Center for Strategic Communication

(Picture drawn by Abigail Dabu, Age 14)

“…I would like to run for some political office when I grow up.  Why?  Because there are so many changes that need to be made regarding important issues that are not happening.  And we need more women making decisions in our country!” —  Meera Kota, Age 15

“This week, the United States signed a new Declaration on Women’s Participation. Next year, we should each announce the steps we are taking to break down economic and political barriers that stand in the way of women and girls. That is what our commitment to human progress demands.” — President Barack Obama,  September 21, 2011

Building on President Obama’s challenge at the UN General Assembly in September 2011, the United States will be working with countries around the world as part of a new international effort – the Equal Futures Partnership – to politically and economically empower women in each of our countries.   

Among the United States’ commitments through this partnership are new efforts to promote civic education and public leadership for girls, including the launch of an Equal Futures App Challenge earlier this year: to create an app that promotes civic education and/or inspires girls to serve as leaders in our democracy.

Today we are pleased to announce that the following leaders have signed on to act as judges:

·      Representative Barbara Ballard
·      Anna Maria Chavez, CEO, Girl Scouts
·      Geena Davis, Academy Award-Winning Actor; Founder, Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media
·      Jack Dorsey, Creator and Co-Founder, Twitter; Founder and CEO, Square
·      Tiffany Dufu, President, the White House Project
·      Jocelyn Goldfein, Director of Engineering, Facebook
·      Mayor Elizabeth Kautz
·      Senator Lisa Murkowski
·      Andrew Shue, Co-Founder, dosomething.org; Co-Founder, cafemom.com
·      Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis
·      Judy Vredenburgh, President and CEO, Girls Inc.

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