Introduction

Goleta, CA

About Me: I am a senior in college, graduating this year! I have been studying Sociology and I am particularly interested in women and girls' empowerment and hope to focus on this topic in grad school as well as contribute to bringing this topic into everyday life.

Young women in the impoverished townships of Soweto, South Africa, are still being left at a disadvantage as a result of their gender. While both girls and boys in Soweto are vulnerable to the threats of drug use, gang violence, and HIV, young women do not have access to the training and technological resources that could allow them to enter male-dominated fields such as journalism and athletics. Global Girl Media has recognized that while these disparities present serious challenges, they also represent an opportunity to empower young women to become agents of change for their communities. In preparation for the upcoming 2010 FIFA World Cup, GGM has organized a program called “KICK IT UP!” that will train 20 at-risk South African girls as journalists who will report on the competition. This project will ensure that one carefully selected girl is able to participate in “KICK IT UP.” This young woman will be selected from among the 230 students enrolled in Teboho Trust, an after-school program dedicated to ensuring at-risk young people complete their education. It will specifically fund her enrollment in a specially designed Global Girl Training Academy during which the participants will be put through a rigorous curriculum, combining modules on the rudiments of sound and ethical journalism with hands-on training. The project will also enable the chosen participant to become part of one of GGM’s “News Bureaus,” teams of four of the prepared girls, who will create unique videos, blogs, new media and print content during the World Cup. This media will subsequently be distributed through GGM’s cutting edge website so that an international audience can learn of Soweto’s challenges and triumphs as told from the perspective of twenty young women.

go to project page