Thursday, October 11, 2012

'Because I am a Girl Rock Concert' by Plan India

Mumbai, 10th October 2012: Mr. Anil Kapoor, Patron & Goodwill Ambassador for Plan India, the leading child centred community development organization working in India for over 32 years announced that ‘ Because I am a Girl Rock Concert’ , to be held at Chitrakoot ground, Andheri , West in Mumbai on October 10, 2012 , 5:30 onwards. The Concert is aimed at drawing the attention of masses towards the cause of Girl Child as a part of first ever ‘International Day of the Girl Child’ Celebrations, organised by Plan India to support its ‘Because I am a Girl’ (BIAAG) campaign. The concert would raise awareness and funds that would be utilized to improve the lives of the girls through education, protection, skill building and empowerment.

The conference was chaired by Mr. Govind Nihalani, Chairperson, Governing Board, Plan India, Ms. Bhagyashri Dengle, Executive Director, Plan India in presence of the artists of the performing Rock Bands Indian Ocean, Sona Mohapatra, Parikrama, Indus Creed, Papon & Euphoria. Together they unveiled the anthem for the ’BIAAG’ campaign, a song composed by the artists of Rock Bands performing at the BIAAG Rock Concert, as a tribute to the Girl Child.

A historic milestone for girls' rights was reached when the UN General Assembly recently declared October 11 as the International Day of the Girl Child. Plan had helped lead the call for this commemorative day as part of it’s 'Because I am a Girl' (BIAAG) initiative, a global movement to end gender inequality and promote girls' rights. India also supported the resolution at the UN and Plan India is celebrating the upcoming day in a big way to spread the message of ensuring India's commitment to girls’ rights.

'Because I am a Girl' (BIAAG) is a global initiative launched by Plan to promote girls' rights and lift millions of them out of poverty. It is geared towards equipping, enabling and engaging girls of all ages to acquire the assets, skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in life. Plan India is attempting to initiate change at a number of levels (i.e. local, national and international) with the assistance of a number of partners. Some of the indicators of the campaign’s success are, infant mortality rate, primary school enrolment, the number of girls in Plan communities who - survive beyond the age of five years, complete school, and have access to healthcare and the skills to lift themselves out of poverty.

This year the goal of Plan’s Because I Am a Girl campaign is “Learning for Life” which commits towards building the human capital of girls through knowledge and skills, aiming to equip, enable and empower girls of all ages to acquire the assets, skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in life. Adolescent girls stand at the doorway to adulthood. If adolescent girls stay in school and obtain real skills, research shows that they will earn more income in the future, marry later, and have fewer and healthier children. In the longer term, secondary education protects girls against HIV and AIDS, sexual harassment and human trafficking. A combination of secondary education with financial assets and life skills, is essential for adolescent empowerment, development and protection.



Mr Anil Kapoor, Patron & Goodwill Ambassador, Plan India said “I have supported Plan India for over six years and have worked closely for various causes including Birth Registration, Violence against children, and human trafficking. However the cause of Girls remains closest to my heart as I am a father of two wonderful daughters.”

I have also been extensively involved with one of the Plan communities in Rajasthan to rehabilitate girls and women from a caste based sex trade system and my experience of meeting young girls from these communities was truly life changing. It gave me an insight into how girls are far more vulnerable and the critical role Plan India has played in making them aware of their basic rights. It’s really important to educate girls to ensure they obtain right skill set, marry later and lead a safe and healthy life. I echo Plan India voice for investing in Girls as the principal key to eliminating poverty .” He added.

Ms. Bhagyashri Dengle, Executive Director, Plan India said, “Ending gender discrimination and promoting girls’ empowerment is a key focus area as a part of Plan India’s Because I am Girl Campaign. Plan India programmes aim at transforming the lives of girls by overcoming barriers and building their assets through a life cycle approach so that they realize their full potential in societies that recognize the equal rights of boys and girls.”

“Over next five years, Plan’s ‘Because I am a Girl’ campaign aims to support millions of girls worldwide to get the education, skills and support they need to transform their lives and the world around them. In India we aim to ensure over 3, 40, 000 girls remain in school and access quality education, 1,00,000 girls complete secondary school through various school improvement program and 50,000 girls receive vocational training by the year 2015.” She added.

About Plan India

Plan India is an Indian NGO working to improve the lives of disadvantaged children, their families and communities through an approach that puts children at the centre of community development. Since 1979, we have been working with our partners to help children access their rights to proper healthcare, basic education, and healthy environment, protection from abuse and exploitation and participation in decisions that affect their lives. We encourage children to express their views and be actively involved in improving their communities. Plan India currently works in 11 states in India, across 5000 communities and has touched the lives of over a million children.

For more information on Plan India, please visit planindia.org 

About the Because I am a Girl Campaign (BIAAG)

“Because I am a Girl” is a global initiative launched by Plan to promote girl’s rights and lift millions of them out of poverty. It is geared towards equipping, enabling and engaging girls of all ages to acquire assets, skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in life. The Because I am a Girl campaign aims to reach out million girls directly, in terms of bringing about improvement in girls’ lives with access to school, skills, livelihood participation and protection.

Keeping with its commitment Plan India shall release the research report on the subject “Learning in Life” during Oct-Nov 2012.

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