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A world in which all people’s stories are heard, believed and accepted.
Mission:
To foster communities of young women creating change through stories, theater, and media.
The Problem:
We believe that stories have power. Those with the power to shape the narratives that are accepted and repeated shape our values, our history, our perspectives, and ultimately, our society as a whole. The danger is that if only certain types of people have
the platforms and the tools to share their stories, only certain people will have the power to shape society. And too often, when people who lack platforms for their stories try to raise their voices, they are met with silencing and disbelief.
All people need to not only have platforms from which to tell their stories,
others also need to be ready and willing to listen.
At Girls Amplified, we want to live in a world where everyone has a platform AND an audience who is ready to listen, to learn from their perspectives, and widen their world view through hearing and learning about others’
experiences; only then will change happen.
Too often, people overlook the power of the media, but the media is the platform through which these powerful stories are disseminated. When we hear negative stories about certain people and certain communities over and over again, we unconsciously start
to believe those narratives. Until we change the narratives, we can’t truly start to dismantle societal inequalities.
Because women and girls have historically been underrepresented both on screen and behind the scenes, Girls Amplified aims to give young women the tools with which to tell their stories and the stories of their communities. In addition, we aim to teach young
women to listen to others, to truly hear other people and to widen their perspectives in order to create communities and to ultimately to create change through storytelling.
We can’t afford to keep telling our girls that their voices aren’t worth amplifying. Stories shape the world – how we view important issues and those around us - and we need more girls and women shaping our world.
Our Solution
The Girls Amplified After-School Program:
Girls Amplified is an after-school program that will consist of a 10-12 week, twice a week course in which girls will learn:
1. How to write, perform, and produce narratives, theater pieces, and video
2. How to critically analyze and interpret media stories
3. How to listen to and affirm the stories of others
4. How to start to collaborate, build communities and incite change through storytelling
Girls will come out of our initial program with the confidence and tools with which to start making their voices heard and affecting change in their communities. The program w
