The Girls First Summit (GFS), a one-day annual professional training for She’s the First partners and grassroots leaders, has grown since its inaugural gathering in Nairobi in 2017. In 2025, we proudly hosted more than 180 practitioners between the 9th edition in Kenya and the 2nd in Uganda. What makes GFS special is how deeply rooted it is in listening to girls.
Activism Programs, Advocacy, Girl Activist Fellowship, Girl-Led Advocacy, Girls' Programs, Girls' Voices, Impact Stories, Partner Coalition
Aliza Puri, an STF Youth Ambassador from Nepal, wrote this poem as a letter to the world from every girl who has been abused, who finds it hard to come forward and ask for justice because she is too scared and embarrassed—until she decides to fight for herself.
Advocacy, Girl Activist Fellowship, Girls' Programs
On September 21, 2024, in New York City, more than 50 young women from around the world—including the youngest Nobel Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai and representatives from four She’s the First programs!—gathered to take United Nations member states to task for failing to prioritize girls and young women in the planning and content of the Summit of the Future.
Advocacy
We, the undersigned girl-centered organizations, express our deep concern and condemnation regarding the alarming rise in femicides in Kenya. We stand in solidarity with our fellow women leaders in Kenya who are demanding that the President of Kenya declare femicide and violence against women and girls a national disaster. The government must take swift and decisive measures to protect lives and ensure justice for the victims.