Girl Rising

News flash!

There’s a must-see movie in the works, girlfriends …

It’s called Girl Rising.

The title grabbed me right from the get-go, and the more I learn about it, the more hooked I become. It’ll be an experience that none of us will want to miss. My passion for thinking globally was renewed recently when Oprah aired re-runs of her interviews of young women for her school in Africa. What they said and how they described their lives and talked about the JOY that education brings them had me sobbing all over again. (This time I recorded it for my daughter and grandgirls to watch.)

Girl Rising was created by the 10×10 global action campaign for girls’ education in order to share the extraordinary stories of 10 girls from 10 countries who are fighting to overcome impossible odds on the road to realizing their dreams of education.

By Jorge Royan (CC-BY-SA-3.0) / Wikimedia Commons

Directed by Academy Award nominee Richard Robbins, the film was also written by 10 celebrated writers and narrated by 10 renowned actresses, including Meryl Streep, Kerry Washington, and Selena Gomez.

That’s what I call star power!

“[We’re] telling a story that might not be captured in a traditional documentary,” says 10×10. “A voice for girls who might otherwise never be heard.”

Girl Rising is scheduled for theatrical release in March 2013, and will also air on CNN and CNN International in May.

But you don’t have to wait that long to get a taste. Head to the 10×10 site today and watch the movie trailer.

Again and again.

By Jorge Royan (CC-BY-SA-3.0) / Wikimedia Commons

If the trailer whets your appetite for more (and I know it will), then dig deeper into 10×10, and get to know what’s going on behind the scenes of the movie.

This incredible organization is all about building worldwide support for girls’ education by spreading the message far and wide, from corporate boardrooms to rural villages, and changing minds about the importance of educating girls.

Why girls?

As if we have to ask!

Research has proven that educated girls dramatically improve the well-being of their families, their communities, and their countries. 10×10 believes that educating girls:

• reduces poverty
• reduces child mortality
• reduces population growth
• reduces HIV infection rates
• changes the conditions that lead to terrorism
• reduces corruption

Want to get more involved?

• Donate to 10×10 film production.
• Share the Girl Rising trailer on Facebook or Twitter and raise $1 for girls’ education (the goal is $20,000, and they’ve raised just over $2,000 so far).
• Start a 10×10 Book Club.
• Spread the word on your school campus.
• Join the campaign to educate girls.
• Sign the pledge to support Girl Up, a campaign of the United Nations Foundation that is striving to give girls the power to make positive impacts on the lives of their families, their communities, and our world.