International Day of the Girl Child

The day was initially a project designed by the non-governmental international organization, Plan International. It was inspired by their "Because I Am A Girl" campaign, which celebrated and encouraged the increasing role of girls and young women in efforts to raise awareness of gender issues across the world.

Eventually, Plan International urged the United Nations to get involved, and the first official Day of Girls took place in 2012, with a resolution backed by the international organization to cement it. Since then, International Day of the Girl Child has been celebrated with a new theme every year.

Those themes tackle the issues girls and young women face, but especially in developing nations where they don't have as strong a voice advocating for them. Over the years, worldwide initiatives have been taken with aims such as ending child marriage, innovating education for girls, and training young women with skills to help them excel in the workplace.

Since then, thousands of events are planned every year, across the world, both sponsored by the United Nations and by independent initiatives like nonprofits and local organizations.

Every time International Day of the Girl Child comes around, groups and organizations of all sizes, as well as lone volunteers, are encouraged to raise awareness of and campaign against the discrimination and violence that girls face across the world, even with the introduction of laws, policies, and global targets meant to eliminate them.