Shona Project Shines a Light on the Mindset of Young Girls
28th September 2022
On Tuesday, October 11th and Wednesday, October 12th, The Shona Project will launch its hybrid (online and in-person), multi-award-winning SHINE Festival in celebration of International Day of the Girl.
The festival takes place on the back of new research conducted by The Shona Project and its partners at The Youth Lab and the Irish Secondary Students Union, which reveals worrying data on Irish teenage girls’ confidence, fears and mental health.
In the past six months alone, teenage girls claimed that because of social media they struggled with low body image (61%), feeling isolated (55%), low self-esteem (52%) and low mental health (48%).
When looking at the threats facing them day-to-day, 61% of teen girls feel unsafe in the evening and night time, 56% of girls don’t know what they would do if they experienced bullying and a third of respondents agreed that their parents don’t have a good understanding of what’s going on in their lives.
When it comes to sports, almost half (42%) of teen girls in Ireland have given up sports in the last 24 months, the main reason being a lack of motivation to attend.
The Shona Project strives to create a support system for all the girls as they navigate their way through the teenage years. Thanks to the SHINE Festival partners, the SHINE Festival live stream and website content will be available completely free of charge as a well-being resource for schools, teachers and students for the remainder of the academic year 2022-223.
The two-day event will have over 100 impressive online and in-person speakers including Roxie Nafousi, Erica Cody, Louise McSharry, Ellen Keane, Georgie Crawford, Senator Eileen Flynn, special musical guest Lea Heart and many more. Guests can tune in online and the in-person event will take place at The Conference Centre at The Clayton Hotel Burlington Road. Over 1,000 girls each day will hear about topics such as mental health, wellness, mindset, career, diversity, individuality, the arts, sports, social issues, and sustainability.
Tammy Darcy, Founder and CEO of The Shona Project said:
“Like everyone else, the young women we work with have been hugely affected by recent historic world events. They are feeling more stressed, isolated and anxious than ever before.
SHINE allows us to provide them with the inspiration they need right now, and invite them to become part of an empowering movement of women who are strong, resilient and authentic.”
SHINE is Proudly supported by Permanent TSB, HP, The Dove Self-Esteem Project, Sport Ireland, PLAN International, BAI, Eastgate Engineering, Cogs and Marvel, SAP, BEAT 102-103, iRadio, SPIN 1038 and SPIN South West.
