Day of the Girl Summit at American University
Losang Rabgey speaks at the 2nd Annual Day of the Girl Summit at American University on October 4, 2014, in the Current Events in Girl’s Education Panel.
Written by Gabi Ross
On Saturday October 4, 2014, American University’s She’s the First Chapter held the 2nd Annual Day of the Girl Summit, a day-long conversation on the issues and solutions facing women and girls worldwide. The summit was held to celebrate the UN’s International Day of the Girl Child, which is observed on October 11th. Throughout the day, five panels were held on various women’s issues, both global and domestic, bringing together experts from a variety of organizations. This year’s summit featured discussions on the Feminist Voice in Politics, Preventing Gender-Based Violence, Women in the Workplace, Women in STEM, and Current Events in Girls’ Education.
Machik’s Co-Founder and Executive Director, Dr. Losang Rabgey was invited to speak on the Current Events in Girl’s Education Panel, along with Noel Schroeder from Women Thrive Worldwide, Joyce Wanda from the Arlington Academy of Hope, and Kristen Stoebenau from the International Center for Research on Women. The panel discussed how Malala is bringing attention to the girls’ education movement; what role girls’ education can play in ending violent conflicts and terrorism; the impact of the documentary Girl Rising; the usefulness of hashtag activism, such as with the #BringBackOurGirls campaign; and lastly if now is finally the “moment” for girls’ education.
We were so pleased to invite Dr. Losang Rabgey to join the panel. She offered a unique perspective and challenged the majority opinion on many of the topics. Losang made many memorable points caused the audience, and even She’s the First members, who are immersed in issues of girls’ education, really think. Regarding the story of Malala Yousafzai, Losang reminded everyone that Malala was not the only hero; without her supportive parents, who greatly valued their daughter’s education, the Malala we know would not exist. She prompted the idea that spreading girls’ education is not as easy as just creating more schools; in fact, the families and communities of the girls must be engaged as well; the importance of educating a girl must be taught widely to everyone.
Losang also commented on the documentary Girl Rising and the hashtag activism of #BringBackOurGirls. While these approaches successfully bring greater attention to girls’ education, Losang argued they were followed by little action and were quickly forgotten by the average viewer. She stressed that the increase in awareness cannot be the end; awareness campaigns must result in measurable change to be considered successful. Dr. Losang Rabgey also added, addressing all the self-identified feminists in the room, that Western feminism needs to go further. She reminded everyone to always ask, “What’s the work that needs to be done to empower every woman?” We cannot stop at concern only for the women in our own lives and in our own communities; we need also need to include women half way around the world in Tibet – and everyone in between.
The panel ended with a brief, but powerful, video from a former Machik volunteer, Maddie Jorden, about Machik’s Mother’s Wish Program. Machik requires that girls make up at least 50% of student enrollments at their Chungba Primary School, and they established and continue to fund the Mother’s Wish Foundation which is the first-ever program to support education only for Tibetan women and girls from middle school to university. With all of Machik’s work to advance women in Tibet, especially through education, the members of She’s the First*{AU} were excited for American University students to learn about this work.
The Current Events in Girls’ Education Panel, and the entire Day of the Girl Summit as a whole, was a major success. She’s the First*{AU} was delighted to host members of Machik at the event and were glad we could help introduce the organization to the AU community. To find out more about the summit, you can visit the event website at dayofthegirldc.splashthat.com or check out the hashtag #DayoftheGirlDC.
She’s the First: She’s the First is a nonprofit organization that works to promote girl’s education around the globe and has high school and university campus chapters throughout the country. She’s the First chapters sponsor girls in developing countries to attend school, giving the girls the chance to become the first in their families to graduate. She’s the First*{American University}, though only in our third year, has already helped to sponsor countless girls at the Arlington Academy of Hope in Uganda.
On Saturday October 4, 2014, American University’s She’s the First Chapter held the 2nd Annual Day of the Girl Summit, a day-long conversation on the issues and solutions facing women and girls worldwide. The summit was held to celebrate the UN’s International Day of the Girl Child, which is observed on October 11th. Throughout the day, five panels were held on various women’s issues, both global and domestic, bringing together experts from a variety of organizations. This year’s summit featured discussions on the Feminist Voice in Politics, Preventing Gender-Based Violence, Women in the Workplace, Women in STEM, and Current Events in Girls’ Education.
Machik’s Co-Founder and Executive Director, Dr. Losang Rabgey was invited to speak on the Current Events in Girl’s Education Panel, along with Noel Schroeder from Women Thrive Worldwide, Joyce Wanda from the Arlington Academy of Hope, and Kristen Stoebenau from the International Center for Research on Women. The panel discussed how Malala is bringing attention to the girls’ education movement; what role girls’ education can play in ending violent conflicts and terrorism; the impact of the documentary Girl Rising; the usefulness of hashtag activism, such as with the #BringBackOurGirls campaign; and lastly if now is finally the “moment” for girls’ education.
We were so pleased to invite Dr. Losang Rabgey to join the panel. She offered a unique perspective and challenged the majority opinion on many of the topics. Losang made many memorable points caused the audience, and even She’s the First members, who are immersed in issues of girls’ education, really think. Regarding the story of Malala Yousafzai, Losang reminded everyone that Malala was not the only hero; without her supportive parents, who greatly valued their daughter’s education, the Malala we know would not exist. She prompted the idea that spreading girls’ education is not as easy as just creating more schools; in fact, the families and communities of the girls must be engaged as well; the importance of educating a girl must be taught widely to everyone.
Losang also commented on the documentary Girl Rising and the hashtag activism of #BringBackOurGirls. While these approaches successfully bring greater attention to girls’ education, Losang argued they were followed by little action and were quickly forgotten by the average viewer. She stressed that the increase in awareness cannot be the end; awareness campaigns must result in measurable change to be considered successful. Dr. Losang Rabgey also added, addressing all the self-identified feminists in the room, that Western feminism needs to go further. She reminded everyone to always ask, “What’s the work that needs to be done to empower every woman?” We cannot stop at concern only for the women in our own lives and in our own communities; we need also need to include women half way around the world in Tibet – and everyone in between.
The panel ended with a brief, but powerful, video from a former Machik volunteer, Maddie Jorden, about Machik’s Mother’s Wish Program. Machik requires that girls make up at least 50% of student enrollments at their Chungba Primary School, and they established and continue to fund the Mother’s Wish Foundation which is the first-ever program to support education only for Tibetan women and girls from middle school to university. With all of Machik’s work to advance women in Tibet, especially through education, the members of She’s the First*{AU} were excited for American University students to learn about this work.
The Current Events in Girls’ Education Panel, and the entire Day of the Girl Summit as a whole, was a major success. She’s the First*{AU} was delighted to host members of Machik at the event and were glad we could help introduce the organization to the AU community. To find out more about the summit, you can visit the event website at dayofthegirldc.splashthat.com or check out the hashtag #DayoftheGirlDC.
She’s the First: She’s the First is a nonprofit organization that works to promote girl’s education around the globe and has high school and university campus chapters throughout the country. She’s the First chapters sponsor girls in developing countries to attend school, giving the girls the chance to become the first in their families to graduate. She’s the First*{American University}, though only in our third year, has already helped to sponsor countless girls at the Arlington Academy of Hope in Uganda.