FORUM: “
We are Here: Bold, Diverse, and Unstoppable – DemandingAction for Girls’ Rights.”
International Day of the Girl Child 2025. The discussion will focus on key issues affecting girls, such as their participation in social and political life, their education, eliminating all forms of violence and discrimination against them, championing their leadership in the climate crisis, and financing for the realization of their rights. As we honor the 30th anniversaries of the Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action and of the World Programme of Action for youth, these engagements are the basis of a crucial movement toward the equality and empowerment of young women and girls. Girls Speak Out 2025 is not only a celebration, but also a policy platform. It is where commitments are made, heard, and expected to be fulfilled. Let’s go beyond recognition to real action. Let’s ensure that when girls speak, the world doesn’t just listen—it respond. Follow the conversation with the hashtags:
#DayoftheGirl,
#IDGxWGG,
#GirlsRightsNow,
#11DaysofAction,
#GirlsVision4Future #ActionforGirlsRights #GirlchildDay,
#11october,
#InternationalDayoftheGirlChild.
Good morning, everybody.
And I must say, Wow. What a room.
I mean from this side, I can see all your faces, your beautiful dressings here. This is all so special.
If you’re in a room full of women or girls, it’s so powerful and colorful.
So what Andrea just said–this is your space. This is your room.
So be like a girl.
You don’t have to be sitting like this, like adult, 50-year-old ones, but really take your power and take your pride.
And I have to confess something at the beginning, because I really hesitated to take part in this event today, not because I am not an advocate for women and girls’ rights; I am, fiercely so.
But because this event is called “Girls Speak Out,” and I’m certainly not a girl anymore. I’m 44 years old. I have two teenagers, daughters.
They could sit here, and sometimes they feel embarrassed about their mother.
And as I heard from the beginning, moderator, I should sit up there in the red chairs.
But anyway, I’m thankful that I’m being invited to your girl’s event.
And though I’m obviously not a girl anymore, I was once a girl, a little girl with dreams just like you.
And when I was little, like very little, I was dreaming of becoming a gardener, because I really loved the environment and nature around me.
When I was a teenager, I wanted to become a journalist, and I even started to work as one.
Then I dreamed of becoming a war reporter.
Obviously, I’ve done at the end something differently.
I’m not reporting on wars, but I’m trying now to help to prevent them.
So I guess what I’m trying to say today here with you in this room is that it doesn’t matter if you dream of becoming a gardener, a teacher, winning an Olympic medal or a Nobel Peace Prize.
The thing which really matters is that you follow your interests with passion and that you put your whole heart in every opportunity, even when there are detours, even when you have doubts.
So my dream for you is that each day you do exactly that what you love, your passion, and you do what you love with every ounce of your being.
And that nobody and nothing will stop you.
No man, no religion, no legislation.
No system that tries to silence you.
No criticism or bullying from others at school or these times online.
Not even what can feel often like the loudest voice of all — your own self-doubt.
And frankly, I know that voice.
As first female and especially youngest Foreign Minister of my own country.
There were days when I was the only woman at the table.
There were days when others questioned whether I should be there at the table with only 30 years old and little daughters.
There were days when the firestorm on social media was so heavy that it made me waver, and I was not sure if I could stand that any longer.
But what helped me was always remembering and thinking of all the other women who have been there before and who have been also little girls with dreams, who also struggled and wavered, but always stood up again, joined forces with other women and girls who struggled.
And two weeks ago, like Andrea said in her introduction, we celebrated here at the United Nations, in the big hall, Beijing +30, the first female big event for women rights and representation.
And you cannot imagine how these women did not only struggle, but people even questioned if they could meet.
So we celebrated all these women who, with no doubt, faced not only challenges, but women like Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nadia Murad, who faced the most horrible atrocities you could imagine as a woman, but stood up for her own rights against ISIS, a terrorist organization, and spoke here in the General Assembly Hall.
Women who became the first female president of their country.
And when they dreamt about even going to Parliament, people laughed about them.
We celebrated women who became the first head and President of the International Olympic Committee.
So next time when you as a girl, hear that voice again, maybe at your school yard, “well, you just run like a girl”.
Or you hear it in office, or even in Parliament, “you act like a girl”, or “you speak like a girl”, then do exactly that.
Run like a girl, meaning running fast as hell.
Act like a girl, meaning leading with empathy, with laughter, with compassion and sometimes with tears of joy or even grief,
And speak like a girl, meaning speaking bold, loud, and clear for yourself and for all the girls who cannot speak up in that moment.
And always remember when the headwinds are the strongest, you’re exactly on the right pathway and you are unstoppable.
So use this power, speak up today and all the other 364 days, because you are unstoppable.
I thank you.
H.E. Ms. Annalena Baerbock.
EVENTS: On October 10th, starting from 10:30am- 12:30pm EST at the ECOSOC Chamber in UNHQ New York, New York; As we commemorate
International Day of the Girl 2025, we affirm that progress for girls must be led by girls. Under the theme: "
We are here: Bold, Diverse, and Unstoppable - Demanding Action for Girls' Rights," this year's
Girls Speak Out will
highlight both the challenges girls face and the leadership, resilience, and solutions they bring forward. Hosted by the Working Group on Girls (WGG) and global partners, this 2-hour advocacy focused event is co-designed and co-led by girls. It brings together girl leaders, Member States, UN agencies, and civil society actors in a hybrid, intergenerational dialogue grounded in shared accountability and transformative action.
Girls Speak Out 2025 is not only a celebration, but also a policy platform. It is where commitments are
made, heard, and expected to be fulfilled. Let’s go beyond recognition to real action. Let’s ensure that
when girls speak, the world doesn’t just listen—it responds.
The event will include an intergenerational townhall consisting of two panels: “Girls on the Frontline
of Crisis – Protection, Peace and Power” and “From Margins to Power – Girls Defying
Discrimination and Reclaiming Identity.”
SPEAKERS:
• H.E. Annalena Baerbock, President of the United Nations General Assembly
• H.E. Gustavo Lino Adrianzén Olaya, Permanent Representative of Peru to the UN
• H.E. Maritza Chan, Permanent Representative of Costa Rica to the UN
• H.E. Michael Gort, Deputy Permanent Representative of Canada to the UN
• H.E. Aslı Güven, Deputy Permanent Representative of Türkiye to the UN
• Ms. Lauren Rumble, Associate Director, Gender Equality, UNICEF
• Ms. Lopa Banerjee, Director, Civil Society Division, UN Women
• Ms. Cecile Mazzacurati, Gender Advisor, Programme Liaison Branch, UNFPA
• Girl moderators
RUN-OF-SHOW:
10:30 – 10:55: Opening Segment
including a dance performance from the Greek American Folklore Society.
10:55 – 11:30: Panel 1: Girls on the Frontline of Crisis – Protection, Peace, and Power
11:30 – 12:00: Panel 2: From Margins to Power – Girls Defying Discrimination and Reclaiming
Identity
12:00 – 12:30: Reflections and Recommitment
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