It is in schools that the Inspiring Girls movement works to encourage girls to fight for what they want in life, through education and the example of other women who, voluntarily, share their personal and professional paths.
This is an international non-governmental organization that originated in Britain in 2013 and started in Portugal last year, after the candidacy of Joana Costa, professor at the Escola Superior de Comunicação Social, was approved.
In its first academic year operating on the national territory, the NGO, consisting of an operational team of seven people and about 400 volunteers, was present in more than 30 schools in different parts of the country, having conducted more than 60 sessions had promoted, the one involving about five thousand students.
The organization’s work is carried out with students between the 5th and 12th grades, with activities mainly aimed at girls.
In practice, initiatives include “the organization of speed networksgroup dynamics where several students get the chance to talk to 8 to 10 volunteers representing very different professions, giving them access to a wide variety of professional profiles,” says Joana Costa. In addition, they organize specific events, such as if workshops gender equality, financial clubs, workshops technology, among others.
“Some of our activities are also developed with and for our partners (companies, universities and associations). For example, we organize sessions on gender equality and inclusive language use, related to the context of our partners, or even workshops sectors within the working area.”
Volunteers play a central role in the NGO’s actions. They are the ones who streamline the sessions in schools and dedicate an hour of their time to the event. Currently, says Joana Costa, they come from “the most diverse professions or areas of work”.
Moving forward, the movement intends not only to provide continuity to the work being carried out in school communities, but also to move forward with the second edition of the Financial Club, organized in partnership with BlackRock. Club, which will be “a program to build young girls’ self-esteem by exploring their personal values and building self-confidence and resilience”.
Another area to be developed will be the Diversity Academy, which will provide training “in the field of diversity and inclusion, particularly gender equality”, both in schools and in an organizational context, “for organizations wishing to advance knowledge of these issues in their reality”.
The founder and executive chairman of Inspiring Girls in Portugal justifies the need for the movement, even based on the fieldwork that has been done: “It is possible to verify that gender stereotypes are still a very strong reality and there is still a long way to go. Yet the curiosity and interest of young people, girls and boys, to talk about this topic and understand how to combat the inequalities that are still so great at this level is undeniable.”.
Source: DN
