She’s the First Girl Activist Fellowship
She’s the First’s Girl Activist Fellowship is a world-class training and mentorship experience for girls aged 14-22. Each year, a cohort of 30 girls from all over the world enter an 18-month program that provides a foundation of leadership, activism, and organizing skills that they can draw from for the rest of their lives. The Fellowship is structured as a project-based learning model, where girls learn by planning and executing an advocacy campaign for their peers on the global stage.
These campaigns, planned by girls, for girls, impact an average of 100 girls per Fellow, creating a total impact of over 3,000 girls.
In general, girls’ activism and leadership education focus primarily on building confidence and strengthening presentation skills, particularly when advocating for legislative change. But when She’s the First talks to girls, they already tend to see themselves as confident leaders and activists.
However, girls tend to rate their skills in activism lower than their self-confidence. Girls are confident in their vision and excited to lead but often struggle with the steps to take to execute their ideas fully. At She’s the First, we’re equipping our fellows with the skills they need to successfully lead in their communities. After participating in She’s the First programs, girls consistently report skill improvement that makes their visions achievable.
The 2023 Campaigns
Safiya Speaks Up: A Children’s Book About Safety From Violence
In Safiya Speaks Up, Safiya learns the difference between safe and unsafe touch and identifies three trustworthy adults in her life. The accompanying Mentor’s Guide provides additional information, context, and resources so that trusted adults can help girls understand Safiya’s story and how they can use the tools that Safiya used. This project was created, written, and illustrated by fellows between the ages of 15 and 21 across Malaysia, Kenya, the Philippines, and the United States.
Reproduce This! A Reproductive Rights Art Show by Girls, For Girls
Reproduce This! is an art gallery experience produced by a team of girls, for girls. These girls are participants in She’s the First’s Girl Activist Fellowship program, through which they’ve spent the last year learning how to imagine, plan, and execute an activism campaign. Girls from around the world submitted more than 120 artworks on the topic of sexual health and reproductive rights; 19 pieces have been selected by a panel of their peers to be included in these simultaneous gallery shows. Unique to the reproductive rights conversation, this campaign highlights the perspectives and experiences of girls who are hearing about and impacted by this politicized debate.
Power of Poetry
A girl with an education is unstoppable—but barriers like gender discrimination, poverty, and exploitation prevent many girls from reaching graduation. Our Girl Activist Fellows created the Power of Poetry campaign to amplify girls' voices about this issue for National Poetry Month and the Global Week of Action for Education.
Facing FGM: A Listening and Learning Experience
For She’s the First’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign, our Girl Activist Fellow Niyathi, 16, sat down for a discussion with her peers at our partner organization Msichana Empowerment Kuria to discuss their activism against FGM in their community. Niyathi created discussion guides to help student and mentorship groups navigate conversations after watching the video—we encourage mentors and student leaders to download and read through the discussion guides before leading a viewing session.
