International Day of the Girl
Global children’s charity Plan UK, which works with children in the world’s poorest countries, has created a one off interactive public installation to raise awareness for the first ever International Day of the Girl on the 11th October.
The larger-than-life book is intended to highlight the importance of education for girls worldwide. 75 million girls across the world are denied the chance to complete their education and fulfil their potential, something that is often taken for granted in the UK.
Plan’s unique book installation is user-generated, reflecting the views of people across the country who will be sharing what their education has enabled them to do. The public are invited to sign the book and add their own personal message by telling Plan UK 'Because of Education I Can'
In the week-long run up to International Day of the Girl, the book will travel up the country starting at London’s famous Tower of London on Thursday 4th October and heading to Manchester’s Exchange Square on Monday 8th October.
The book will make its final stop at London’s Southbank on the first ever International Day of the Girl on 11th October. School girls from across London and Manchester will be invited to share their messages on how important education is to them and what it has helped them achieve, along with the UK public.
Marie Staunton, Plan UK CEO, comments: "We’ve worked with the world’s poorest boys and girls for the past 75 years to take them from a life of poverty to a future with opportunity.
"That’s why we lobbied to the UN for the Day of the Girl to be formally recognised, because the potential of girls should be celebrated. Our book installation is a celebration of that potential.
"By showing what education has done for women and girls in the UK, we want to highlight just how important education could be for millions of girls across the world who are denied the choice to go to school."