8 – 21 October 2018

Supporting girls with children’s books around International Day of the Girl

Willow Willpower by Sarah Cannata, a new picture book from eco-friendly publisher blOOturtle, is being released on 11 October 2018 to coincide with the United Nations’ International Day of the Girl. The day highlights and addresses the needs and challenges girls face while promoting the empowerment of girls and fulfilment of their human rights.

“The UN’s 2018 theme for this day is ‘With Her: A Skilled GirlForce’ and revolves around today’s generation of girls preparing to enter a world of work that’s being transformed by innovation and automation. Willow Willpower promotes the message of kids having faith in themselves and their dreams. It empowers kids to believe they can achieve anything they want to,” said Sarah Cannata, founding editor of This Woman Can, an online newshub and digital magazine that helps young people and women to realise and maximise their career and life potential.

Like the book “The Meadow” by Susan Bagdach, Willow Willpower’s focus is on self-fulfilment and the courage to stand up for one’s dreams.

“You cannot encourage people to stand up for themselves enough. I love helping children by telling them stories that revolve around them being good enough, just the way they are.” said Susan Bagdach, founder of the intercultural Women and Girls Health Center IFMGZ HOLLA e.V.

For blOOturtle, the above is reason enough to support girls in different ways

Between 8 to 21 October 2018, blOOturtle will highlight female pioneers via its website and Facebook page in honour of International Day of the Girl and to motivate and inspire young children. A set of beautiful cards will be available to print for free. The publisher will also donate 1 Euro (approx. AUD $1,60) per book sold online on blOOturtle.com/books to Plan International’s project “Safer cities for girls” in India for books in English and to Federal Association of Women’s Health Centers for books in German between this period.

Learn more of Plan International’s project >>>
Learn more about the Federal Association of Women’s Health Centers >>>
Go to the women pioneers >>>
See our inspirational children books >>>

For every English book purchased online here, 1 Euro will be donated to this project between the 8 – 21 October 2018

CREATING SAFER CITIES WITH AND FOR GIRLS

The Safer Cities for Girls programme has been developed with partner organisations UN-Habitat and Women in Cities International.

The programme goal is to build safe, accountable, and inclusive cities with and for adolescent girls (aged 13-18). The expected outcomes of the programme include increased safety and access to public spaces, increased active and meaningful participation in urban development and governance and increased autonomous mobility in the city for girls.

The programme provides girls with a platform to discuss the issues they face and the opportunity to provide input into the development of their cities. It is essential that girls are listened to so their specific needs around sanitation, education, public spaces, transport and access to city services are addressed.

Safer Cities for Girls works to tackle unequal power relations and challenge harmful social norms that perpetuate the insecurity and exclusion of girls in cities. The programme works with governments and institutions, families and communities, and girls and boys themselves so they can become active citizens and effective change-makers.

Discrimination and harmful attitudes that perpetuate abuse and harassment of girls are not limited to urban areas. Our programmes help girls learn about gender equality and their right to safety, wherever they live.

Deema*, 14, lives in a slum resettlement scheme in south Delhi. She got involved with Plan International’s Safer Cities programme more than a year ago and has learnt a lot about dealing with many of the safety challenges that she and other girls face on a daily basis.

“Sexual harassment is a daily reality for girls in my neighbourhood. We feel safe nowhere. If my family could afford to relocate to a better area, we would. But most people in my community are poor. Parents can’t afford to send their children to better schools or move to safer neighbourhoods.

Our only hope to turn our lives around is by getting an education. However, we can’t even learn without fear. We are routinely harassed by boys and men on our way to school. Even at school boys throw stones at us through the windows in our classrooms.”

Plan International’s Free to Be city safety maps, created in collaboration with Australia’s Monash University and the online mapping provider CrowdSpot, are now live in Delhi (India). Girls and young women are encouraged to use the web-based map of their city by dropping a purple ‘good’ pin on areas where they feel safe and an orange ‘bad’ pin on the locations where
they feel unsafe or uncomfortable.

The girls can then provide a description as to why they like or dislike that part of the city, including details any incidents they experienced there.

