The Dove Self-Esteem Project:Our work with WAGGGS

The Dove Self-Esteem Project (DSEP) has a long-standing partnership with the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) to reach young girls all around the world and change the way they see themselves.

A joint mission to empower girls

Representing 10 million girls in 150 countries, the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts^🔗 and the Dove Self-Esteem Project already share a common vision: a world where young girls feel free of worries about their appearance; free to be themselves. Our mission is to empower girls by strengthening their body confidence and self-esteem. It’s an important mission, especially when eight out of ten girls are so concerned about their appearance that they avoid important activities such as putting their hand up in class. By building their body confidence and self-esteem, we can help girls reach their full potential.

Body confidence and self-esteem boosting tools

It’s a huge goal, but here’s how we’re achieving it: together with body image experts Dr. Eric Stice, Dr. Carolyn Becker and Dr. Phillippa Diedrichs, DSEP and WAGGGS created the Free Being Me programme in 2013 – a body confidence and self-esteem boosting education activity pack for children aged 7 to 14. Just a year after its creation, the project reached young people in 85 countries. Now, it has reached nearly five million young people in over 140 countries – including some very inaccessible locations, such as a Free Being Me camp which involved young girls from all of Sudan’s 18 states.

Together in 2017 we launched ‘Action on Body Confidence🔗 (PDF)(14.5MB)': a new programme designed to support two age groups of young girls – 7 to 10 year-olds and 11 to 25-year-olds – to build their own self-esteem and advocacy projects. It’s just one of the many ways we’re helping young people build confidence in everyday life. 

For the past 2 years, Dove Self-Esteem Project and the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts have hosted 11 Girl Guides and Girl Scouts from around the globe to join forces at the United Nations General Assembly for the Young Women’s Advocacy Forum. Connecting with leaders and speakers, they were able to use the event to develop their advocacy skills and projects to take action on body confidence issues in their own countries.

“Young girls can really effect change”, says Sarah Nancollas, CEO of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts. “With Dove’s support, they are influencing policy makers to find a way to hear the voices of women regardless of ethnicity, size, body shape, body image.”

The 11 girls involved in the Young Women’s Advocacy Forum were empowered to turn their ideas into action. “If I see something I don’t think is right I cannot keep quiet”, said Diana, from Guides of Mexico, “thanks to this opportunity, I can now find the resources to help me shape my feelings into specific actions that can bring about change”.

Raising awareness

For over five years, WAGGGS and DSEP have attended key United Nations events, such as the Commission on the Status of Women, to advocate key opinion leaders, raising awareness about body image issues and providing solutions to address them.

Together with WAGGGS, we’re helping millions of young girls around the world be who they want to be. You can find out more about WAGGGS at their website^🔗 or download our Free Being Me programme.