Celebrate International Day of The Girl 2022 at Festival of The Girl

As we approach International Day of The Girl, Festival of the Girl, a festival created for girls aged 7-11 to inspire, engage and to break down harmful gender stereotypes, will be taking place on Sunday 9th October at the Business Design Centre, Islington North London.

Abi Wright, Laura Mulvaney and Jen Toll are the founders and forces behind the Festival of the Girl. They were inspired to create this campaign to increase awareness of International Day of The Girl due to it feeling dwarfed when compared to the global prominence of International Women’s Day. In its fourth year, the 2022 festival is set to show girls what the future holds for them, getting them trying something new, having fun and leaving with a boost of confidence. Throughout the event, there will be various activities and workshops, including aerospace engineering to gaming, keyhole surgery to paralympic sports, choreography to activism, mental health to motorsport mechanics, football tricks to magic tricks and much more.

Research has shown that gender stereotypes are set by age 4 and that by age 7 girls are already struggling with low self-esteem and body image issues. Abi, Laura and Jen have made it their mission to challenge this by providing inspiring and engaging content for girls, particularly before they start secondary school.

The Line-Up includes:

• Paralympian Vanessa Williams MBE will be showing girls how they are naturally great at throwing
• Medical Mavericks will be getting the girls using REAL medical equipment while also discovering some amazing careers in the NHS that are not just doctors or nurses
• Taylor Wimpey will be hosting a design your own home interactive stall with a panel of expert female builders
• Make Space for Girls will be imagining a place for children to play once they have outgrown the park
• Learn how to debate with Emily Balcombe
• Megan Swann, the first woman and youngest ever person to be elected as President of the Magic Circle, will be demonstrating her tricks which highlight environmental issues
• Author Danielle Ellis will be holding a workshop to teach girls how to shape their own world

There will also be confidence building dance workshops with AWA dance, skateboarding with Everyone of Boards and Island Girls Rock bringing Caribbean good vibes and beautiful energy. They’ve also partnered with the Muswell Hill Children’s Bookshop to create a festival library corner with talks from inspiring authors.

Although aimed at girls, everyone is welcome. Tickets can be bought here and goody bags on the day will include a Festival of The Girl Activity Book. We hope to see you and your girls on the 9th October in London!

The Festival of the Girl mission statement

“The Festival exists because we want to change what it means to be a girl. We want to remove the limitations gender stereotypes place on girls.  And we want to start this conversation with primary school aged kids, and their grown-ups. We’ve created global interactive events to give girls access to an incredible line up of female role models, workshops and activities.  Our festivals are safe environments for girls to have fun, try something new, and most importantly; leave with a boost of self-confidence. Our main annual event takes place every October coinciding with UN’s International Day of the Girl Child.”