EXPERIENTIAL CAMPAIGN

CW: MIA MORENO // AD: SUHYLAH SHARIF
Silver Addy in the Regional Richmond/Hampton Road Competition

As of 2023, women make up less than 30% of the 540 members of Congress. The average age of those women in Congress is 64 years old. It’s become abundantly clear that more women - young women - are needed to participate in local and state politics to make real change.

Introducing Girls’ State’s EmpowHer Women’s Conference - an educational and empowering conference for women that interested in politics. These women will get the chance to talk with their representatives, network with real politicians, and get all of the tools they need to get involved. Most importantly, they will gain a truly safe space for their voice to be heard in the political sphere.

GIRLS STATE EMPOWHER WOMEN’S CONFERENCE

WHAT IS GIRLS STATE?

Since 1937, the American Legion Auxiliary organized Girls State as a national Americanism activity. It is designed to teach young women responsible citizenship and ways to get involved within the government.

The program competitively selects high school students who have completed their junior year and are sponsored by American Legion Auxiliary units for this program. There, they learn about the political process by electing officials for all levels of state government and actively running a mock government.

On April 5, 2024, Apple TV+ released a documentary following 500 teenage girls from across Missouri as they gather for a week-long immersion of democracy. Throughout the week, viewers can see how the girls build a government from the ground up, campaign for office and form a Supreme Court to weigh the most divisive issues of the day.

“What would American democracy look like in the hands of teenage girls? In this documentary, young female leaders from wildly different backgrounds in Missouri navigate an immersive experiment to build a government from the ground up.”

Women aged 30-35 who have already taken an interest in politics. These are women who might follow political figures on social media, contact their representatives on issues they care about, and vote in local, general, and primary elections in their city and state.

TARGET

250 personalized invites will be sent out in each participating state. After 200 women RSVP, the rest will be put on a waitlist. Waitlisters are able to stream the movie showing and Q&A.

These women will partake in a special event in which there is a series of activities that will empower, inspire and ultimately give them a safe space for their voice to be heard in the political sphere.