Girls with 8 years of education are less likely to marry as a child. An extra year of school leads to a 10% decline in fertility rates. Out of the world’s 130 million out-of-school youth, 70% are girls!
10×10 is a global action campaign for girls’ education built upon partnerships with NGOs, corporations, policy-makers and grassroots groups, all working to change minds, lives, and policies to make the world more suitable for girls and women. It counts on tackling all major issues facing societies today by education girls adopting the slogan, “Educate Girls Change the World.” The campaign revolves around the new feature film ‘Girl Rising’ by Academy Award nominee Richard Robbins. The film simply tells the life tales of nine unforgettable girls born into unforgiving circumstances, including Yasmine, a 12 year-old Egyptian girl who faces sexual assault, but speaks up defying ignorance and violence. Sokha, a Cambodian orphan who rises from a life in the garbage dump to become a star student and an accomplished dancer; and Ruksana, an Indian “pavement-dweller” whose father sacrifices his own basic needs for his daughter’s dreams. Their stories have been written by their countries’ most celebrated writers and are narrated by a host of prestigious actors like Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Salma Hayek and many more celebrities.
Not only is the film visually enticing, heartbreaking, and real, but it is also packed with information and statistics on how or why educating girls could literally save the world. When women and girls earn income, they reinvest 90% of it back into their families, and when 10% more girls go to school, a country’s GDP increases an average 3%, and we are still wondering how we can end poverty.
Educated mothers are 50% more likely to immunize their children thus decreasing chances of illnesses and deadly viruses, and when more girls are educated, a country’s malnutrition and HIV rate decline yet we are still waiting for a medical miracle to end our problems. The message of the campaign is simple and we endorse it; educate a girl and make the world a better place for all!
If you would like to get involved with this campaign please visit girlrising.com or contact one of the local partners; Ashoka, Plan International, Intel Egypt.
Intel’s Corporate Affairs Manager Nihal Abbas talks to us about Girl Rising:
How did the idea of Girl Rising event emerge? Why did you think of highlighting women empowerment?
Intel believes education is a fundamental right for everyone, and that educating girls and women and providing them the opportunities to succeed will break the cycle of generational poverty. we seek innovative approaches that support Intel’s vision to create and extend computing technology to connect and enrich the lives of every person on earth. This is a campaign where real change can, and will, happen, by using cool new technology to push this film to millions of people who already care, then to millions more who once exposed will care, to appeal to young people to help other young people, all while using true stories told in a heartfelt manner that stun us and then make our hearts soar with hope.
Do you think girls are rising in Egypt today? How?
In Egypt, there are more than 16 million women and girls who are illiterate and according to United Nations Developing Program, Egypt has one of the lowest female labor participation rates in the world at almost 20%. Technology can help girls stay in school virtually when culturally they aren’t allowed to be physically present past puberty, for example. Empowering girls with the tools, resources and opportunities they need to succeed transforms their lives and the lives of everyone they touch.
Do you think women can be actual leaders in tech fields?
Of course yes, and actually Intel has many successful examples for women who are leading their areas of expertise and having Intel’s president to be Renee James testifies that women can pioneer in their careers. Intel believes that education is a fundamental right for everyone and has worked for decades to improve education around the world. Based on Intel Egypt Tomorrow initiative, education is one of most important pillars of this initiative which provides insights and thoughts of how IT can help build a better future in Egypt. Examples of the programs that support education are Intel Teach & Intel Learn. Those programs teach teachers and students how to use technology tools in the education process to make it more attractive & entertaining for the students. We have seen vital increase in the number of females participating at Intel education program. To date, Intel has trained more than 5 million female teachers globally. Also, at Intel Learn program, we have trained more than 150,000 students till current. The number of females is increasing during the last 3 years in 2010 we had 47% girls participating. In 2011, we reached 52%. Last year we had an increase of 4% by reaching 56%. We have other programs that focus on women trainings like Easy steps program, targeting women and girls to promote Entrepreneurial skills using ICT. Due to our closed community in different governorates, a lot of girls can’t go to schools or can’t go out to work something they love. It’s a simple instructional approach that teaches basic computer literacy, which is a key 21st century skill, enabling enhanced social and economic self-sufficiency. This program supports the needs of those females through the technology use to teach them how they can learn, how they can start up their small businesses, and how to bridge the social limits they are living to achieve their dreams.