Romanian Teenage Girls Decide for Europe and Central Asia

A.L.E.G. is Organising in Sibiu the Final Selection for the 2017 With And For Girls International Award

Winner of the 2016 With And For Girls Award, the Association for Liberty and Equality of Gender – A.L.E.G. was asked to host in Sibiu the final selection of the organizations in Europe and Central Asia which are to receive the award this year. The award ceremony will take place in November in London, and the award comes with funding for the organizations to continue activities for girls.

The Europe and Central Asia winners will be decided by a panel made up of 4 teenage girls, aged between 16 and 18, recruited from Sibiu, Bucharest and Bacău, supported by an experienced A.L.E.G. volunteer, presently studying International Relations at the University of Bradford, UK. In 23-24 July, in Sibiu, A.L.E.G. is holding a training for the adolescents in the panel, and then, in 25-28 July, they will interview the 10 organizations preselected by the With and For Girls Collective, choosing the four winners, which are to be publicly announced in November in London. The selection criteria are: activities based on girls’ needs, involving girls in the decision-making process and having programmes with impact at grass-root level.

The distinctive touch of this action consists of the fact that it gives Romanian teenage girls the opportunity to make their voices heard, granting an international award to organizations unfolding programmes for young people. The selection process itself was designed to encourage local organizations and communities to involve girls in the decisions impacting their lives and to emphasize the development of girls’ leadership skills. Thus, girls have the last word in selecting the winners and learn that they can play an important role in society. Moreover, the members of the panel will enrich their knowledge of human rights and equal opportunities.

The members of the panel were recruited by A.L.E.G. from pupils who have participated at educational sessions held within the programmes unfolded by the organization.

The With And For Girls Awards are granted annually by the With and For Girls Collective, which has committed to create a global funding initiative to identify and support strong local organizations working with and for girls. The Collective is made up of eight international organizations supporting girls’ rights: EMpower, Mama Cash, NoVo Foundation, Plan UK, The Global Fund for Children, Nike Foundation, Comic Relief and Stars Foundation.

Photo credit: Ioana Cârlig

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