She Leads International SUMMARY Girls and young women, particularly GYW from socially excluded and exploited groups, are denied the opportunity to voice their interests and to participate meaningfully in decision-making processes.
She Leads is a joint programme of Plan International Netherlands, Defence for Children - ECPAT the Netherlands (DCI-ECPAT), African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET), and Terre des Hommes the Netherlands (TdH). Equal Measures 2030 is a technical partner. In the She Leads Global Advocacy Network,  She Leads members of Terre des Hommes, Defence for Children, ECPAT International, FEMNET, Equal Measures 2030 and Plan International will implement the programme together with representatives from youth led organisations and She Leads Country networks. They will bring together child rights organisations, feminist/women’s rights organisations, and GYW-led groups with the aim to increase sustained influence of girls and young women (GYW) on decision-making at the international level. Girls and young women’s (GYW’s) rights to engage in public decision-making are enshrined in international agreements and national laws. In reality, however, GYW voices are excluded from the socio-political domain, particularly those of GYW who experience intersecting forms of discrimination. 
GYW’s meaningful participation is obstructed by three interrelated factors. Firstly, discriminatory gender- and age-related social norms limit GYW’s rights to move freely, voice opinions and engage in public life. Secondly, GYW groups in civil society are under resourced and lack strong ties with more established CSOs. The latter are not always responsive to the specific needs and perspectives of GYW-led groups. Furthermore, the global phenomenon of shrinking civic space is affecting GYW-led organizations, making it even harder for them to express their opinions, assemble and associate. Groups that challenge the ruling gender ideology are increasingly being intimidated, threatened and exposed to violence. In conflict and humanitarian contexts, GYW actors risk additional security threats as easy targets of militarized and extremist forces. 
Thirdly, political institutions at all levels, including at international level are dominated by elites consisting of mainly male, elder leaders, with no interest in institutional reforms that would make decision-making processes more inclusive, transparent and accountable. Existing consultation mechanisms (such as youth parliaments and advisory bodies) are usually poorly resourced, dependent on donor support and functioning irregularly. She Leads envisions change in 3 domains of society: the social-cultural, civil society and institutional domain. With the She Leads International Programme the focus in on the institutional domain at international level and the role of civil society in influencing this international level. 
The media and the voices of young female activists play an important role in inspiring other girls and breaking down negative stereotypes. 
In the civil society domain, the creation (consolidation) of safe spaces at international level is important, in which GYW from the different She Leads Country networks can meet, exchange, build their confidence, political consciousness and skills. Another key condition is the increased capacity of (adult-led) CSOs to effectively support GYW collective action. Stronger collaboration between GYW groups, child and women’s rights networks, nationally and internationally, will lead to a more enabling environment for GYW-led groups. A well connected and better resourced social movement for girls’ rights is able to promote a strong feminist counternarrative to the dominant patriarchal and ageist ideology. 
In the institutional domain at international level the  She Leads international programme monitors and influences how national policy makers navigate and present themselves at international fora. The She Leads international programme advocates towards the UN Special Mandate holders, Human Rights mechanisms and treaty bodies at important national fora and international agreements and policies. By bringing the advocacy messages from the She Leads youth from the countries to these fora and policy makers, they will develop greater awareness and knowledge about GYW inclusion in decision-making. Pressure exercised by regional and international bodies will force national governments to take action and safeguard GYW’s rights to association and freedom of expression. The She Leads International programme will partner with existing GYW-led groups and feminist organizations. Importantly, special efforts are made to support existing informal groups of girls and young women, for example girls' clubs, associations, student groups and unregistered organizations, which have started to organize and mobilize but are often excluded from many funding mechanisms. The She Leads Global Programme supports and facilitates GYW-led organizing and feminist activists' from the different She Leads countries, to access influential decision makers and influencers at global level. The issues flagged and the initiatives started by GYW- led organisations in She Leads countries will be amplified at relevant international fora and decision-making spaces. Apart from international advocacy with and by GYW-led organisations, the She Leads consortium members of he international programme will strengthen the connections between GYW-led organisations at global level and amplify their media messages and campaigns towards a broader public. The international programme will collaborate with