October, 2021 - user's Blog!

As children, we’re told we can be anything, from astronauts to Hollywood movie stars. Unfortunately, for many kids (especially girls) around the world, their dream is basic rights and opportunities.

Plan International Canada works to remove barriers so children in underdeveloped countries can live out their potential. We chatted with Plan International Canada about their mission and what makes this organization unique.

Shalini, looking at the camera, is advocating for the end of child marriage in Uttar Pradesh

Tell us about Plan International Canada’s mission.

Plan International Canada works for and with children, community members, and governments so that all children around the world can exercise their rights. We do this by focusing on eight core areas, with gender equality as a foundational objective.

Our work seeks to tackle the root causes of gender inequality and remove barriers that keep children, especially girls, from reaching their full potential.

Plan International Canada is a member of a global organization dedicated to advancing children’s rights and equality for girls. Plan International has been building powerful partnerships for children for over 80 years and is now active in more than 75 countries.

What inspired your founders to start Plan International Canada?

In 1937, British journalist John Langdon-Davies founded what was originally known as Foster Parents Plan for Children in Spain to help children whose lives were disrupted by the Spanish Civil War. By 1938, 300 Spanish children were sponsored by Plan International. The following year, Eleanor Roosevelt became a sponsor, continuing to support the organization for many years.

Plan International marked its 60th anniversary in 1990 by reaching an incredible milestone: supporting its one millionth sponsored child, a young girl from Mali. By 1999, the number of Plan-sponsored children grew to over 1.2 million children.

A decade later, Plan International began highlighting the unique challenges faced by girls in low-income countries, launching our Because I am a Girl initiative in Canada to promote gender equality in the countries where we work.

Plan International celebrated its 84th anniversary in 2021, marking our continued commitment to children’s rights around the world.

Millions of girls around the world are in crisis. Their futures are already written for them, as they experience the tragedies of child marriage, no education, sexual violence and exploitation.

Together we can Stop The Setback by helping girls rewrite their futures for the better.

As we move into the fourth phase of our global fundraising campaign, we aim to raise awareness of the work Plan International does and drive donations to help us support the world’s most vulnerable girls and provide them with the support they need to fulfill their potential.

What were some of the challenges you encountered?

Plan International Canada has over 80 years of experience in international development and humanitarian response, and remains committed to children’s rights and equality for girls as the world navigates and responds to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 crisis has affected people across the globe and has become a challenge in the humanitarian world. Primary health impacts have been grave, and associated lockdowns and disruptions have led to additional (secondary) impacts.

The pandemic has caused unprecedented hardship for people around the globe, but for girls in crisis, it’s done more than just set them back. It’s unravelling decades of progress. Thirteen million girls are at risk of becoming brides, two million girls are at risk of experiencing female genital mutilation, and millions are at risk of never returning to school once they reopen.

Through its global response, Plan International has been assessing the extent and severity of the secondary impacts of this crisis on women and children, especially girls, since March 2020.

We are constantly working to ensure that progress is not reverted in terms of children and girls getting their rights.

What do you consider Plan International’s biggest success?

Plan International’s gender transformative approach to international development and, increasingly, our work during emergencies aspires to support women, girls, men, and boys in all their diversity to change this reality.

Through Plan International Canada’s ambitious 20 Million Reasons Campaign, we’ve reached 18.4 million children around the world – over halfway to our target of improving the lives of 20 million children by 2022.

How do you feel Plan International Canada makes the world better?

Plan International Canada knows achieving the Sustainable Development Goals ambition of “leaving no one behind” requires transformative change. We confront and challenge discrimination and human rights violations based on gender.

All of our work – programming or advocacy – tackles the root causes of gender inequality and helps reshape unequal power relations. It focuses not only on providing equal opportunities and outcomes for all, but on removing the barriers that keep girls and women from achieving their full potential and exercising their rights.

Our focus is to meet and grow our commitments to children, as well as the more than 86,000 communities we work with over the long term.

Plan International Canada has developed a comprehensive girl/woman centric index – the Women’s and Girls’ Empowerment Index – that measures changes in the root causes of gender inequality and captures the breadth and scope of gender transformative change.

A gender equality approach is about understanding these relative differences and intersecting identities, appreciating that they are not rigid and can be changed. It is important to keep these differences and intersecting identities in mind when designing strategies, policies, programs, and services.

Ultimately, promoting gender equality means transforming the power relations between women and men, girls and boys, and individuals with different gender identities in order to create a more just society for everyone.

Tell us about your organization’s goals.

We strive for a just world that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. We engage people and partners to empower children, young people, and communities to make vital changes that assist girls in accessing their rights.

We want to fulfill the promise of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal. Plan International Canada’s strategy is to work through our 20 Million Reasons Campaign, which intends to improve the lives of 20 million children, especially girls, by 2022 so that they can learn, lead, decide, and thrive.

Within the strategy, we also have an ambition to transform the lives of 100 million girls. Child sponsorship and grassroots community work are central to our strategy and achieving this ambition.

How can people help or contribute to Plan International’s mission?

Every day, millions of girls around the world are denied their basic human rights simply because they’re girls. 

Through initiatives such as Because I am a Girl and the Child Sponsorship program, Plan International is working to advance girls’ rights by helping them unleash their inherent power and potential. The contributions support girls in championing change in their communities by helping them access their right to education, healthcare, and clean water.

The COVID-19 pandemic has further exposed and magnified injustices around the world – especially for those most vulnerable. Through the Stop the Setback Campaign, Plan International is working to ensure girls have access to the supports they need to powerfully claim their right to a safe, healthy life, and a path of their choosing.

