Empowered Girls,
Empowered Futures

International Day of the Girl
Theme: "Girls’ Leadership and the Power of Volunteerism”
October 6^th, 2025
İstanbul

October 11 has been designated as the International Day of the Girl by the United Nations General Assembly to raise the rights of girls and to promote efforts to eliminate barriers to their access to opportunities. Although efforts to remove barriers to girls' access to social and public life continue, gender inequality continues to severely limit girls' access to social, economic, health, and education rights due to its multifaceted effects. The Sustainable Development Goals, which we have the opportunity to remind the public on the occasion of the International Day of the Girl, call on the world's states to take steps to eliminate gender inequality and ensure girls' access to quality education by 2030 with Articles 4 and 5, in addition to global problems such as poverty, inequality, climate change, peace and justice.

We believe that real development will be achieved in a society where girls will be able to overcome the disadvantaged position they are exposed to due to gender inequality and lead a social life, and we argue that this meaningful effort sheds light on the vision of the 21st century. We call on everyone to take action to support girls to access their inherent rights equally and meaningfully, develop active citizenship skills, and realize their potential.

"Girls’ Leadership and the Power of Volunteering"

Since 2015, Aydın Doğan Foundation has been celebrating International Day of the Girl with a gender equality perspective, working to ensure that girls are protected from all forms of violence, have access to their rights, and fulfill their potential to lead society. This year, we are celebrating the International Day of the Girl with the theme "Girls' Leadership and the Power of Volunteering" together with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), and UN Women.

On the 15^th anniversary of the International Day of the Girl, UNICEF, UN Women, and UNFPA, under the international theme “The Girl I Am, The Change I Lead: Girls on the Frontlines of Crises,” stated: “All around the world, girls are taking action to confront the greatest challenges of our time. They are organizing within their communities, fighting for climate justice, demanding an end to violence, and reimagining their futures.” They call on all actors to recognize the leadership of girls in the face of multiple crises¹.

Volunteerism is a component of social development that cannot be ignored, playing an important role in social justice and equality efforts, in efforts to address social problems, and in meeting the needs of many social groups in times of poverty or crisis. The 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, which aim to secure a better future for the global community, call on the world's states and governments to work with volunteers to achieve these goals.² The global agenda, which focuses on how volunteer work should be supported to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, states that if volunteerism can be effectively supported and integrated into development efforts, it can be a game-changer in achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals³.

Volunteering provides opportunities for community development and social equality

The growing global interest in volunteering reflects an increasing collective effort toward social development. With an average of one billion volunteers in the world today,⁴ the power of social good-oriented work has an irreplaceable impact. The presence of women and girls in volunteer work is one of the key factors shaping the quality and effectiveness of volunteering on a global scale. Research reveals that approximately 57% of volunteer activities worldwide are carried out by women, with a particular concentration in the fields of social and health services⁵. According to another study, formal volunteering is mostly undertaken by men (54%), while informal volunteering is mostly undertaken by women (53%), revealing the relationship between volunteering and gender norms. The lower status of informal volunteering, its lesser recognition, and disadvantageous access to benefits such as insurance, training, or administrative support are important factors limiting the visibility and value of women's voluntary labor⁶. Nevertheless, volunteering makes a significant contribution to women's empowerment by providing them with opportunities to develop skills, expand their social networks, and take a more active role in social decision-making processes.

Another study highlights the link between volunteering and gender norms, showing that formal volunteering is predominantly undertaken by men (54%), while informal volunteering is more often carried out by women (53%). Since informal volunteering is associated with lower status, less recognition, and limited access to opportunities such as insurance, training, or administrative support, it remains a significant factor restricting the visibility and value of women’s volunteer contributions. Nevertheless, volunteering makes a substantial contribution to women’s empowerment by providing opportunities to develop skills, expand social networks, and take on more active roles in social decision-making processes.

The large-scale Needs Assessment conducted by Aydın Doğan Foundation in 2024⁶ to identify the needs of young women and civil society organizations (CSOs) revealed that girls and young women (80.8%) consider volunteering as a critical element for social development. The analysis also shows that for CSOs, volunteer management (62.9%) and the contribution of young women (61.9%) are the main facilitators of their activities. This finding reveals that volunteering is indispensable not only for individual development and social participation but also for the sustainability and effectiveness of civil society activities.

Aydın Doğan Foundation considers volunteerism not only as a means of individual participation but also as a strategic element that serves to strengthen the leadership capacity, self-confidence, and social participation of girls and young women. In this direction, increasing accessible volunteering opportunities that are in line with their interests, providing mentoring and capacity building support in volunteering processes, and making young women's voluntary contributions visible are among the priorities of our Foundation.

This year, based on the fact that girls and women can be the pioneers of social transformation through volunteering, we continue our efforts to enable them to realize their potential and draw attention to the International Day of the Girl on October 11 with the theme "Girls’ Leadership and the Power of Volunteering". We believe in the power of volunteering to strengthen solidarity, inclusion, and equality, and we aim for girls and women to gain visibility as leaders who not only receive support but also create social benefit.

The event will bring together youth, women, policy makers, humanitarian organizations, role models, and media to highlight the role of girls and women in social impact work.

TThe event will be held in Istanbul with a limited number of guests. A more detailed version of the agenda will be shared with those who confirm their participation.