This year (2012), the United Nations announced the adoption of October 11 as the International Day of the Girl Child and issued a statement urging all countries to empower and invest in girls.
The roots of the resolution can be traced back to the Canadian non-profit organization Plan in 2009. Many Canadians offered their opinions on the matter and asked the Canadian government to acknowledge the opportunities brought about by girls and the difficulties girls face. It was hoped that the government would establish a national day to recognize girls. Hearing the people’s request, the government responded by not only establishing such a day but also having Rona Ambrose, who is both Minister of the Status of Women Canada and Minister of Public Works and Government Services, propose the day be ratified in the United Nations General Assembly. In the end, the assembly chose October 11 as the International Day of the Girl Child. The world had finally come together to advocate the importance of girls’ human rights.
Although The Garden of Hope Foundation (GOH) has been advocating and promoting girls’ human rights for a long time in Taiwan, while Plan in Canada succeeded in getting the United Nations to recognize the rights of girls around the world, Taiwan is still in the advocacy stage. To get Taiwanese society to take the issue of girls’ rights seriously, GOH has called for the establishment of Taiwan Girls Day and for the government to immediately make investing in and empowering girls part of national policy.
As a result, GOH invited experts, scholars, and girls to two forums on five specific rights girls should have: education, access to media, freedom of personality, health, and personal safety. On October 13, the 1st Asian Girls Campaign and 10th Formosa Daughter Award Ceremonies were jointly held to give Asian girl ambassadors and Taiwanese girls the opportunity to get to know each other and engage in exchanges and dialogue so as to have more opportunities in the future. With the power of girls, we will create an Asian miracle.