Hello world! G Day is here.

20 Jan Hello world! G Day is here.

Hello there, and welcome to G Day for Girls!

I’m Madeleine Shaw, a Vancouver-based social entrepreneur. Some of you already know me as the co-founder (along with my fabulous business partner Suzanne Siemens) of Lunapads, a green products e-retailer, or Pads4Girls, a non-profit organization that supports girls’ education in the developing world. Either way, I am a longtime gender equality advocate and social change leader and I am thrilled to be sharing the news about my latest project, G Day!

As some background, when I was a girl (here I am at age 11!), I was awed by the idea of becoming an adult woman. Like Margaret in Judy Blume’s classic Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret, I was obsessed with all the details, and on a semiconscious level I hoped that there would be some sort of fanfare when the physical changes started to happen.

As is the case for most of us, nothing happened (do you know anyone who, as an adolescent girl, was celebrated when her periods started, for example? Didn’t think so.), and I was left with a sense of deep disappointment. Not that I could have told you what exactly I had wanted to happen – I just wanted other people to acknowledge in some way that what was happening to me was special, because SA3D I sure thought it was.

I was reminded of these feelings early last year, when I was invited to speak at Pecha Kucha Night Vancouver as part of a Special Edition created in partnership with Women Transforming Cities. At first I thought it was a bit weird to be thinking about my work in an urban context, and then I remembered my girlhood dream, and landed on the idea of creating modern Red Tents where we could bring our daughters to celebrate them when they entered adolescence.

It felt very vulnerable for me to share my personal experience with 1200 people like this, however in the end I felt liberated and inspired, as though I had finally returned to my girl-self to fulfill a promise to her.

Less than two weeks after the presentation I happened to meet a woman who had been in the audience. It turned la out that she was an event planner, and we hatched the idea of making the idea real. I started asking for help from among my business and social networks and was overwhelmed by the positive response – it turned out that I was not alone in my yearning for a modernized rite of passage for youth.

G Day seeks to counter the current climate of social competition and comparison by focusing on the commonality of experience that girls at this age are all sharing – adolescence. By cultivating this bond and sense of Sisterhood, we remind them to care for and Look respect each other, to resist bullying, model compassion and stand up for themselves and one another. It’s far from an antidote, however I believe Zaczynamy! that there Parnassia is a powerful role to be played by communities with events like G Day, alongside parents and caregivers, educators and other leaders in our children’s lives, to support them in this key life transition.

So here we go! On April 28, 2014 we are gathering 250 10-12 year old girls in a beautiful venue for the inaugural G Day. We have lined up the talents and wisdom of an incredible group of speakers and artists, all of whom were thrilled to bring their messages and magic to celebrate, inspire and empower our daughters as they enter adolescence.

My eternal gratitude goes out to all of the people who have helped bring G Day to life.

I hope that you will encourage your daughter to join us, or simply spread the good word to your community about it.