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We celebrate the International Day of the Girl Child on October 11.
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DAY OF THE GIRL CHILD
Photo credit, from top to bottom: Timon Studler, Doug Swinson, Jacob Plumb, Karl Fredrickson
The International Day of the Girl Child focuses attention on the need to address the challenges girls face and to promote girls’ empowerment and the fulfilment of their human rights.
On December 19, 2011, United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 66/170 declaring October 11 as the International Day of the Girl Child, to recognize girls’ rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world.
Adolescent girls have the right to a safe, educated, and healthy life, not only during these critical formative years but also as they mature into women. If effectively supported during the adolescent years, girls have the potential to change the world – both as the empowered girls of today and of tomorrow’s workers, entrepreneurs, mentors, household heads, political leaders and mothers. An investment in realising the power of adolescent girls upholds their rights today and promises a more equitable and prosperous future, one in which half of humanity is an equal partner in solving the problems of climate change, political conflict, economic growth, disease prevention, and global sustainability.
Gender equality is a global priority for UNESCO, and the support of young girls, their training and their full ability to make their voices and ideas heard are drivers for sustainable development and peace. In too many cases across the globe, teenage girls drop out of school, due to forced marriages or child labour. UNESCO is committed to celebrating this day to ensure that all girls have access to quality education and dignified lives.
A NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR
“That is why UNESCO, the United Nations lead agency for education in the context of the 2030 Agenda, is working with the international community so that girls can benefit from 12 years of basic education free of charge. It is committed to ensuring that States include in school curricula issues relating to gender equality, health and sexuality, so as to break with the social habits and collective representations that impede girls’ freedom and constitute barriers to their intellectual formation and social and professional integration.”
— Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, on the occasion of the International Day of the Girl Child
Home → What’s On → Events → International Days → October 11
International days are celebrations and calls to action. They are for everyone to participate in. This is how you can take part in an International Day in three simple steps.
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Home → What’s On → Events → International Days → October 11
Why are International Days important? They provide unique opportunities to transmit UNESCO values to the world.
INTERNATIONAL DAYS
International days also provide a unique opportunity to engage citizens on global issues, to mobilise political will and resources to address these problems, but also to celebrate and reinforce the achievements of humanity as well as remember some of our darkest times as they guide us towards building a better world.
The United Nations International Days are for everyone, all around the globe. Because they are open, you can have an important role to play in them. NGOs, universities, schools, press and more will be putting together campaigns, events, and calls to action worldwide to provide further opportunities to engage, learn, and transmit the values and knowledge associated with each International Day. They serve as an important vehicle to connect the local to the international.
At their root, UN International Days contribute to the achievement of the purposes of the UN Charter and promote awareness of and action on important political, social, cultural, humanitarian or human rights issues. International days are at the heart of the United Nations Charter. They work to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as neighbours, and to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security.
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