#9 The World Needs New Leaders

This month, Girl Up hosted its 12th annual Global Leadership Summit. It was a powerful two days filled with virtual inspiration and activism. Girl Up leaders and global experts, role models and fearless changemakers all sharing their ideas, their plans, their purpose, and their heart. The theme of all these conversations – “We’re Not Waiting: Change is Now” – was a battle cry across thousands of connected devices around the world.

The last few months, the last few years, and – for many people – for all of history, we have faced one global setback and one global crisis after another. Today, so much of our world is in crisis.

New generations of leaders stand shoulder to shoulder with the previous generations as we face an unprecedented moment of intersecting crises – receding human and gender rights, a global pandemic, the climate crisis, wide-spread violence, deepening inequalities, and widening ideological divisions. For girls, these compound in uniquely devastating ways.

Around the world, girls and women are fighting to hold on to, or get back, the fundamental human right to make decisions about their own bodies. Anxiety, depression, fear, isolation, and discrimination compound the global pressures young people are forced to bear today. Young people are still recovering from the toll of the global pandemic – navigating setbacks in education, professional gains, and in personal safety. Women and girls continue to be disproportionately impacted by terrorism, systemic racism, gun violence, harmful traditional practices, war, and violent conflict.

At the Summit, we heard from almost a hundred Girl Up leaders across our global community, and as they shared space and platforms with influential leaders like Tarana Burke and Reshma Saujani, traded ideas with role models like Candace Parker, Karamo, and Chloe Zhao, our community reminded me once again that the future is the answer to our present circumstances.

As a testament to this, we heard from Girl Up alumni who started their leadership journey as Girl Up was just getting started, alums who are now out in the workforce, leading in different ways, and demonstrating the power of the Girl Up movement. Here are a few insights from just one of these conversations:

“I’m not a bystander. Girl Up gave me confidence to use my voice when I see something that needs to be addressed,” Sarah Gulley, New Zealand.

“I don’t know if I would have had the vision to start a company that helps women if not for Girl Up,” shared Priyanka Jain, USA.

“I’m on a path to follow my passions to a career I didn’t know was possible before Girl Up,” said Lamya Butt, UAE.

“I’m still fighting so our daughters aren’t the ‘only ones’ in the room when they arrive,” shared Gloria Samen, USA.

All four of these incredible young adults pointed to the platform, the trust, and the community they accessed and the confidence they built through their experience with Girl Up. They’ve shown me that the leaders we need for a more compassionate, more peaceful, more sustainable world are already here.

That’s why Girl Up develops transformative leaders who advance gender justice worldwide. We provide youth-centered, evidence-based programming to change the face of leadership for generations to come. We power a force for social good that advocates for policy change to expand and protect girls’ rights. We connect youth-led clubs, affiliates, and partners to advance a wider spread impact.

Our Leadership Course is the foundation of our programming, based on our unique evidence-based Leadership Framework centered around becoming Leaders of Self, Leaders of Peers, and Leaders of Change. The course is the first of its kind: growth-mindset-based, free, and accessible online. Our Girls Leadership Index measures the transformational growth and impact of our leaders around the world to better inform our evolving programming and equip learners with the skills, tools, and resources they need as social changemakers.

These leaders are advancing advocacy across intersectional issues including education, reproductive health, violence prevention, climate change, mental health and well-being, and closing the gender gap in STEM, sports, pay and leadership. We strengthen and train leaders’ skills in organizing, community building, advocacy, fundraising, service, and storytelling to position girls to lead with greater impact.

In 12 years, Girl Up has proven the power of investing in youth leaders. Welcoming all gender identities across 130 countries in 6,000 Girl Up Clubs, we’ve engaged 150,000 youth leaders who are boldly and thoughtfully creating social change worldwide.

Since 2020 itself, the Girl Up community has grown more than 120%. As an organization, we are working to meet our exponential organic growth, build platforms, reach a more diverse audience, launch national affiliates, and strengthen resources to maximize the potential of our girl leaders. Young people are rising and Girl Up is poised to meet them in this moment.

Girl Up envisions a more equitable and just world for girls and women, which benefits all people. We are on the cusp of a new generation moving into positions of influence, working to address these global crises, and creating a better future for everyone. Now more than ever, we are committed to seeing our vision realized. By 2030, we will mobilize ONE MILLION Girl Up leaders around the world, scaling the impact of the incredible change and inspiration we’ve already seen from this community.

As Girl Up takes steps to make this vision an actionable reality, our global affiliate partner network will realize decentralized leadership with community-led movements with at least 20 affiliate partners by 2030; will channel the impact of local leadership to tackle issues sustainably through community collaboration; will provide direct youth engagement and support country by country. Our Global HQ will amplify the work of girl leaders around the world through, develop best in class programming and resources, convene our dynamic digital community of girls, advance gender justice through global advocacy, build and lead partner eco-systems on global girls’ leadership, collaborate with the UN and global NGOs to advance equality, measure and analyze results to increase impact, and leverage transformative investments across our movement.

The world needs new solutions and new leaders now. We are preparing girls today to lead the way toward a better tomorrow, today. Girl Up leaders are changing norms and conversations, challenging policies, and demanding decision-makers act in the best interest of all people in every corner of the world. As we have galvanized and connected these fierce young activists around the world, the potential of their influence is clear. As they step into positions of power, imagine what the world can be with one million Girl Up members leading the way. They are just getting started.

If you believe there is a better answer to our current challenges, find a way to invest in the future around you. Build up a young leader, support an organization locally or globally to move this generation forward faster. We need them now.

While our past provides lessons, our present provides the motivation, and our future holds the answers.