality, and UN Women hopes that their actions will continue to empower young women worldwide.