Documentary Tour

This fall, Simonee, Liz, Torey and Jon travelled across Canada interviewing hundreds of girls about adversity and strength in their every day lives for the Because I am a Girl movie.  Stay tuned for the launch of the documentary in Spring 2010, but for now you can also check out the trailer:

411 TV School Tour

In November, Masia One, Eternia and Nana hit the road for the Because I am a Girl School Tour, performing in tons of schools across the country sending the message that there’s something that we can do about the issues that girls face around the world.  Check out a video from one of their performances featuring Masia One:

Blog

And here were your favourite posts from 2009…thanks for reading!

• Today, we met Michaela!!

• There’s something wrong with “You Guys”

• East coast Michaela rocks!!!

• What are we REALLY doing at these SCHOOLS?!

• Update from Ottawa!

We thank soooooo many of you for sharing your stories and encourage those we didn’t meet to share their heartfelt words, opinions and ideas here on the Because I Am A Girl website. We won’t be coming to your city but you can still be a part of the documentary and more importantly the campaign and movement! Post you blogs here and upload your own videos.

Here’s the deal – We need to be aware of the plight and unfair challenges affecting girls everywhere and as lucky ones – here in Canada – we need to do something! So what I ask… Just read all our blogs over the last month? Take a look back at the beginning, where we startedd this journey, alongside with you to make sure we stay aware and we all move into action. The drive across Canada may be over but the challenges facing us are not so please stay on top of things and make sure to drive Because I Am A Girl into ACTION.

Next time we talk on this blog – I hope to hear from you and know what our next step will be?

hugs,

Simoneeeee

Liz summed up our visit yesterday – The school, the young author and the South African academic, pioneer – today there was one more! We met a mom… You read that right. Maureen is a wife, mother of two girls and author! She’s writing two books centered around girls and women’s rights, as well as exploring the discrimination they face. Devine Daughters, is daybook for parents who want to raise strong girls! And Strong Girls is a guide  for girls to be confident, courageous and feminine! You see, Maureen and I believe the goal isn’t to be more like a man but rather a true woman! Now maybe you’re wondering why the documentary team interviewed a woman – Isn’t this documentary about girls and for girls only? Well, not exactly. Maureen was important because she got into writing about girls and for girls because of her daughters. Their well being, issues coming up for them and adversities facing all girls, inspired Maureen to change her career, take up writing and use her voice to help fight the plight facing girls everywhere!

So is there a fight for girls we can take on together? Inspire one another into action? I think we know the answer to that question. Lets get to it!

Signing off from Vancouver, Simonee

Maureen was inspired as a mother to make a difference for girls

Today we met with some girls from the Britannia Secondary School in Vancouver. While at the school we were also surprised by a visit from Plan Canada’s newest spokesperson, Filipino-Canadian pop star, Elise Estrada.  Elise is very excited about being part of Plan’s Because I Am A Girl campaign and she is looking forward to spreading awareness about the plight of girls around the world.

After Elise and the girls from Britannia Secondary compared a few stories about school life and life in the spotlight, we had the chance to meet some of the Britannia Secondary girls and discover how they were playing their parts in influencing positive change.

The girls came from a variety of backgrounds, but they all had one thing in common. They wanted to change things for the better, and they were on their way to do it! Some thought on a local scale with plans to help the hungry or impoverished in their immediate communities, but some thought on a global scale with hopes of spreading happiness as a blanket cure for many of the world’s problems. They were part of a school club called Global City Club.  One of the girls in the club remarked, “In joining the global city club it feel like I am able to create change in the world, I am able to actively participate in activities that are doing something”.  The best part about this club was that not only do they themselves participate in helping to bring about positive change, but they also encourage members of their school to do the same!

Afterwards we made a brief stop on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive to shoot some footage, when I came across the most delicious samosa I have ever had!  It almost knocked me off my feet.  Commercial Drive is home to an unbelievable variety different scents, flavours, people and cultures –more streets in the world should be like Commercial Drive.  So far, Vancouver has been a bastion of healthy eating and healthy thinking.  You are what you eat, I guess.

I’m off for another samosa!

Torey

Our first stop was at Sir Wilfrid Laurier high school where – I have to say – the kids are SO cool. We met many new faces who talked to the documentary team about being a girl, their dreams and all the hardships they face.

I also did a CBC radio interview letting Ottawa know where we’ll be for the next few days. I talked about the drive for action across the country and mentioned just some of the girls who’ve already stolen our hearts. Speaking of which, one girl we met in Toronto, will be up on the blog site tomorrow – so check back to meet the amazing inspiring WILLA! Even better, send her and us a comment on the blog about her story?  Remember the documentary and our caravan tour is like a conversation – one that you’re free to participate in.