Visit plancanada.ca for more information and follow @plancanada on social media to #StopTheSetback.

This story was featured in the Make The World Better magazine:

Keep reading about purpose-driven initiatives:

Whether you’re tackling ever-evolving climate crises, social justice issues, or animal welfare concerns, it can be challenging to know how to effectively utilize technology on your company’s journey to making the world better. Luckily, it’s at your fingertips with the click of a button (literally). Here’s how to harness the power of technology and social media to do good.

In life, there are the dreamers and the doers. If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance your company aims to be the latter. But perhaps you’re wondering: how can we really make a difference? In our ever-evolving world of climate crises, social justice issues, and animal welfare concerns, it can be challenging to know where to start or how to make actionable change.

Luckily, doing good can be achievable with the click of a button — literally. Social media and technology are two powerful ways to enable your company to authentically live its values and make a difference.

Participate in Community-Led Movements Online

When it comes to activism, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Unless your cause is smaller and unknown, there’s a good chance community members have already begun a movement, and trying to do “your own thing” can not only be perceived as self-serving but can actually hurt the reach of existing movements.

Instead, get involved in community-led movements that matter to your organization, and spread the word by posting on your social media channels and using the existing hashtags. Some ongoing movements include Black Lives Matter, Stop AAPI Hate, and #MeToo.

Just remember: as with any cause marketing, ensure you do it in a meaningful, actionable, and non-performative way. Show genuine support for causes that matter to your organization, encourage your audience to participate, and contribute to the conversation where appropriate.

A company that often gets involved in movements on their social platforms is ice cream retailer Ben & Jerry’s. They have created multiple Instagram posts to support the Black Lives Matter movement and continue to show their support for new movements on a frequent basis.

Use Grassroots Marketing & Technology to Amplify Specific Causes

Through social media, community movements can grow into global movements. Grassroots marketing, or creating inspirational and highly shareable content targeted to a very specific niche or locale, is a great way to raise awareness of specialized causes that matter to your organization. Remember the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge? This is a classic example of successful grassroots marketing.

Social media is a fantastic medium for grassroots marketing due to the fact that it’s easy to share content. To be successful with a grassroots social media campaign, you’ll want to keep the target audience tight, either psychographically or geographically; tell a story that resonates and inspires; and, most importantly, encourage people to share your content.

Alternatively, if your organization is built on particular values, social media posts can be a way to educate your audience about very specific issues. Canadian clothing retailer tentree uses social media to bring to light a variety of environmental issues that matter to them. For example, they use Instagram to highlight the environmental impacts of the dyeing process, the importance of protecting coral reefs, and the benefits of the circular economy.

Innovative use of technology is another way to help amplify and raise awareness of important causes. For example, National Geographic used Meta Spark to show Instagram users what the world will feel like in 2070, while a VR experience called Greenland Melting shows the unfortunate effect of warm ocean waters on glaciers in Greenland.

Take a Stand on Causes That Matter to You

According to Sprout Social’s #BrandsGetReal: Brands Creating Change in the Conscious Consumer Era Report, based on their 2019 survey, 70% of consumers believe it’s important for brands to take a public stand on social and political issues and 66% believe brands should do so because they can create real change. And social media is a great place to publicly show your stance and advocate for real change, especially if it’s something that is relevant to your organization.

For example, Nike is a brand for athletes, many of whom are Black people who experience discrimination and police brutality, particularly in the United States where Nike is headquartered. Knowing they’d receive backlash for supporting Colin Kaepernick, who took a knee in protest at a football game in 2016, they made him the face of a global campaign in 2018.

Amplify Advocates and Activists Within Your Community

When it comes to doing good, letting others take the lead is, sometimes, the best path to take. There are many notable organizations and activists who are on the front lines of causes and supporting them helps amplify their important work.

Follow relevant organizations and activists on social media, reshare their content, and reach out to partner with them for initiatives, such as an Instagram takeover, contest, or content swap. Similar to participating in community-led movements, you’ll want to ensure you’re doing this in a meaningful and non-performative way.
Patagonia, a B Corp–certified outdoor clothing retailer, often shares content from like-minded creators and activists in the outdoor space. For example, they featured a non-binary climber who advocates for a more supportive climbing community, and their Run To film series, promoted on Instagram, features runners who are advocating for issues, such as saving a watershed and honouring Indigenous scientists, past and present.

Make Goals for Sustainable Change

It’s one thing to have big ideas to do good, but it’s another thing to execute them. Social media is a great opportunity to hold yourself accountable to your goals.

You’ll want to post about your goal and update your audience when you reach certain benchmarks. For example, Glossier, a US-based beauty company, opted not to use a vague post about “doing better.” Instead, they pledged to donate to various BLM organizations and commit to ongoing change within their company, as shown in an Instagram post.
But how do you know if you’re getting close to your goal? There are various apps that can help you track your progress, like Strides, Way of Life, and ATracker.

Let Sparx Help You Use Social Media And Technology to Do Good

By engaging with social media in these ways, companies gain the power to amplify their own purpose-driven initiatives, support and boost the visibility of ongoing mission-aligned efforts and changemakers, share impact stories to an ever-growing audience, and drive positive change.

At Sparx, our mission is to create content to make the world better.

If you’re looking to make an impact using social media and technology but aren’t sure where to start, the experts at Sparx Publishing Group are always available to chat. We help purpose driven organizations secure their website, create great content, build experiences to delight their customers, and help grow their business. You can reach us here.