6:45 a.m. Johannesburg, South Africa. The city is cold today. It's winter here in the southern hemisphere and the trees that line the neighborhood streets are bare and naked against the early morning sun. Despite the chilly weather, there is a palpable sense of energy and warmth running through the city. The 2010 World Cup, the first cup to be hosted on the continent of Africa, is only 5 days away and it's as if the entire city is vibrating in anticipation.
Back here at the Global Girl Media headquarters, the Global Girl and Press Institute team is buzzing with another kind of excitement. Today, Monday, June 7th, is the first day of our Kick it Up! project in the township of Soweto and this morning will be the first day many of us meet the 22 young women who will be part of this training program for the next 10 days. As trainers, we come from all different backgrounds with different expertise and different experiences and yet we are all here to achieve the same mutual goal: To give young girls a voice, to give them the tools, the education, and the resources to report the world as they see it, from their eyes and from their experiences. For the next nearly two weeks, we will be mentoring these young women to find their voices and to tell their stories. How has the World Cup affected their communities? Where do they see themselves in this epic, shared, multi-national experience? Who are these young women today and who will they be tomorrow?
Each day we will be posting a variety of excerpts from the day's training including articles and blogs from the girls themselves, and links to some of the broadcast content the girls will be producing with the Global Girl team. We hope you'll check in with us throughout the process to see the amazing transformation of this group of women from young students to budding journalists. It all starts here -- let the games begin!
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