Increased Efforts to Promote Gender Equality

NEW YORK - Plan International welcomes the strong call by UN member states to prioritize gender equality and human rights of women in the next set of sustainable development goals.

Plan supports the recommendations of the recent Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), which closed early Saturday morning after two weeks of intense negotiations. Plan strongly supports the UN’s confirmation of the need for a stand-alone goal on gender equality in the set of international targets that will define the post-2015 global development agenda.Læs mere her!

Case study: Girls speak out at UN

A delegation of girls from poor rural communities across the world are sharing the harsh reality of their lives at a United Nations meeting in New York.

The 9 Plan-supported teenagers from Cambodia, Cameroon, Malawi, Pakistan and Sierra Leone will tell the Commission on the Status of Women* (CSW), of the daily challenges girls face in their communities – from early and forced marriage to polygamy and domestic violence.

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Echoing Malala's voice: Youth take over Sierra Leone's national parliament

As youth from all over the world today join Malala Yousafzai in taking over the United Nations General Assembly in New York, thousands of miles away, in Freetown, Sierra Leone, a group of 50 young people between the ages of 11 and 18 are setting out to do the same in their national parliament.

24 boys and 26 girls, from communities where Plan works all over Sierra Leone have been inspired by Malala’s call to action on education, giving a voice to the 66 million other girls who, like she once was, are denied an education.

They too want to raise awareness by advocating draft resolutions that directly fall in line with the Millennium Development Goal’s objective to achieve universal primary education.

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Malala Day: Plan’s youth delegates arrive in New York

Plan’s delegates at Friday’s youth takeover of the United Nations have been explaining why they believe education is vital for the future of young people around the world. 

The delegates are now arriving in New York, where they will join more than 600 other young people to agree a Call to Action which will help shape the UN’s education work from 2015. They will also hear from global education campaigner Malala Yousafzai, who is expected to call for the urgent prioritisation of education in developing countries. 

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Stop vold mod kvinder

Tusindvis af piger og kvinder er i disse dage samlet i FN i New York for at sætte fokus på vold mod kvinder. Blandt deltagerne er seks Plan-støttede piger, som taler mod vold i skolen – én af de største barrierer, der forhindrer piger i at få en uddannelse.

Pigerne fra El Salvador, Vietnam, Uganda, Norge og Finland deltager i den 57. Kommission for Kvinders Status, som altså finder sted i FNs hovedkvarter i New York den 4.-15. marts.

Pigerne har mulighed for at dele erfaringer og påvirke de repræsentanter fra medlemsstaterne, som nu skal formulere politikker, der fremmer pigers rettigheder og status på verdensplan.

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Plan Attends the 57th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women

Plan International is pleased to attend the 57th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women to be held March 4th through the 15th at the UN Headquarters in New York.

The theme of this year’s session will be the “elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls." The inclusion of girls within this year’s theme marks a turning point for the commission which has previously focused on equality for women while making special allowances for girls.

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Marcia Cross: Help change the world

Actress and Plan Ambassador Marcia Cross recently visited India to see how Plan is helping to strengthen communities through programmes that focus on empowering girls.

As a mother of 2 young girls herself, Marcia strongly believes that everyone has the right to a good education and that by empowering girls we can change the world.

In October, Marcia helped light the Empire State Building in New York bright pink to kick off the global launch of Plan's Because I am a Girl campaign on the first ever international Day of the Girl.

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Girls campaign goes global

Join us for the global launch of Plan’s Because I am a Girl campaign on 11 October – the first ever international Day of the Girl.

Events will be taking place in more than 60 countries across the world - from a rock concert in India to a radio blitz in Ireland.

The celebrations will culminate in a global event in New York, which will be attended by UN Women executive director Michelle Bachelet, actress Marcia Cross, journalist Mariane Pearl and Plan-supported girl ambassadors from around the world, who will be sharing their experiences with policy makers.

The Empire State Building and London Eye are among a number of landmarks that will be lit up bright pink to mark the occasion.

Raise Your Hand and spread the word right now at raiseyourhandNOW.com

For all the campaign launch action, please follow us on twitter.com/planglobal andfacebook.com/planinternational

Plan welcomes ‘Education First’ initiative

Global child rights organization Plan International has welcomed the UN Secretary General BAN Ki-moon’s'Education First' initiative aimed at ensuring education for all children across the globe.

The initiative was launched at a high-level event at the UN in New York yesterday, attended by several Heads of State, business, civil society leaders and UN officials.

Speaking at the UN General Assembly Nigel Chapman, CEO of Plan International, said: “On behalf of Plan I would like to welcome the launch of Education First. I have seen first-hand the power education has of transforming the lives of children and communities. I have also seen firsthand how many children are still missing out on their chance to a quality education.The initiative, therefore, is a promising start to put education back on track. It unites the UN agencies and programs, governments, business leaders and civil society to join forces for global action.”


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En ny chance: Ya Marie

Two years ago, Ya Marie, a teenage girl from Sierra Leone, was forced to leave school because of violence she endured in the classroom. Without an education, Ya Marie had little hope of escaping a life of poverty. But a second chance helped Ya Marie reach her dreams.

She joined Plan’s village savings and loans youth group in her village and developed the confidence and leadership skills needed to speak out in support of girls’ rights and against the violence she faced in school.

Her passion was not ignored. In March, Ya Marie was selected to represent Plan at a UN meeting on women’s rights in New York City.

“This was my first experience outside my country,” sagde hun. “My mom and sister were so proud. It gives me hope to believe in myself and stand up for girls’ rights. i want to become a great woman and advocate for women and girls’ rights."

Today, Ya Marie is back home doing community work with girls who have left school, and plans to go back to school.

Piger taler ud hos FN

En delegation af piger fra fattige landdistrikter i hele verden deler den hårde virkelighed der er deres liv hos de Forenede Nationers møde i New York denne uge.

de 9 Plan-supported teenagere fra Cambodja, Cameroun, Malawi, Pakistan og Sierra Leone vil fortælle the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), om de daglige udfordringer piger står overfor i deres samfund - fra tidlig og tvangsægteskaber til polygami og vold i hjemmet.

Teresa, der er 17 år gammel og fra Sierra Leone, hun er en af delegaterne der repræsenterer hendes jævnaldrende, samfund og land.

“I want to be part of the decision of who I marry and when, I will decide how many children I will have... If I have daughters, they will go to school and have an equal place within the family. As adults they will take care of their children so that they too will enjoy their rights,” sagde hun.

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