A Collective Effort. In this Issue STRENGTHENING THE AFRICA-LED MOVEMENT TO END FGM FEBRUARY NEWSLETTER. The movement The youth.

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1 A Collective Effort STRENGTHENING THE AFRICA-LED MOVEMENT TO END FGM FEBRUARY NEWSLETTER In this Issue Welcome The movement The youth Funding Amplifying change p. 2 p.3 p.4 p.6 p.7

2 welcome dear reader, We are delighted to introduce this first edition of The Girl Generation Newsletter, which we will publish regularly to share news and developments. We would love to feature your news in our next issue! Share your stories so we can profile what you are doing in the movement to end FGM. This includes news, articles, blogs, and photos. All submission should be sent to As you might already know, The Girl Generation is a social change communications initiative, providing a global platform for galvanising, catalysing and amplifying the Africa-led movement to end FGM, building on what has already been achieved. We are also our members and partners: a global collective brought together by our shared vision that FGM can and must end in this generation. QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER PG. 2

3 the movement Strengthening the Africa-led movement to end FGM The critical mass of people working together to end FGM continues to grow The Girl Generation now has over 350 member organisations, drawn from across the world, with the majority on the African continent. We extend an open invitation to join The Girl Generation to all organisations who share our vision and guiding principles. We are delighted with this growth and welcome every new member most warmly. To join us please visit membership-sign-form. We believe that communication has the power to positively influence the very fabric of societies and communities and as such, we ve been rolling out an exciting programme of training on social change communications to end FGM. So far, 63 individuals from members in Kenya and The Gambia have been trained, including activists, youth, ambassadors and grassroots organisations. We use a Training of Trainers model, which equips participants with skills that they can roll out to others. The training has had an inspiring effect: from an initial 63 participants, training has been cascaded to an additional 85 people in Kenya, Sudan and The Gambia. Our membership base is growing and we welcome new members to sign up today to be part of the generation that ends FGM. Please visit: QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER PG. 3

4 the youth GROWING THE YOUTH MOVEMENT TO END FGM We believe that young people are the heart and soul of the movement to end FGM, yet they lack spaces and opportunities to engage. Our national end FGM Youth Networks in Kenya, Nigeria and The Gambia, and the recently launched Global Youth Network are examples of such opportunities. The aim of the network is to harness the interest of young people around the world, and to provide them with a global platform to connect, organise, share, discuss and inspire others to end FGM. To join or learn more about the network, visit The first US Summit to End FGM was an appropriately highprofile occasion at which to launch The Girl Generation Global Youth Network. The Summit was hosted at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington D.C. More than 200 global activists, legislators, religious leaders and educators gathered to strengthen the global strategy to end female genital mutilation by Speaking at the launch, Abimbola Aladejare, End FGM Ambassador and representative of the Youth Anti-FGM Network Nigeria said, I am inspired by the opportunity to share experiences, to listen to what other people are doing in their space, their country. This platform is a great opportunity for all to learn from and inspire one another. Abimbola explains that she wants youth to unlearn FGM and learn the fact that FGM is cultural. She says People make the culture, not the culture making the people. The Girl Generation s great strength is the scope it offers to activists to share and collaborate, but we wanted to do more to give young people the space to develop their own agenda. There are more young people in the world than ever before - over 1.8 billion young people between the ages of 10 and 24, the majority of whom are concentrated in developing countries. I am inspired by the opportunity to share experiences, to listen to what other people are doing in their space, their country. By supporting young people to lead conversations about FGM and to become agents of change, we will contribute to fostering youth ownership of the movement to end FGM. The energy and momentum they hold will take on a life of its own. QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER PG. 4

5 THE YOUTH The Global Youth Network will not be about formal groups The Global Youth Network will be about establishing an organic virtual hub of relationships between youth activists, learning from each other, bringing successes back to their own community, and speaking to their generation. Our vision is that this youth-led network will support young people across Africa and beyond to act as agents of positive change and challengers of negative social norms, transforming the course of human history. Youth Anti FGM Network Kenya We launched the Youth Anti FGM Network Kenya in August 2016 in the 16 communities where FGM prevalence is particularly high. We currently have 34 member partners and we have trained them in social change communications and evaluating our activities. We have created a WhatsApp group so that we can keep the momentum up. Follow us on Twitter Youth Anti FGM Network Nigeria The Youth Anti FGM Network Nigeria was set up in Abuja in November We now have 56 members who are spread across the country. As youth activists, we aim to change the narrative on FGM through social communications training, promotion of our youth ambassadors and social media activity. Follow us on Twitter Youth Anti FGM Network The Gambia We launched the Youth Anti FGM in The Gambia in August 2016 and we have been targeting youth people through schools and workplaces. We have also been calling on our Government to address gender-based violence as a national priority. Follow us on Twitter QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER PG. 5