“Girls must be able to feel safe in all places, whether it is college, bus stand, school or at work. If they are safe they can achieve so much in their lives. They can become doctors, police inspectors, teachers… and fulfil their dreams.”

Aarti*, 18, lives in a slum resettlement scheme in south Delhi with her parents and three younger brothers. She is a commerce undergraduate hopes to become an accountant.

“Every day when I go for my tuitions, I face the nightmare of walking past groups of boys standing on street corners. They call me names and try to attract my attention. I just ignore them and keep to myself. The fact that the street lights don’t function properly makes it dangerous for girls like me to move around in the evening. It’s frightening. I don’t want to be attacked, it’s my biggest fear.

I am studying hard to be an accountant and I don’t want to sacrifice my ambitions and give up my hopes for a better future because of the safety challenges I face every day. It’s very important for girls like me to complete an education and have a career if we want to better our lives. Ever since I became a part of the Safer Cities programme, I’ve become confident of my own potential.”

More information here

*Name has been changed in-line with Plan India’s policy of removing the identity of all contributors under the age of 24

For every german book purchased online here, 1 Euro will be dontated to the girls projects of the Federal Association of Women Health Centers between the 8 – 21. october 2018

For Girls in Germany

Although there are so many good organizations worldwide, blOOturtle has decided to help the girls also locally, regionally and nationally. That is why the donations for books in german go this year to the girls aid from the Federal Association of Women’s Health Centers e.V. 

The Federal Association currently networks 16 women’s health centers. He is a member of the National Women and Health Network, the European Women’s Health Network (EWHNet) and Associate Member of the Federal Association of Patient Centers (BAGP). Representatives of the Federal Association are involved in the expert discussion on women’s health in the Federal Ministry of Health and in the Women’s Health Working Group of the Federal Center for Health Education (BzgA).

The goal is to provide girls and women with good information about the body, sexuality and health problems, to encourage them to live independently so that they can freely decide their health and their body.

In a sheltered environment, girls and women can learn, share and learn to embrace and appreciate their body and experience many opportunities to handle their health responsibly and to be empowered in their daily lives.

In September 2011, the BV for his decades of commitment with the Salomon Neumann Medal of the German Society for Social medicine and prevention e.V.

More information here

Some extraordinary women…

Willow Willpower has big dreams. Ever since she can remember, she’s dreamt of flying high in the sky. When Willow’s mum takes her daughter to the local museum, Willow gets to know the aviation legend, Amelia Earhart. It soon becomes obvious to her: she wants to become a pilot like Amelia and travel around the world.

Willow inspires children of all ages to dream big, thanks to female pioneers like Amelia who have paved the way…. Let’s honor some of the most impressive women of all time to pass the inspiration to all the little Willows out there. And to us!
Let’s have a look:

Willow Willpower’s hero Amelia Earhart:
Amelia was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

Get the set card here: https://blooturtle.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Set-cards_A4-GB_1-Amelia-Earhart.pdf

in german: https://blooturtle.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Set-cards_A4-D_1-Amelia-Earhart.pdf

Marie Curie was the first woman who have won a nobel prize and still is the only woman who has won a Nobel prize in two different sciences (Physics and Chemie)

Get the set card here: https://blooturtle.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Set-cards_A4-GB_1-Marie-Curie.pdf

in german: https://blooturtle.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Set-cards_A4-D_1-Marie-Curie.pdf

The youngest woman who has won the Peace Nobel prize after the assassination in a school bus. Chapeau for a girl with unlimited courage!

