Girls Can Do Anything!: 1

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These people gave me courage and inspired me to keep going, at a time when I was facing my own difficulties. I could have chosen any of the amazing athletes to appear in the Girls Can Do Anything gallery of inspirational women, but I wanted to find someone who we perhaps hadn’t heard of yet. I wanted to find an ordinary hero who might help inspire us lesser mortals – someone to tell us that you don’t have to be the best in the world to be worthwhile. You just have to be the best you can be. Girlguiding offers a safe, inclusive space for all girls – one where they can try new things with friends they trust and volunteers they look up to. This will give them courage, connections, confidence, and memories they’ll never forget. And when girls feel confident, they are more likely to know that they can do anything. What we’re doing – our new look and feel The GOA is a program of the Obama Foundation that empowers adolescent girls around the world through education, especially poor girls from disadvantaged communities, allowing them to achieve their full potential and transform their lives, families, and communities. Ms. Obama was accompanied to Vietnam by actors Julia Roberts, Lana Condor, and Ngo Thanh Van and Today Show cohost Jenna Bush Hager. We want to shout about who we are, and our vision for an equal world. We’ve been working hard behind the scenes with volunteers, parents, and girls to bring our refreshed brand to life. Today's launch will drive us forward as we look to the future.

Girls Can Do Anything! by Caryl Hart, Ali Pye | Waterstones

Karen shared that guiding is also a supportive and encouraging space for the adult leaders as well. She said: “Whether it’s sharing an achievement or sharing a difficult situation, or perhaps helping out at a meeting, there is support, camaraderie and encouragement within the leadership team. There is also an online community of support, with a number of online groups that offer support with meeting ideas and solutions.” I enjoyed Girlguiding so much as a child and felt accepted within the group. I wanted other girls to have that experience too. And now, nearly 45 years later, I’m still volunteering with Girlguiding – currently running a Rainbow group with 40 girls aged 4-7. Right now, guiding has never been more needed. We believe all girls deserve equal opportunities. We help build confidence in girls. And we’re a powerful collective voice – with girls, led by girls – changing the world for the better. Some girls, the book explains, love arts and crafts while others are skilled in speaking out for others in difficult times. Some girls find science exciting, others solve crimes and others still excel in sports. Some girls are gentle and others are rough, with a myriad of other possible personalities in between. Girls can become pilots, engineers, zookeepers, explorers or whatever else they want to be. When discussing her reasons for wanting to write Girls Can Do Anything, author Caryl Hart explains 'I realised that, as a children’s author, I had an opportunity to show our youngest children that the world belongs as much to girls as it does to boys. I wanted to demonstrate that girls are allowed and entitled to create a space for themselves wherever they choose - whatever their interests or passions may be, and for that to be okay.'Karen studied BA(Ed) Design & Technology with the Institute of Education at the University of Reading and continued to run a Guide unit whilst studying. Although studying full-time, running a home, caring for three young teenage sons, working part-time, and volunteering was all quite a juggle, Karen nonetheless thrived on the challenge. She now also volunteers as the secretary for the local Guide Hall, and has recently started volunteering with Wiltshire Wildlife Trust. Empowering girls Malala Yuousafzai captured the attention of the world when she came to the UK for medical care following an assassination attempt in Pakistan when she was just 15 years old. This was no random shooting. Malala had been speaking out about life under Taliban rule since she was eleven years old. She wrote a blog under a pseudonym and was featured a New York Times documentary in 2010. She gave interviews and speeches in print and on television and was nominated for the International Children’s Peace Prize. I wanted to feature her in the Girls Can Do Anything gallery of inspirational women because she is one of a growing number of voices from across the world that are contributing to a deeper understanding and appreciation of other lives and cultures. This Girls Can Do Anything poster came from a 1984 Labour Department programme initiative called, Positive Action Programme for Women. Our Girlguiding personality has four characteristics that guide how we look and behave. These characteristics support the brand purpose:

Girls Can Do Anything T Shirt - Etsy UK Girls Can Do Anything T Shirt - Etsy UK

Girls Can Do Anything, written by me and illustrated by Ali Pye, is a celebration of all the things girls can do. It attempts to demonstrate to very young children that there is no job or hobby that cannot be enjoyed by those of us who were born in female bodies. One of the verses says:I have read many books in this style, but each one is so different from the last and I always want more of them. I really liked the diversity represented in this book. Each girl is unique from hair type to skin color to interests to different ability levels. For example, there is a girl in a wheelchair and a girl with a prosthetic leg. Girls with long hair, girls with short hair, a girl with no hair. The illustrations work as a great way to explore the message that everyone in the world is different. We’ve been by girls’ sides for over a century – but we’re just getting started. Today, we’re squarely focused on what drives, challenges and excites girls here and now, and in the future. Girls are at the heart of all that we do. We’re excited to be moving forward together, into a future where all girls know that they can do anything. Karen also recalled how the girl was not keen on singing – something which features a lot in Girlguiding meetings – and how they overcame this so she could still join in. We’ve updated our iconic trefoil and breathed new life into the way our sections look. Through fun new icons, as well as bold and lively colours, Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Rangers now each have their own distinct identity. Today, we feel more like a family. From Rainbows to Rangers, to young leaders and beyond, we’ve made it clear that Girlguiding is a place where all girls can explore, have fun, and belong. Take a look at what we’ve changed and why. I was never all that good at history. The school curriculum in the late 70s and early 80s left a great deal to be desired, being mostly either about the first and second world wars, or medieval medicine – a course of leeches anyone? If you are a teenager, or parent of teens, you won’t be surprised to learn that these are still hot topics on the whiteboards of today’s GCSE students.

Girls Can Do Anything - Etsy UK Girls Can Do Anything - Etsy UK

The Asia Foundation’s Dinh Kieu Nhung working with Vietnamese scholarship students (Photo: Whithney Legge / The Asia Foundation)Malala Yuousafzai is probably one of the most iconic young people of our time. Her courage and determination to make a difference provide an outstanding example of the potential that every single one of us holds within us, to make positive changes to our world. In celebration of the publication of Girls Can Do Anything on 2nd August, award-winning author Caryl Hart discusses the lives and achievements of five women who have inspired her. She said: “The girl would become distressed when we sang. But with the adding of actions she became more comfortable with our campfire songs and with us singing Happy Birthday. Our refreshed brand is much more than a new logo. It’s how we look. It’s how we sound. It’s everything we do, and why we exist.

Girlguiding | Help all girls know they can do anything

The 2012 Olympic Games marked a turning point for me in terms of disability awareness and the television campaign that marked the run up to the games was a major influence in the writing of Girls Can Do Anything. For the first time, the Paralympic games were given the airtime they deserved and the achievements of people with disabilities were publicly and noisily applauded across the nation. Here were people who were not made less by their disabilities, they were shown to be so much more. They were billed as superhumans who have accomplished phenomenal feats despite a whole host of obstacles including a wide range of disabilities. Karen tells CONNECTED that being a Leader in Girlguiding involves running weekly meetings, planning, resourcing and delivering a range of fun activities. Alongside working with the girls there is also the administrative responsibilities, such as keeping accounts, letters to parents, managing a team of volunteers and risk assessments. She said: “Occasionally there is the fun of organising a sleepover or camp holiday which I really enjoy.” We help all girls know' shows that we offer girls a world of possibilities and that we’re helping to shape a future where all girls can be happy, safe, and fulfilled.

What we’re doing – our new look and feel

So why does it matter that a woman went into space 55 years ago? She wasn’t the first person to do so. In fact, she was the 12th. Why does it matter that Helen Sharman went into space 24 years before Tim Peake? Vietnamese girls face more barriers to educational attainment than boys, especially girls from poor families in remote and rural areas. (Photo: Whitney Legge / The Asia Foundation) Another example of the impact of this support is Ha Thi Anh, one of just two female students in the department of civil and industrial construction at the National University of Civil Engineering. Once a shy student from a rural province, Ha Anh is now a confident and accomplished student. She enthusiastically participates in all program activities—including soft-skills training workshops, supplementary English lessons, and volunteer activities. In any activity, she always plays a leadership role by gathering and organizing her peers. In her, we find an abundant source of energy and an intense desire to rise. She regards her family’s situation not as a fault, but as a motivation to achieve her goals. She works part time as a tutor to help cover the cost of living in Hanoi. She cultivates her English capabilities in any way possible and seeks advice from senior students and friends in her major. She explores opportunities for study abroad and many other previously unimaginable things, with the hope of a brighter future and supporting her parents. Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Rangers have their own distinct identities so they appeal to girls at different ages as they grow. This is a picture book that has the potential to open up important discussions with both girls and boys about equality and opportunity. Girls Can Do Anything would be an excellent choice for reception and KS1 classroom libraries.