6 funding grassroots funding The African grassroots movement to end FGM is widespread. Many African countries and grassroots organisations have made great strides in their efforts with limited resources. However, for change to accelerate, funding needs to reach organisations at the frontline of social change, who currently have extremely limited access to financial and other resources. Our End FGM Grants, funded by The Human Dignity Foundation, provide much-needed support to precisely these groups. The grants support grassroots organisations to increase awareness of, and dialogue about, ending FGM. A year into the programme, the grants have encouraged the development of local solutions, and promoted increased engagement of young people. A range of approaches have been employed: from alternative rites of passage, to workshops with young people, to using music videos and radio spots. Grantees have worked with religious leaders, healthcare providers, teachers and community champions. In addition, the grants have built the movement to end FGM. Bringing grantees together for training and planning has also had a powerful effect: in Kenya, Nigeria and The Gambia, grantees forged strong bonds with one another, which will provide them with ongoing peer support, and the sense that they are part of a growing and shared momentum for change. Grantees also feel that the grants have given them credibility and recognition that their work is of vital importance. The grants have also built their confidence to seek additional funding themselves: they can present what they have done with our funding and this gives them a track record and recognition. Please see for more information on our grants programme. I would like to thank the Girl Generation for honoring our application and granting us this support. It has been a real boost for our campaigns. The achievement has been incredible - Domtila Chesang Keptsteno Rotwoo QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER PG. 6

7 Amplifying change Meet our Ambassadors We believe that amplification of social change including how, where, and why FGM is ending is critical in both mobilising a global movement to end FGM, bringing new actors and voices into it, and supporting social change at the national and local level. Our global ambassador We support ambassadors to be a public face for the message and communication of evidence of change, and support them to speak on diverse platforms, such as in the media, at conferences and through online channels. We are delighted to announce that we have 11 End FGM Ambassadors working to further the cause of ending FGM in a generation. The Gambia They have been chosen as inspiring women and men who are already living out the values of The Girl Generation. Each ambassador has their own skills and strengths to bring to the role, as well as a sphere of influence they engage with. Our ambassadors are already engaging with their peers to shift attitudes, beliefs, and ultimately, behaviours relating to FGM. Leyla Hussein: A trained psychotherapist who established the Dahlia project, a support group for survivors of FGM and the non-profit organisation, Daughters of Eve. Leyla has helped ensure that appropriate safeguarding guidelines are in place for our ambassadors. Sise Sawaneh: Sise Sawaneh is an award-winning journalist and activist. She has championed the campaign to end all forms of violence against women and children through human interest stories in her newspaper articles and radio programmes. Mariatou J. Newlands: Feminist, youth activist and a human rights advocate working to promote and protect the rights of women and children. She volunteers as the Programme Manager for Think Young Women and works full-time as a Trainee Associate at Amie Bensouda & Co Oumie Sissokho: Co-founder of The Girls Agenda, a community youth organisation, which campaigns for the rights of girls and young women in The Gambia by demanding for investment in their education and reproductive health. QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER Law Firm. PG. 7

8 Nigeria Abimbola Aladejare: The Executive Director of The New Generation Girls and Women Development Initiative, which is focused on self-development and empowerment. Kenya Raymond Ukwa: The Executive Director and Chief Strategy Consultant for DEPECC, an organisation which builds a healthy environment for women and young people. Chiamaka Uzomba: Founder of Active Voices, an organisation which aims to improve the health and rights of youth, women and girls through advocacy, research, partnerships and programme interventions. Seleyian Agnes Partoip: Founder and Director of the Murua Girl Child Education Programme as well as a girls and women s rights activist. Macharia P. Karanja: Human rights activist who believes we are all equal. His focus will be mobilising for a pan-african movement for youth and by youth to galvanise our efforts to end FGM. Hassan A Mulata: Chair of the National Youth Council in Marsabit County as well as the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Initiatives for Progressive Change, which was established to trigger social change through inspiring and transforming lives. Mazbal Rashid Adan: Works to end FGM in north-eastern Kenya, focusing on community policing and creating public awareness through peer-to-peer engagement. QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER PG. 8