,type=downsize)
Former first lady Michelle Obama, philanthropist Melinda French Gates and attorney Amal Clooney gathered in New York City to launch the “Get Her There” campaign. Their new global initiative aims to educate and empower teenage girls.
The Obama Foundation’s Girls Opportunity Alliance, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Clooney Foundation for Justice will work together to advance gender equality, improve girls‘ access to education, and end child marriage.
“We created the Get Her There campaign to inspire everyone to get involved in our work — because we know that our entire world benefits when girls are educated and empowered,” Obama said in a statement. “That’s why I am so grateful that Melinda and Amal — two of the world’s most compelling and influential leaders for gender equity — are teaming up with the Girls Opportunity Alliance to help remove the barriers that stand in the way of every girl getting the opportunities she deserves. The barriers these girls face are very real, but I couldn’t be more hopeful about what’s ahead in our work together to support them.”
They also hosted a panel to share details of the project. According to Obama, the “there” in Get Her There is “anywhere a girl can dream.”
“These girls are showing us where ‘there’ is,” she explained. “Education made the difference in my life. … It has given me the tools to envision where ‘there’ [is for me].”
“Who knows how many of the [girls pushed into child marriage] could’ve gone on to cure cancer or lead a country?” Clooney asked.