Today is International Women’s Day and this year’s theme is Connecting Girls, Inspiring Futures. Wow! Connect and inspire girls – help them achieve brighter futures – lofty goals indeed. But how? How do we right the wrongs, inspire dreams and lead the charge? How do we show girls the way to greatness?
We don’t! I suggest we let girls lead and show us the way.
We all know that children love to dream – they are idealists; they can find perfection in a mud puddle, a cookie or a storybook. They dream big – rocket ships to Saturn, houses in trees in the rainforest (so the monkeys can visit of course), and backyard Ferris wheels. They are natural givers and sharers – happily giving away their new Beyblade because their “bestest” friend doesn’t have one.
Children see injustice for what it is and they see the solutions where we adults see problems – “if those people are hungry, we should give them food and they should stop fighting because people get hurt, it’s better to just share.”
As adults our mandate shouldn’t be just to teach or to lead but to listen and to trust. Just giving girls a safe space to express their thoughts and feelings, and respecting their ideas and opinions are the best ways to build their confidence and courage. When girls connect to themselves and each other they also connect to the wider world and that can lead to extraordinary change.
Girls will guide us, and themselves to a brighter future if we provide opportunities for them to lead and succeed. And their leadership will inspire us all.
By Nisha, GGC staff
Every year March 8th marks International Women’s Day (IWD), recognizing and celebrating women’s achievements and highlight gender inequalities and issues around the world. Organizations, governments, charities and women’s groups around the world, including Girl Guides of Canada-Guides du Canada and the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, choose themes that reflect global and local gender issues. This year’s international theme: Connecting Girls, Inspiring Futures speaks directly to the Girl Guide mission.
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