Today, WOW – Women of the World celebrated the 12th International Day of the Girl by bringing together 150 inspiring women and non-binary people and 150 secondary school students on The lastminute.com London Eye for a morning of speed mentoring sharing dreams, ambitions and challenges as they soared over London.
WOW is a global movement promoting gender equity and celebrating women, girls and non-binary people, run by UK charity The WOW Foundation. Since 2012, 11th October has marked International Day of the Girl to address the needs and challenges faced by girls all around the world and to highlight their phenomenal strength and power.
Now a much-anticipated event, WOW Day of the Girl 2024 offered secondary school girls (aged 13 to 18 years old) from schools and community groups across London and the south east the opportunity to meet highly influential and inspiring women and non-binary people including: WOW Founder and CEO Jude Kelly; actor Shobna Gulati (Coronation Street) and Rhea Norwood (Heartstopper); paralympic archer Jodie Grinham; former GB athletics champion Perri Shakes-Drayton; former Liverpool FC Women’s footballer and current club ambassador Natasha Dowie; TV presenter and Doctor Ronx Ikharia; Director of the Mayor of London’s Violence Reduction Unit Lib Peck; activist and founder of Free Periods Amika George MBE; campaigner Doreen Lawrence; artist Lubaina Himid and activist Helen Pankhurst CBE.
Each student was matched with three different mentors for 15-minute mentoring sessions during two complete rotations of The London Eye. The mentors joined from a wide range of professional backgrounds and industries which spanned the world of business, sport, politics, public life, the arts and more, enabling students to have a snapshot into the ways in which women and non-binary people are paving the way for the future.
This afternoon the young people will take part in a series of creative career-building activities with WOW working in partnership with the National Theatre and WOW’s Global Girls Champion Standard Chartered. Workshops will include confidence building, problem solving, creative-writing, dancing and a behind-the-scenes tour of the National Theatre.
Speaking at a WOW event earlier in the year, HM The Queen, President of The WOW Foundation, said “I have been enormously impressed to hear of the mentorship that has been offered [at WOW], the panel discussions that have challenged and strengthened those present, and the partnerships that have been forged with organisations that are, year round, doing incredible work with young people. So I want to say, quite simply – well done and thank you.”
WOW Day of The Girl follows recent WOW Festivals in Rotherham and Manchester in the UK, and in Pakistan, Turkey, Greece and Australia, all of which have taken place in the build-up to WOW’s 15th anniversary in 2025 that will be celebrated at the Royal Albert Hall on 8th March with WOW at 15, featuring legendary activist Angela Davis. Founded in 2010, WOW Festivals and events celebrate women, girls and non-binary people and take a frank look at the obstacles they face. Run by charity The WOW Foundation, WOW has reached five million people across the globe to date.
The WOW Foundation is proudly supported by its Global Founding Partner Bloomberg and Global Girls Champion Standard Chartered.