Tomorrow we’ll be live on the A Channel – Ottawa’s #1 morning show. We’re talking about the Because I am a Girl campaign and how we’d love to meet more girls like Willa and the girls we met today  - After that, we head to the Rideau Shopping Centre, we’ll be there between 12-2 pm.  Swing by  and we’ll interview you for the documentary. There are release forms on line that you can download and get your parents to sign (just in case your parents can’t come to the mall with you). Find us with our camera’s and then we’re in business. 

Talk soon, 

Simonee

So here we go.  The report was generated by Plan –one of the largest and most established and international development agencies.  They operate in 65 countries and they mobilize MILLIONS of people to support social justice for children in the developing world.  In the poorest regions of the world, girls and young women face unique barriers to survival and development, simply because they are girls.  But the Because I am a Girl campaign is hoping to change this. Over the next five years, we’re aiming to enlist one million girls from all over the world to bring about positive change through their personal relationships and social influence.   By investing in girls we can provide a path out of poverty for families, communities and nations!

So how can you play a part in the campaign? There are two ways you can contribute and you have already achieved one by coming to the site.  The next is being a part of the documentary! Come and visit us at one of our many stops across the country: Toronto, Ottawa, Halifax, Vancouver, Saskatoon and Winnipeg.  If you can’t make it in-person, upload a video in response to the Plan Canada video on YouTube!

Visit:  http://www.youtube.com/user/PlanCanadaVideos

Once you have contributed online or in person, you can see if you made it into the Because I am a Girl documentary by coming out to the “Pink Carpet” premier in Spring 2010!

That’s all for now!

Torey

The thing about the Plan Canada’s Because I am A Girl campaign is that not only does it strive to benefit young women around the world, but it also strives to benefit the world by focusing on young women.   If we can get the world to concentrate on investing in girls and young women, it has been proven that families, communities, and entire nations can be lifted out of poverty!  By creating a generation of empowered women, mothers, workers and leaders, we can start a chain reaction that aims to improve the lives of not only women, but also everyone around them.

That is why this is a great campaign, that is why we are coming to a city near you, and that is why you should take part in the campaign! Visit us in one of our city stops, or contribute online by uploading a video of yourself!

More too come soon,

Torey

Just wanted to introduce myself! I’m Simonee (pronounced Simone with the”E”). I’m the director of the soon to be released documentary,  Because I am a Girl which will make its pink carpet premiere in the spring of 2010. But in the meantime we’re still looking for candidates to take part in this movie so listen up…  It’s and exciting documentary spearheaded by Plan Canada to ensure a global movement for change and you – YES YOU – can help by sharing your stories, concerns and ideas! Did you know that NO COUNTRY HAS EMERGED FROM POVERTY WITHOUT INVESTING IN ITS GIRLS and yet girls are still the most disadvantaged people on the planet?!?! 

As part of the documentary team, I psyched to be heading on a cross-country Canadian tour to talk to girls, mothers, fathers and boys about adversities facing girls throughout the world. The documentary team (Liz, Jon, Torey and myself)  believe that awareness combined with action, one person at a time, can change the world.  So come with us, metaphysically speaking, head to the website regularly to follow our journey, know where we are and drive ACTION! You can send me a note, post your own blog and add your own video. We’ll be aboard our trusty caravan and head to Toronto, Ottawa, Quebec, Halifax, Vancouver, Calgary, Saskatoon and Winnipeg in the coming month and you can join us on the site. When we get to your city – we’ll want to meet and HEAR from you and together we’ll inevitably make a fantabulous difference.

Talk soon,

Simonee

Excited for the Because I Am A Girl journey...

At the launch, we also interviewed a vivacious group of girls who conveyed to us the importance of global change for girls everywhere. Ranging from ages ten to eighteen, the young women expressed their hope for equality worldwide. One girl, Adalyn, age 11 responded -  “If you think you can’t do something, you just haven’t tried. One voice can make a difference”.

We finished the launch by interviewing recording artist and Canadian Idol finalist Tara Orem as well as a group of girls from the “Girls Can Do Anything Magazine” who all agreed that social change is possible if you take that extra step and use your voice to speak up.

We finished the day by visiting Bliss Carman middle school where we talked to two different groups of girls who all spoke articulately about the differences between girls in Canada and those overseas. Each girl expressed their desire to help girls overseas, they just weren’t sure how. When we told them about Plan and the Because I am a Girl campaign they asked how they could become involved and were eager to know more. Since the launch on the 22^nd, our team has been busy interviewing different girls at schools all across Toronto including the Bishop Strachan School and Havergal College.

The team is really excited to get on the road! We can’t wait to meet incredible girls all across Canada and to hear what they have to say first hand. The landscape of Canada is spectacular and we look forward to capturing the beautiful imagery our country has to offer from coast to coast.