Updated
Moroccans Mark International Day of the Girl in DC – Caitlin Dearing Scott
Caitlin Dearing Scott
October 11, 2016
Caitlin Dearing Scott, SVP, Research, Programs, and Policy, MAC
As countries around the world mark International Day of the Girl – an annual event to recognize girls’ rights and the unique challenges they face – 21 Moroccan girls are in DC at the invitation of First Lady Michelle Obama, celebrating their own commitments to achieving their educational goals during a weeklong exchange program.
On Saturday, a total of 44 girls and young women from Morocco and Liberia arrived for the 2016 Let Girls Learn: U.S. Exchange Program, one part of the Let Girls Learn initiative to promote equal access to quality education for girls around the world. Their visit continues a dialogue with the First Lady, who visited the group in Marrakesh in June to discuss their shared commitment to education and the empowerment of young girls.
The girls will “participate in activities designed to celebrate their leadership skills,” including an international digital conversation with other girls co-hosted at the Newseum by Glamour magazine’s The Girl Project and Let Girls Learn; a trip to the new African American History Museum; and visits to local universities. The signature event will be a celebration of International Day of the Girl at the White House, with a dialogue and screening of the CNN documentary, We Will Rise,.
US Ambassador to Morocco Dwight Bush is accompanying the group. In a press release, Ambassador Bush praised the program, noting, “I am delighted to be accompanying these young women to Washington D.C. to meet once again with First Lady Michelle Obama because they represent the ambition of all young Moroccans who want to make an enduring, positive impact for their families, their communities, and their country. Elevating the voices of young women and girls across Morocco allows us to understand their hopes and aspirations and ensure that they are an integral part of our shared efforts to build a more peaceful and prosperous world.”
For more information on the visit, follow @USEmbMorocco and for more on the progress Morocco has made on girls’ and women’s’ rights over the last decade, check out our issue brief.