Today, WOW celebrated the 12th International Day of the Girl by bringing together 150 inspiring women and non-binary people and 150 secondary school students on The lastminute.com London Eye for a morning of speed mentoring sharing dreams, ambitions and challenges as they soared over London.

Since 2012, 11th October has marked International Day of the Girl to address the needs and challenges faced by girls all around the world and to highlight their phenomenal strength and power. Now a much-anticipated event, this year's WOW Day of the Girl offered young people from schools and community groups across London and the south east the opportunity to meet highly influential and inspiring women and non-binary people including: WOW Founder and CEO Jude Kelly; actors Shobna Gulati (Coronation Street), Rhea Norwood (Heartstopper) and Janiq Charles (SIX); paralympic archer Jodie Grinham; former GB athletics champion Perri Shakes-Drayton; former Liverpool FC Women’s footballer and current club ambassador Natasha Dowie; TV presenter and Dr Ronx Ikharia; Minister for Victims and Violence against Women Alex Davies-Jones; activist and founder of Free Periods Amika George; campaigner Doreen Lawrence; artist Lubaina Himid and activist Helen Pankhurst.

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 which spanned the world of business, sport, politics, public life, the arts and more, enabling students to have a snapshot into the ways in which women and non-binary people are paving the way for the future.

This afternoon the young people took part in a series of creative career-building activities with WOW working in partnership with the National Theatre's new skills centre and WOW's Global Girls Champion Standard Chartered. Workshops will include confidence building, problem solving, creative-writing, dancing and a behind-the-scenes tour of the National Theatre.

Speaking at a WOW event earlier in the year, Her Majesty The Queen, President of The WOW Foundation, said "I have been enormously impressed to hear of the mentorship that has been offered [at WOW], the panel discussions that have challenged and strengthened those present, and the partnerships that have been forged with organisations that are, year round, doing incredible work with young people. So I want to say, quite simply – well done and thank you."

Jude Kelly, WOW Founder & CEO said: “As WOW looks ahead to our 15th anniversary in 2025, celebrating girls and giving them the space to explore their hopes and dreams is of utmost importance to us. We are at a time where injustice faced by women is at an unprecedented level, but we are continually inspired by the creativity and bravery of girls around the world. They energise us to continue to stand up and strive for gender equity. By bringing together these 150 students today with 150 incredible people to share their stories and dreams, we hope to demonstrate to them that their voices are important and their potential limitless.”

Tanuj Kapilashrami, Chief Strategy and Talent Officer at Standard Chartered said: “We are delighted that Standard Chartered is set to deepen our partnership with The WOW Foundation for the second year as the Global Girls Champion. We continue to drive greater economic equality and a more inclusive future for all, and we are excited about the opportunity that girls, women and non-binary young people involved in the Bank’s community initiative Futuremakers have from greater involvement with WOW events. These opportunities to celebrate achievements and inspire others, not only raise ambitions for a brighter future, but also serve to empower participants with the tools to help them succeed. We will continue to connect even more clients, colleagues and communities to these events for maximum impact.”

The WOW Foundation is proudly supported by its Global Founding Partner Bloomberg and Global Girls Champion Standard Chartered.