GIRL RISING – An International Day of the Girl Event

>>523770618cc91.imageBY DR. VALERIE ANN JOHNSON     On Friday we remembered the importance of educating girls by celebrating the International Day of the Girl.  Events will take place during the month of October as we move from celebrating a day to continued building of a movement.  Though Malala Yousafzai did not receive the Nobel Peace Prize today, her work to advocate for the education of girls in her country of Pakistan and around the world continues.  To learn more about IDG check out this link: >>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/martha-burk/international-day-of-the-girl-child_b_4072375.html

At Bennett College for Women, in Greensboro, NC, we invite you to join us, October 23rd, 2013 at 7pm in our Global Learning Center Auditorium, as we screen the award-winning film Girl Rising – an amazing documentary that shares with the viewer girls’ perspectives on the importance of being educated.  This event is FREE! And parking is free as well. To learn more about the film go to the Africana Women’s Studies facebook page.

We hope to see you on the 23rd!

 AFRICANA WOMEN’S STUDIES
at Bennett College
to screen GIRL RISING –  An International Day of the Girl Event
in 
Greensboro, North Carolina

 Friday, October 11th was International Day of the Girl. To celebrate, Girl Rising, supported by their founding partner Intel, is supporting thousands of events around the world that throughout the month of October to shine the spotlight on the transformative power of girls’ education.

Africana Women’s Studies at Bennett College is bringing this global movement to educate girls and change the world home to Greensboro, North Carolina with an International Day of the Girl Screening of Girl Rising. Our event will be held on Wednesday, October 23, 2013 at 7:00 pm in the Global Learning Center at Bennett College.  Admission is free!!

Girl Rising is a groundbreaking feature film that spotlights the stories of nine unforgettable girls born into unforgiving circumstances. The film captures their dreams, their voices and their remarkable lives. It is also a movement dedicated to empowering and achieving educational equity for girls around the world.

This International Day of the Girl celebration will bring our community together to raise global visibility about the importance of educating girls. It will be registered on the Girl Rising campaign map (>>http://10x10act.org/idg/) with the goal of capturing the attention of global policy leaders and inspiring them to include girls’ education on the post­ 2015 United Nations agenda, an important step for achieving educational equality for girls.

At Bennett College we believe in the power of education to change not only a girl, but the world,” said Dr. Valerie Ann Johnson, Mott Distinguished Professor of Women’s Studies and Director of Africana Women’s Studies. “By hosting an International Day of the Girl Event in Greensboro, we are demonstrating our unwavering commitment to eradicating the barriers that prevent girls around the world from going to school ­ barriers like child marriage, sex trafficking, gender violence and discrimination.”

ABOUT GIRL RISING

Girl Rising was directed by Academy Award ­nominee Richard E. Robbins and is narrated by Cate Blanchett, Priyanka Chopra, Selena Gomez, Anne Hathaway, Salma Hayek, Alicia Keys, Chloë Moretz, Liam Neeson, Freida Pinto, Meryl Streep, and Kerry Washington. The film premiered in the United States on March 7th, the eve of International Women’s Day, and has since been screened by millions in cinemas, campuses, corporate boardrooms and private homes worldwide.

“If to see it is to know it, this film delivers hope; reasonable, measurable, tangible hope that the world can be healed and helped to a better future,” said Meryl Streep.

“It’s a powerful film that has the potential to inspire change in the world. If you’re not moved, you’re not breathing,” said Alicia Keys.

Girl Rising is also a movement that embraces the words of activist Malala Yousafzai: “One child, one teacher, one pen and one book can change the world. Education is the only solution.” Award­ winning journalists at The Documentary Group and Paul G. Allen’s Vulcan Productions, along with strategic partner, Intel Corporation, founded the movement. Intel sponsors Girl Rising’s International Day of the Girl activities.

Girl Rising is built on a foundation of partnerships with NGOs, corporations, policy makers, and grassroots organizations — all working to change minds, lives, and policy. A portion of film ticket sales goes to support girl ­focused programs through the >>Girl Rising Fund. The Fund is distributed to Girl Rising’s high ­impact network of nonprofit partners who are working on the ground: A New Day Cambodia, CARE, Girl Up/United Nations Foundation, Partners in Health, Plan International USA, Room to Read, and World Vision.

 GIRL RISING IS A FILM.
GIRL RISING IS A MOVEMENT.
GIRL RISING IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO CHANGE THE FUTURE.

girlrising.com

>>VJ Sept2013 headshotDr. Valerie Ann Johnson is Mott Distinguished Professor of Women’s Studies and Director of Africana Women’s Studies at Bennett College in Greensboro, NC. Her research includes travel to Costa Rica, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and the Seychelles Islands investigating gender, bioethics, disability, and environmental justice. In North Carolina, Dr. Johnson is conducting foodways research on the African American church supper.  Dr. Johnson chairs the NC African American Heritage Commission, is member of the North Carolina Environmental Justice Network and serves on the NC Council for Women, as a board member for Our Children’s Place – an advocacy group for children with incarcerated parents and a board member for the Scarritt Bennett Center in Nashville, Tennessee.  She received her Ph.D. in Medical Anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley, M.A. in Sociology from Atlanta University, and B.A. in Sociology from Spelman College.  Dr. Johnson lives in Oxford, NC with her family.




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