More than 200 teens will participate in the first Adolescent Girls Summit, supported by GFC and local partners, in Monrovia, Liberia on April 12-15. Designed and led by adolescents, the summit will bring together girls and boys from rural communities in Liberia and Sierra Leone to raise awareness about violence against girls and to stand together for girls' rights. Your support will help more girls and boys attend the summit and build the confidence they need to advocate for girls' rights.
Violence against girls is widespread in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Girls face different types of violence like rape, female genital cutting, and child marriage. However, girls have little say in the solutions to these problems. They are often excluded from developing the very initiatives that aim to empower them. As a result, adolescent girls are not well-equipped with the skills and networks to stand up for their rights, and their peers and communities lack knowledge about how to support them.
The Adolescent Girls Summit will give 200+ emerging leaders the opportunity to share experiences and ideas, build advocacy skills, and strengthen networks in support of girls' rights. Girls will gain leadership and decision-making experience, and boys will learn how they can be allies in their schools and communities. The summit will also raise awareness more broadly, culminating with a Call to Action for Girls' Rights to Liberia's Vice President and Sierra Leone's First Lady.
The summit will equip adolescent girls with greater confidence, knowledge, and connections to advocate for their rights long after the event is over. It will help adolescent boys develop a greater understanding of and commitment to gender equity, shaping their actions as allies for years to come. These long-term skills will help prepare West Africa's next generation of leaders to make substantive progress toward ending violence against girls in their communities and countries.