media reporting on international advocacy spaces and international development cooperation to amplify the voices of girls and young women in global processes and address negative gender and age norms that continue to hamper girls' and young women's meaningful participation in international advocacy and development processes and spaces. The international programme will facilitate networking and organize with other groups, CSOs and networks at international level to address gender equality. Also the involved GYW-Led organisations from the She Leads countries are strengthened in their influencing and advocacy using evidence-based data, especially facilitated by technical partner EM2030. In order to effectively influence and participate, the GYW are strengthened in their technical advocacy skills and their organizational and networking capacity. The International programme will connect Girls and Young women with decision makers and other CSOs at international fora. Representatives of the GYW-led groups from the She Leads countries will be supported to influence the targeted institutions at international level through awareness raising, direct engagement, workshop and training on networking and technical lobby and advocacy skills. Through the programme the GYW will have the capacity, knowledge and tools to directly influence and engage with decision makers and stakeholders in the international advocacy space. The international programme will seek engagement with UN bodies and other intergovernmental organisations, to improve the meaningful particiation of GYW at the international level. Within the population of girls and young women (between 14 till 24 years), the programme aims to strengthen the influence and participation of GYW who suffer most from (intersectional) discrimination and exclusion. These include:
•	GYW living in poor, remote rural areas and urban slums
•	GYW experiencing gender based violence (particularly girls who have married early)
•	GYW with disabilities
•	GYW who are out of school
•	Refugee and internally displaced GYW
•	GYW from sexual minority groups
The benificiaries will be the GYW from the She Leads countries who will directly be influenced and engaged by the International programme. Also the benificiaries will be the GYW that profit from stronger and more meaningful participation processes institutionalized at international level. And the GYW will profit from the outcomes of the HR monitoring and country monitoring that the She Leads International programme will target including UPR, VNR and Treaty body recommendations. 1.	Funding and resourcing of girl-led/young feminist organising, collective action and activism: building upon experiences of FEMNET and Plan International, we will co-design, test and adapt flexible, grant-making mechanisms with and for girl-led groups fitting their needs and characteristics. Flexible, core funding will be combined with capacity support actions addressing GYW-led group’s (advocacy) priorities and with protective measures to generate safe spaces for girls’ political empowerment.  
2.	For data-driven and evidence-based advocacy & research at global level, She Leads will partner with Equal Measures 2030 and GYW to compile and share relevant data about gender equality and progress toward the SDGs for GYW in each She Leads country, leveraging and adapting its tools such as the SDG Gender Index and the Gender Advocates Data hub.  
3.	She Leads will catalyse the growth and strength of social movements and collective action to tackle gender inequality, exclusion and injustice towards GYW in all their diversity. The meaningful inclusion of GYW in membership and leadership of international networks and movements will be key   to accelerate and push for GYW agency, support positive and progressive social and gender norms and system change.  We will create linkages with GYW and existing networks She Leads. 
4.	At the global level, She Leads adopts a media influencing and advocacy strategy. Spreading feminist GYW-led stories and demands for social and gender norms change via traditional (TV, Radio) and new media (socials) we target the whole community. ( 
Advocate for girls’ access to international institutions and human rights mechanisms. She Leads will advocate and facilitate space for GYW to engage and contribute to international accountability processes and human rights mechanisms. She Leads partners will share expertise She Leads contributes to a lasting transformative effect on engagement of GYW in decision-making. The following strategies will be implemented: 
- Advocacy on the strengthening and resourcing GYW-led organizations: investing in the resource base of GYW-led organizations will help them access other funding in the future. And the strengthening and capacity building of the alliance organizations itself to directly fund the GYW-led organizations
-Bring together child-rights and feminist organisations and GYW-led groups at international level and fora to push collectively for transformative change in gender norms, and for institutional reform. 
-Organisational capacity strengthening of CSO’s: investments in advocacy capacity, building relationships with decision-makers, strengthening fundraising skills will have a lasting effect on their influencing work beyond She Leads. 
- Linking local, national, regional and global level: She Leads is implemented at different levels that are strategically interconnected. Interventions and results in one domain trigger change in other domains, and changes at local, national, regional and international levels are connected and influence each other.