A Global Girl believes in her voice and the
power of her story to change the world.
power of her story to change the world.
Global Girl Media is a powerful new non-profit organization whose mission is to nurture the voice and visions of young girls in under-served communities and developing nations, training them as citizen broadcast journalists to speak out about the issues that affect them most. The notion that anyone anywhere can access the world through media is becoming a reality, yet for most people in Africa and other developing countries, a rather slow process. While the internet and emerging technologies offer unprecedented opportunities for organizing and activism, the fact remains that this media is only open to those who have access, leaving many youth, especially girls falling hard into the “digital divide.” Media and the production of media feels like a world away to most young women (the number of working professional female film/video directors on the entire African continent is less than 10).
Global Girl Media (GGM) seeks to address this disparity by supplying the equipment, education and support necessary to help young women create content that authentically reflects their lives and communities. However, GGM does more than give girls the skills they need to create original media, we make sure it’s seen. Our cutting-edge interactive website is a place where girls can upload their videos and watch videos submitted by girls all around the world.
Global Girl Media’s pilot project, KICK IT UP! is launching in June, 2010 and we need your help! Our goal is to train 20 girls in the historic township of Soweto, South Africa to cover the FIFA World Cup, held for the first time on the African Continent. Many consider the World Cup to be a male-centered event, but we know better! The Global Girls in Soweto will produce unique videos and new media content for digital upload and distribution on the web, which can then be shared with the worldwide broadcast community. Spearheaded by our fabulous celebrity spokesperson, Julie Foudy (former US Women's Soccer Team Capt. and two-time gold medalist, she is now a sportscaster for ESPN), the girls will be mentored by Julie and granted full access to all FIFA events.In addition, we will be working with several girls’ organizations in Los Angeles, where Global Girl Media is based, to develop peer-to-peer communication during the World Cup, encouraging girls to connect, blog, upload and share video about their favorite teams, players, their relationship to sports, and specific personal struggles and goals.
Research clearly shows, that both sport and media can become effective agents for self-empowerment, team-building and social change. This is what Global Girl Media is all about. By connecting girls around the world through social media, a powerful cross-cultural connection can be developed that has a far-reaching effect, changing lives, communities, fostering Girl Media is also working with many strategic partners, both in South Africa and the United States to develop the program and get the work the girls’ produce the broadest exposure possible.
If you are another non-profit, website, high school club, sports club or like-minded individual that understands the power of girls and media, please give us a call, visit our website or ning site, and lets all celebrate the voices of young women the world over.
As Nick Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn wrote in their landmark book, Half the Sky, “Changing the lives of women and girls in the developing world can change everything. The world is awakening to a powerful truth. Women and girls aren't the problem; they're the solution.”
