June 2026
Ten Years of the Girls First Summit
132 participants, representing 60 community-based organisations and 30 adolescent girls, came together from across Kenya and Uganda for the 10th Girls First Summit…a milestone gathering celebrating a decade of learning, leadership, and impact. Together, we deepened our practice in girl-centred programme design, feminist mentorship, and sexual and reproductive health and rights, while engaging directly with girls to ensure their voices remained at the heart of decision-making.
"The goal was never simply to gather people in a room. It was to equip grassroots leaders with practical tools, reliable networks, and true opportunities to collaborate in ways that would fundamentally strengthen their daily work for girls,” shared Kate Kiama and Emma Mogaka in our most recent blog.
The Girls First Summit continues to be a space where practitioners and girls learn from one another, strengthen community, and leave with practical tools to create lasting change. To everyone who joined us…Thank you for making the 10th Girls First Summit our most inspiring gathering yet.
Introducing Girl Rising’s Gala Honorees
As we mark our Sweet Sixteen, we are thrilled to celebrate two extraordinary leaders whose journeys have been intertwined with our own from the very beginning: Janet Middleton Montag and Tara Abrahams.
Janet and Tara have spent decades opening doors for girls and women around the world - through philanthropy, advocacy, storytelling, leadership, and an unwavering belief in girls' potential. Janet helped bring the original Girl Rising film and campaigns to audiences around the world and has championed bold investments in girls ever since, including support for Future Rising and a generation of young climate leaders.
Tara was part of the founding team that helped build Girl Rising, later served as Board Chair of She’s the First, and today helps guide our shared future as Board Co-Chair of Girl Rising. Honouring them at this moment feels deeply fitting: a full-circle celebration of where we began and where we are headed next.
Want to get involved? Contact Cris Valderrama at cris@girlrising.org.
#FamiliesThatRise – Parents’ stories from Chhattisgarh, India & Narok, Kenya
What does it take for a girl to stay in school and chase her dreams? Sometimes, it starts with a conversation at home.
This #GlobalDayofParents, we launched #FamiliesThatRise, a campaign spotlighting parents and family members helping create brighter futures for girls across India and Kenya.
From Debbie's experiences leading parenting workshops in Narok County, Kenya, to Rajendra Sahu's journey supporting his daughter's education in Chhattisgarh, India, and a Sarpanch who became a champion for girls in her community, these stories show the power of families to drive change.
Take a look at the behind-the-scenes moments from our work with parents.
What would it take to finally leave menstrual shame behind?
This #MenstrualHygieneDay, girls from our Girls Advisory Council answered that question with courage, creativity, and conviction.
Through poems, essays, artwork, and bold ideas that challenge stigma and dismantle long-held taboos, they remind us that menstrual health is about far more than periods. It is about dignity. Education. Wellbeing. Equality.
Their voices imagine a world where no girl is held back by shame, silence, or misinformation…a world where periods are met with openness, understanding, and respect.
To every girl who shared her story, perspective, and vision: thank you.
The #Power2Choose podcast is HERE!
9 girls. Girl Rising Fellows. One podcast on Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights.
What happens when girls from different corners of the world start talking openly about periods, bodies, health, and the questions nobody seems to answer?
This podcast is the result.
The #Power2Choose podcast brings together real stories, shared experiences, honest conversations, and a few myth-busters along the way. From menstrual health to the taboos that still hold girls back, they're exploring what needs to change, and what becomes possible when girls have the knowledge, confidence, and freedom to make decisions about their own bodies.
Because the more they talk, the less there is to whisper about.