8th March 2017 witnessed one of the greatest teen girl conferences of the year, attended by more than 200 teenage girls coming from Schools across the UK to NatWest in Bishopsgate, London. One of the main objectives of Rocking Your Teens is to support the ambition and empower the confidence of these young girls. After all, when you empower girls, they say, you are raising the quality of life for everyone. It is these girls that will lead children by example, lead businesses, lead communities and even lead the country one day.
The most striking observation about the girls was the sheer confidence they exhibited in the way they carried themselves. When I was their age, I hardly ever got an opportunity to visit events on this scale and on those rare occasions that I did, I made sure to stay away from any kind of interaction where I could possibly be put in the spotlight. But here we saw girls not only actively participate but also question the guests’ speakers without any inhibitions. And the questions were no ordinary ones. Carefully crafted and coherently delivered! Some were happy to be videographed for interviews as well!
Several of them had their future plans chalked out, and they communicated those goals to the rest of the audience in a very self-assured manner. All of them looked eager and excited to learn from many inspiring speakers that presented that day. A few of them were found, diligently taking notes of the entire event.
One thing which unanimously excited all the girls was posing, smiling and taking a selfie in their bright red bandana and posting the hashtag #RIVETINGstem. When asked regarding their social media presence, almost everyone admitted to having Instagram, twitter or snapchat accounts which clearly indicated that these young girls were way smarter, more globally aware and more techno-savvy than we ever were. Yet they also showed signs of compassion. These teenagers reflected their concern for doing the greater good on several occasions during the day. For example, one girl shared that she wanted to build more hospitals in her hometown. Her father was one of the privileged few, but not everyone had access to the same facilities as her father did. So her aim was to change that and build more inclusive facilities for all. Another one expressed the desire to positively impact politics and create a more inclusive, accepting and tolerant social political world for everyone. These were indeed very heartwarming thoughts. When most adults would ordinarily not be interested in thinking beyond their own needs, here there were these 13-14 years olds, ready to take on the world and make a difference to everyone else.
Some of the speakers themselves were young girls who were committed to social and charitable causes and encouraged others to do so as well.
All in all, the entire event exuberated lots of energy, inspiration, and positive vibes. What was even more wonderful was to see these teenagers participate in the event wholeheartedly. One thing is for sure. These girls are trailblazers. These girls are capable. These girls showed that they have the power to rise above all challenges and crush any stereotypes and biases that could rise against them. These girls have the power to change the world! And as mentors and supporters of their goals and ambitions, what more could we want?
Find out about future Rocking Ur Teens conferences here
Hira Ali is Founder of Advancing Your Potential & Revitalize and Rise She is a Leadership Trainer, Motivational Speaker, Writer, Professional Coach & NLP Practitioner. She participated in Rocking Your Teen’s girl conference as a volunteer and supporter.