A Global Girl reporter believes in the power of her voice to change the world!
Appalled by the lack of dialogue, critical awareness or accurate representation of women and girls in new media, a group of female filmmakers, broadcasters and journalists collaborated to form GlobalGirl Media (GGM). The organisation aims to empower high-school aged girls from disadvantaged backgrounds by giving them a voice in the global media universe and their own futures as citizen journalists.
The circumstances that inspired the founders of GGM to initiate the programme were double-pronged. The first was that they recognized that the vast majority of mainstream news reporting focuses on violence, celebrities, or disaster, while the everyday experiences and points of view of the general public (and girls in particular) goes unheard.
The second reason was that it became obvious that although teenage girls are prolific users of the internet, social networking (particularly Facebook), and phone texting, in web editorial, gaming and social media development around the world fewer than 5% of the people in influential positions are women.
To attempt the change these trends the programme encourages girls to speak out about the issues that affect them and their communities through new media. But there is the added problem that girls from impoverished areas are often unable to access such technologies and so are being left behind in this digital age. GGM solves this issue by providing the girls with the necessary tools for them to become blogging journalists in the form of equipment, education and support.
As they say on their website, GlobalGirl Media invests in girls to become their own agents of change in bridging the gender digital divide, providing concrete skills with which to improve their personal situations. We firmly believe that working with young women around the world to find and share their authentic voice is an investment in our global future.  
GGM works by pairing US communities with international cities, creating a peer-to-peer international network of girls. The girls are trained to work with small-format video (camcorders or cellphones). They also have Academies operating in various parts of the world and pair with NGOs on projects and in order to select deserving girls for the programme.
If you are interested in learning more about GlobalGirl Media, donating to their cause or becoming involved yourself visit their website.
-Briar Barry
Junior Girl
Girl Museum Inc.