Girls share stories and ideas on the value of education

By Sofia Gomez-Doyle, an A World at School Global Youth Ambassador from the USA聽and 芒her colleague Ritu Muralidharan芒 from India芒

On October 12, in celebration of International Day of the Girl (IDG), eight student mentors from the New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) Women国产视频檚 Leadership Network facilitated a workshop on the importance of education and learning for a diverse group of 30 sixth-grade girls at a local Arabic medium middle school.

The girls国产视频� eagerness to share their experiences and the unique nature of each their stories reiterated the importance and impact of discussion and dialogue.

As members of the Women国产视频檚 Leadership Network聽, a student-led group that works towards creating opportunities and fostering dialogue for the advancement of women, we saw this as an opportunity to further our mission and engage with our community. We strived to create an open, inclusive and comfortable environment where both the girls and mentors could share stories and memories related to learning.

The session began by posing a question to the girls: what does International Day of the Girl represent? One student国产视频檚 answer was particularly memorable: 国产视频淚t国产视频檚 about us.国产视频� She couldn国产视频檛 have been more right. IDG is about us. It国产视频檚 about celebrating our individual stories, our dreams, our educational aspirations. But it国产视频檚 also about listening. Listening to the stories of the girls and women around us, who are all filled with ideas, ambitions and achievements.

Following the introductory exercise and a series of icebreakers, the workshop transitioned into smaller, more focused group work. We presented images from our own high schools and reflected upon the people, classes or ideas that had motivated and inspired us. We were so glad to see how this encouraged the girls to open up and relate to the stories we shared with them!

The mentors then passed out large sheets of white paper and placed them in the centre of the table. Over the next 30 minutes, we asked the students to think and write about why education is important, where they can learn and who they can learn from. We also encouraged the students to think about examples from in-school and out-of-school contexts.

The girls wrote and drew their ideas in coloured markers, forming a kaleidoscopic array of images and phrases. Words, questions, diagrams and dreams formed a collage across the page. By the end of the session, we had six sheets of paper, brightly covered with the girls国产视频� ideas and experiences.

As we wrapped up, we asked for one volunteer from each of the six groups to summarise their discussions and present to the class 国产视频� but the students were so eager to share what they had learned and talked about, that entire groups asked to present together and share with the class instead! The energy in the room was palpable.

International Day of the Girl also served as an important reflective exercise for us through our role as mentors. It gave us the opportunity to think about the role of education in our own lives and how we can continue to drive the conversation about its significance, even in small ways.

Ritu Muralidharan, an NYUAD mentor, reflected: 国产视频淚n my family, the importance of education is constantly reiterated. At the end of every day, my father asks me: 国产视频榃hat did you learn today?国产视频� Every time my grandfather calls, the first thing he wants to know is how my classes at school are going. This constant conversation around education and learning has made me the self-motivated, driven woman that I am today. That国产视频檚 what we hope to do with the students we work with.国产视频�

As mentors, we represented seven different countries, and yet our commitment to girls国产视频� education brought us together.

Charlotte Gundry remembers one of the girls saying that she 国产视频渨anted to have a great future.国产视频� Gundry added: 国产视频淚 was amazed by the enthusiasm of the girls! They told me how much they love learning new things. As mostly non-native English speakers, it was really exciting to see their confidence in speaking English grow during our time with them.国产视频�

Melinda Szekeres noted: 国产视频淕irls国产视频� education is important to ensure that they know that they can grow up to balance their familial responsibilities along with their jobs, and everything in between.国产视频�

Safa Kashaf echoed Melinda国产视频檚 sentiments, saying: 国产视频淚 think educating girls is important because it teaches them how to stand up for themselves and have confidence in their abilities. Education is a process and IDG serves as one of many opportunities to encourage reflection and highlight the individuality of each girl国产视频檚 background and dreams.国产视频�

Louise Okatch emphasised the idea that there is no single definition of education or empowerment. One of the students in her group reflected, 国产视频淚 wanted to say that this is a very big honor国产视频his is a chance to talk about our feelings.国产视频� Louise said that the phrase 国产视频渨e talked about our feelings国产视频� stood out to her. 国产视频淢any times in wanting to empower the girl child, we forget that their innate vision, that is unique to them, is what we should be nurturing and not merely prescribing a homogeneous idea of what an empowered girl looks like.国产视频�

We hope to continue to develop our girls国产视频� education initiative and foster conversations surrounding education 国产视频� as listeners, as leaders, as dedicated members of the community. At the conclusion of the IDG workshop, we asked the girls for their feedback and invited them to share what they would like to see in future sessions. Many of them responded that they wanted more time to share their stories and discuss their ideas in a smaller group context.

Using the students国产视频� feedback, we are revising the curriculum to include topics such as leadership and teamwork. We also conducted a second workshop on 23 November for the school国产视频檚 Student Council on the theme of 国产视频淭he Many Forms of Leadership,国产视频� and engaged additional students in the Women国产视频檚 Leadership Network to serve as mentors. Additionally, we hope to improve future workshops to target a variety of skills including group work芒, self-awareness, conflict resolution, and communicating emotion芒s.芒

国产视频淚t国产视频檚 sad how girls国产视频� education is such a highly contested idea because education is a beautiful thing. I love looking at kids国产视频� faces when they realise they国产视频檝e made a breakthrough, no matter how big or small,国产视频� said Gabrielle Flores.

Education creates meaningful opportunities for reflection 国产视频� and there was no better reminder of this than our experience during International Day of the Girl 2014 in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Through celebrations such as IDG we are reminded of the small, but critical steps we can all take towards the global effort to educate girls.芒篓

NYU Abu Dhabi mentors: Charlotte Ellen Gundry (United Kingdom), Mitali Banerji (India), Safa F Kashaf (Pakistan), Gabrielle Flores (Philippines), Claire (Louise) Okatch (Kenya), Melinda Szekeres (Hungary), Ritu Muralidharan (India) and Sofia Gomez-Doyle (USA).

NYU Abu Dhabi国产视频檚 Women国产视频檚 Leadership Network provides opportunities for dialogue and action related to women国产视频檚 equality, empowerment and leadership, and encourages members to take on projects of personal meaning that promote these three purposes. It is the hope of the WLN that members will apply the skills and perspectives they gain through their participation to the advancement of women and girls in their home countries.