GLOBAL GOOD NEWS
In a world often filled with heavy headlines, Global Good News shines a light on hope, progress, and transformational change. This ongoing series shares inspiring stories of Rise Up Leaders who are creating meaningful change in their communities and countries. From advancing new and improved laws and policies that impact millions to building grassroots movements that shift culture and power structures, Rise Up Leaders remind us that positive change is not only possible, it's happening every day.
Meet Sadia Khan, a Rise Up Together Leader from California who is challenging a major injustice too often hidden in plain sight: forced and early marriage. With training and funding from Rise Up Together, Sadia’s Freedom to Choose campaign has already impacted more than 30,000 people – pushing forward robust legal protections for survivors, educating lawmakers and domestic violence advocates, and building momentum to end forced and child marriage in California and beyond.
"What we hope to achieve in California is just the start. The change we’re pushing for here will reverberate nationally and globally, showing how harmful practices persist around the world, yes, even in the western world, and must be confronted head-on." — Sadia Khan
When girls in Liberia faced staggering rates of violence, exploitation, and barriers to education after years of civil war, Rise Up Together’s first-ever Accelerator and two Liberian leaders, Aisha Cooper Bruce and Rosana Schaack, teamed up to secure a historic victory: passage of the Children’s Act, guaranteeing rights and protections for more than 2 million children.
"Rise Up Together helped me appreciate the long-term and far-reaching impact of advocating for the laws and policies that protect and empower women and girls." — Aisha Cooper Bruce
This special edition of Global Good News takes us to Nigeria, where Rise Up Leader Olanike Timipa-Uge is transforming education and opportunity for thousands of girls across the country. With training and funding from Rise Up Together, Olanike's advocacy helped the Nasarawa State government adopt a School Re-Entry Guideline for Girls – enabling 40,000 adolescent mothers to return to school, improving access to high-quality jobs, decreasing vulnerability to sexual and gender-based violence, and opening pathways to step into leadership roles.
“Education is not a privilege; it is your human right. Don’t stop speaking up. Don’t stop asking questions. Don’t stop demanding safe, free, and quality education for every girl. Until every girl everywhere can learn, lead, and live her dreams, we stand together, in unwavering solidarity.” — Olanike Timipa-Uge
THE POWER OF STORY
Rise Up Together’s award-winning advocacy model amplifies the voices and power of women, girls, and allies through storytelling.
Our digital storytelling methodology supports participants through the process of learning how to raise their voices, choosing stories they want to tell, creating their own story boards, learning to film and photograph, and editing their own pieces. The final product is a powerful tool that girls and women can use in their advocacy work, that resonates with decision-makers.
PODER, a film about two Guatemalan girls’ fight to transform their community, is a powerful example of Rise Up Together’s storytelling.
