MINISTER of Human Services and Social Security, Dr. Vindhya Persaud, in an effort to empower girls and amplify their voices, will be launching “The StoryBoard Initiative” and a special edition of “Youth Unfiltered” as the ministry joins the rest of the world in observing International Day of the Girl Child.

The day, observed annually on October 11, is used for recognising the importance, influence, and budding talents of girls and to also promote the opening up of more opportunities for them. The occasion is also designed to raise awareness of gender-based issues such as the digital divide, poor learning opportunities, violence and exploitation of girls.

“Girls in our country must be actively involved in the conversations about their welfare and future and be given the enabling environments in all spheres to develop their potentials. It must be our mission to equip a formidable generation of girls with the every tool to make the architects of world for tomorrow’s women.” Minister Vindhya Persaud declared.

“The StoryBoard Initiative” to be launched by Minister Persaud was conceptualised during a conversation with one her team members, Anuradha Persaud. This espouses the idea of imparting creative writing skills, along with functional literacy, to develop storyboards written by girls who had difficult lives and surmounted those challenges.

These inspirational stories will be published and the proceeds used for these young women’s well-being. A series of inspirational books is intended to be published over time. Each girl in the programme will be tutored for six weeks and will be provided with a creative survival kit which includes a tablet, hygiene products, toiletries, stationery supplies and a backpack to motivate and support them. Teachers and journalists will be partnering with the Ministry of Human Services in the pilot programme, intended to be rolled out countrywide next year.

Dr. Persaud believes that ‘Youth Unfiltered’, a programme featuring young influencers who will discuss timely topics on the ministry’s social media platforms, will help to ignite health discussions among girls across the country, heightening awareness of their challenges and proposing solutions, as well as offering profiles of girls who have surmounted hurdles and succeeded.

In her recently launched Women’s Innovation and Investment Network (WIIN) programme, a practical, skills training programme for women and girls, Dr. Persaud has included courses on information technology, garment construction, graphic designing, video editing, photography, and interior decorating as a tangible solution to bridging the digital divide as captured in the theme of this year’s celebration “Digital generation. Our generation.” She is cognisant of the heavy dependence of this generation on digital technology to connect, learn and network.