Celebrating the Power of Girls

President Barack Obama congratulates Google Science Fair winners, from left, Naomi Shah, Shree Bose, and Lauren Hodge in the Oval Office, Oct. 3, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

The White House is proud to join the world community in marking the first-ever International Day of the Girl and has released a statement which can be found here.  Every year, on October 11, countries around the world will honor the importance of empowering girls so that they can reach their full potential.

Yesterday Secretary Clinton, along with Archbishop Desmond Tutu, spoke to a group of about 200 Girl Scouts at the State Department about raising the status of girls around the world. Secretary Clinton announced new US Government and private sector initiatives to prevent child marriage and promote girls education.

You can read and watch Secretary Clinton’s remarks in Honor of International Day of the Girl here.

The Obama Administration has taken a number of steps to promote the rights and opportunities for girls at home and abroad. You can learn more about some of the Obama Administration's work to support girls below:

• New Initiatives To Combat Human Trafficking
• Promoting Civic Education And Leadership For Girls Through the Equal Futures Partnership and the app challenge to create an app that promotes civic education and/or inspires girls to serve as leaders in our democracy.
• Preventing and responding to gender-based violence at home and abroad
• Promoting The Education Of Girls In Stem (Science, Technology, Engineering, And Math) Fields
• Ensuring Quality Health Care To All Young People

A commitment to the advancement of girls is an investment in progress for everyone. When girls succeed societies prosper and nations are more secure.  The Administration will continue to work to ensure girls are afforded the rights, freedoms, and opportunities they deserve.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/10/11/celebrating-girl-power