August 2023
The hazy days of summer are usually an invitation for rest and relaxion — but not so for 60 million girls! We have been very busy preparing events for our supporters, partners and university researchers, and pursuing our efforts to find the most creative and innovative approaches in support of girls’ education.
R&D at the nexus of girls’ education and climate action
Our R&D team has been focusing on finding geographically relevant climate action content that meets the needs of the communities where our projects are rolled out. As well, we have been developing new partnerships with organizations working in the environmental and climate change space. Our goal is to enhance our content with information on how to mitigate the impact of climate change and build resilience. This includes clean cooking strategies (more efficient, healthier and environmentally friendly alternatives to using charcoal and wood) and ways to help farmers deal with changing weather patterns and climate extremes.
What gets measured gets done
Our R&D team has also been reviewing new approaches to measure the impact of girls’ education programs – notably via a recent connection with AMPLIFY Girls who have developed an approach of measuring and evaluating agency as a criterion of successful impact of projects.
All eyes on our Mobile Learning Labs
Our Mobile Learning Labs continue to attract the interest of many organizations around the world. 60 million girls was recently invited to present at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) Information and Communication Technology for Education (ICT4E) Strategy workshop in Amman, Jordan. The workshop presented UNRWA’s full commitment and support to the process of digital transformation of its services, including education.
In the field in Nicaragua
Two intrepid members of our team, Naheed Rizvi and Josiane Farand, spent three weeks in Nicaragua with our partner Change for Children. They were there to look in on our past projects and support a teachers’ brigade from Alberta involved in a training program for teachers in the remote Bosawas biosphere region of country. The visit provided invaluable input for 60 million girls to better understand the needs of these indigenous communities.
In closing, we hope to see you at our events in Vancouver (September 19th), in Toronto (October 4th) or virtually on November 2nd! See more details below.
Happy summer!
Wanda Bedard
‘’The power of women working together’’
60 million girls is honoured that the Canadian Federation of University Women’s (CFUW) International Relations Committee has chosen “She Belongs in School” as their International Service Project (ISP) for 2023-24. Our project with Save the Children Canada for Mobile Learning Labs in Mozambique, impressed the evaluation committee. Education of women and girls has been a priority for CFUW since its inception in 1919. As stated by CFUW: ‘’Helping to fund a project that will enable marginalized girls to obtain a secondary education speaks to our hearts. We particularly liked the ability for this project to be replicated.’’
CFUW’s 100 chapters across Canada will be raising funds in support of this project until February 2024.
We are deeply grateful for this recognition of the importance of girls’ education and for CFUW’s belief in the work we do.
‘’Reading for the love of it’’
Photo credit: CODE Liberia – Andrea Helfer
Thanks to the support of the East York Scarborough Reading Association, we received a generous donation following their 2023 “Reading For the Love of It” conference. This inspiring initiative and others like it allow 60 million girls to fund even more girls’ education projects and bring innumerable positive impacts to communities around the world.
A (young) voice to be heard
Thanks to a generous supporter, 60 million girls produced a new video that describes — in the words of a young girl — how education can mitigate the effects of climate change and provide girls and their communities with more resilience to face the dramatic impact of extreme weather patterns.
Take a look at it here:
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