THUNDER BAY - A local conference is giving girls the chance to take control of their self-worth at a young age.
One Girl Inspired is a conference for girls, ages eight-to-12, to learn about female empowerment, leadership, and confidence.
The day-long conference is filled with sessions and activities to help bolster the participants’ self-esteem.
“We want to empower these girls to accomplish anything they can, and believe in themselves regardless of what society or the media may be telling them,” said conference facilitator Hannah Smith.
The “Queen Bee’s and Wannabe’s” session covered the topic of girl culture and cliques, while “Throw Like a Girl” demystified stereotypes and called for female empowerment.
“I think I’m most excited for our session on body image,” Smith said. “We’ve got an activity where we’re deconstructing Barbie and her figure. How it’s very unrealistic and it’s not healthy - or even attainable - to strive for.”
12-year-old Sonya O’Flaherty said the sessions taught her important perspectives on determining worth through appearance and personality.
“Before I thought appearance was slightly more important than it really is,” Sonya said. “Everybody here looks different, but everybody here has a good personality - we can all be friends no matter what we look like.”
Her favourite session, “Be Media Smart,” examined the significance of social media and its impact on self-esteem.
“If I ever get Instagram or something and I don’t get a lot of like on a picture, I learned I should keep it up if I want to, and that I should appreciate who I am even on social media,” Sonya said.
“I want to inspire them to have the ability to take control of their own lives. I’ve tried to create ideas that they can delve into so they can learn more about it,” Smith said.
A session for girls aged 13-17 is set to take place at some point in the fall. More information about the event can be found at onewoman.ca/one-girl.
