Today, WOW celebrated International Day of the Girl 2022 by bringing together 180 inspiring women and 180 secondary school students on The lastminute.com London Eye to share their dreams and ambitions as they soar over London.

Since 2012, 11th October has been marked as International Day of the Girl to highlight andaddress the needs and challenges girls face, while promoting girls' empowerment and the fulfilment of their human rights.

This unique WOW event offers 180 secondary school girls (aged 13 to 19-years old) from 27 schools and community groups across London and beyond the unique opportunity to meet 180 highly influential and inspiring women including: WOW Founder and CEO Jude Kelly, activist and author of Everyday SexismLaura Bates, Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy, Oxford City Cabinet member Shaista Aziz, The Triple Cripples’ Jumoke Abdullahi, Ward Councillor London Borough of Lambeth Sonia Winifred, CEO for Refuge Ruth Davison and the CEO for Bloody Good Period Rachel Grocott.

Each student was matched with three different mentors for 15-minute mentoring sessions during two complete rotations of The London Eye. The mentors joined from a wide range of professional backgrounds and industries from leaders of huge international companies such as Amazon, Google, YouTube, the Tate, Mastercard and Bloomberg, and women who are MPs, Local Coucillors, founders of charities and campaign organisations like End Violence Against Women, as well as journalists, poets, actors, theatre makers and more. Crossing sectors of science, finance, arts, politics, media and more, the students were able to have a snapshot into the ways in which women and non binary people are paving the way for the future.

Jude Kelly, CEO & Founder of The WOW Foundation, said: “On the 10th anniversary of International Day of the Girl, WOW - Women of the World continues to celebrate, platform and nurture the amazing activists of the future, with our third annual Young Leaders Directory which platforms young activists, leaders and campaigners - this year’s selection including girls as young as 11 such as climate change activist old Licypriya Devi Kangujam and trans activist Kai Shappley. We also held our annual London Eye speed mentoring event, where secondary school girls get the chance to talk to inspirational and influential women in a variety of industries.

We are at a time where political, economical and social injustice faced by young girls and women is at an unprecedented level. From the tragic death of Mahsa Amini in Iran, and the Taliban erasing the rights of women and girls to the cost of living disproportionately impacting women’s safety and income. In these bleak moments, we see hope in young activists standing up for gender equality across the globe.By creating these unique WOW experiences, we hope to provide a space for these young girls and non binary people to change our world and their future for the better.”

Imran Tauqir, General Manager of The lastminute.com London Eye, said: “We’re delighted to support The WOW Foundation in hosting this special event for International Day of the Girl. Now in the 10th year of our partnership with WOW we are proud to join in celebrating the importance, power and potential of girls around the world. As a global symbol of innovation it’s fitting that today the lastminute.com London Eye is a stage for young women exploring their dreams and aspirations. We hope the unique perspectives opened up by the views of our capital will provide inspiration for the girls on this important day.”

We've also published a third edition of our Young Leaders Directory, to celebrate Day of the Girl. Explore it here now.

The WOW Foundation is proudly supported by its Global Founding Partner Bloomberg, and Global Partner Mastercard.

This year’s WOW International Day of the Girl activity is made possible by The Big Give and everyone who donated to our Women and Girls match funding campaign.