130 million girls are denied a proper education globally. They are not in school and because poverty is sexist, girls in the poorest countries are less likely to receive an education than boys.
Droga5 New York’s digital campaign #GirlsCount for Bono’s advocacy organisation, ONE, is counting every girl who didn’t go to school today. All 130 million. And all counted, one by one, by 130 million people throughout the world.
ONE’s chief marketing officer, Roxane Philson, noted “It’s a global crisis that 130 million girls are not in school. It costs less than a loaf of bread to send a girl in one of the world’s poorest countries to school each day – a small investment that could save more than a million lives and add more than $100 billion dollars to the global economy every year. #GirlsCount is uniting people to make the scale of this crisis clear and to call on leaders to do more.”
At the spearhead of the campaign is a film, directed and animated by Lucinda Schreiber that captures the enthusiasm of people to do this. As well as achieving a stellar performance from the young American narrator, Schreiber presents a montage of people from every walk of life joining forces by filming themselves counting a number between one and 130 million out loud. One film to represent every girl denied an education.
International supporters joining the count in solidarity include Malala Yousafzai, Sheryl Sandberg, Angelique Kidjo, Bono and David Oyelowo, as well as Emmanuelle Chriqui, Tom Brady, Giselle Bundchen, Michael Sheen, Chelsea Handler, Tracee Ellis Ross and Charlize Theron.
ONE plans to combine the videos into the world’s longest ever film to urge world leaders to take the action needed to ensure every girl receives a quality education.
Facebook chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg commented, “130 million girls around the world are out of school. One of the challenges in effectively addressing this global crisis is conveying its staggering scale. 130 million girls are being denied the basic human right of an education – the domino effect of which none of us can afford to ignore. I joined the count at ONE.org choosing number five because that’s the age millions of girls around the world should be walking into a classroom for the first time. Far too many of them will never get that chance, unless we demand world leaders act.”
People who want help change the lives of millions of girls around the world can join the campaign by claiming a number and posting the video or picture you create stating your number online here.
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ONE launched Schreiber’s film and the action on March 7, ahead of International Women’s Day, together with a report that shows how getting more girls in school could save more than a million lives and add more than $100 billion dollars a year to the global economy.
On International Women’s Day, March 8, thousands of ONE activists around the world will take part in a global walk-in, hand-delivering a 330,000-signature open letter to their elected representatives calling for every girl to receive an education.
Schbreiber is represented by Photoplay in Australia and New Zealand.