Get the set card here: https://blooturtle.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Set-cards_A4-GB_1-Malala-Yousafzai.pdf

in german: https://blooturtle.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Set-cards_A4-D_1-Malala-Yousafzai.pdf

Today she is the most known female talk show host, the first afro-american billionaire and one of the most powerful enterpreneur in US…but also one of the biggest philantropes (approx. 300 million US$ for donations, founding Leadership academy for disadvantaged girls in south africa, etc)

Get the set card here: https://blooturtle.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Set-cards_A4-GB_1-Amelia-Earhart.pdf

in german: https://blooturtle.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Set-cards_A4-D_1-Amelia-Earhart.pdf

The refusal to vacate the seat on the bus for whites is considered as the beginning of the black civil rights movement

Get the set card here: https://blooturtle.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Set-cards_A4-GB_1-Rosa-Parks.pdf 

in german: https://blooturtle.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Set-cards_A4-D_1-Rosa-Parks.pdf

The sister became the mother when she laid the foundation for a new religious community helping the “poorest among the poor“.

Get the set card here: https://blooturtle.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Set-cards_A4-GB_1-Mother-Teresa.pdf

in german: https://blooturtle.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Set-cards_A4-D_1-Mutter-Teresa.pdf

The woman that brought the pants to women and the „Little Black Dress“ – a woman ahead of its (fashion) times

Get the set card here: https://blooturtle.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Set-cards_A4-GB_1-Amelia-Earhart.pdf

in german: https://blooturtle.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Set-cards_A4-D_1-Coco-Chanel.pdf

The woman who dedicates her life for women in the aftermath of war

Get the set card here: https://blooturtle.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Set-cards_A4-GB_1-Zainab-Salbi.pdf

in german: https://blooturtle.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Set-cards_A4-D_1-Zainab-Salbi.pdf

The „Queen of Soul“ received not only numerous honors, but was involved in the struggle for civil rights and women rights as well as Native American rights.

Get the set card here: https://blooturtle.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Set-cards_A4-GB_1-Aretha-Franklin.pdf

in german: https://blooturtle.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Set-cards_A4-D_1-Aretha-Franklin.pdf

The first woman who climbed the Mount Everest and received the Seven Summits! But also environmentally involved she “cleaned up“ while climbing.

Get the set card here: https://blooturtle.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Set-cards_A4-GB_1-Junko-Tabei.pdf

in german: https://blooturtle.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Set-cards_A4-D_1-Junko-Tabei.pdf

Frida Kahlo is the most famous artist in Mexico, if not in Latin America

Get the set card here: https://blooturtle.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Set-cards_A4-GB_1-Frida-Kahlo.pdf

in german: https://blooturtle.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Set-cards_A4-D_1-Frida-Kahlo.pdf

A trained seamstress flies into space, as the first woman in the world

Get the set card here: https://blooturtle.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Set-cards_A4-GB_1-Valentina-Tereschkowa.pdf

in german: https://blooturtle.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Set-cards_A4-D_1-Valentina-Tereschkowa.pdf

In 2004, the environmental activist was the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize

Get the set card here: https://blooturtle.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Set-cards_A4-GB_1-Wangari-Maathai.pdf

She is the author of the Declaration of Rights of the Woman and Citizen of 1791.

Get the set card here: https://blooturtle.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Set-cards_A4-GB_1-Olymp-de-Gouges.pdf

in german: https://blooturtle.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Set-cards_A4-D_1-Olymp-de-Gouges.pdf

Beautiful and motivational…

DREAM BIG!

Recommended Age: 3-8yrs

Willow Willpower has big dreams. Ever since she can remember, she’s dreamt of flying high in the sky. When Willow’s mum takes her daughter to the local museum, Willow gets to know the aviation legend, Amelia Earhart. It soon becomes obvious to her: she wants to become a pilot like Amelia and travel around the world.

Willow inspires children of all ages to dream big, all while whisking them around the globe. Discover some of the most famous places in the world alongside Willow as she takes you high in the sky.

EVERYONE, EVERY FLOWER IS UNIQUE – BELIEVE IN YOU!

Recommended Age: 3-10yrs

The meadow is full of harmony and full of blue flowers. The grass is bright green, the flowers are blue and have approximately the same height. If once in a while a flower grows here which looks differentely, it will drink ink to be blue as the others. But one day there is a big flower which just can’t turn blue. What happens now?

An extraordinary children’s’ book with wonderful images about the abundance of life, dealing with exclusion and finding the courage to stand up for yourself. Available in German Only.