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After making the rounds as an inner beauty expert for CosmoGIRL!, I have to say the most exciting events were April 26 in New York and April 19 in Los Angeles. I met the most amazing young women. Oprah: Call these young women today! For the rest of us, add them to your REAL role model list:

Katy Weidner: She won a nationwide CG! essay contest about what she's doing in her community to make a difference. To keep girls friendships strong in the first year of high school, she organized her friends to come together during the holidays and raise funds ($900!) to buy Toys for Tots (and the shopping part was fun too). Katie is committed to girls staying strong by sticking together and giving back together.

Christina Hu: She's a dedicated volunteer for Children to Children and a leader on its Youth Planning Committee. She helped plan the NYC events for Global Youth Service Day. She encouraged girls at the NYC Young Women's Volunteer Summit to follow their volunteering passions!

Chanel Pranckevicus: In 2008, Chanel founded For Young Individuals (FY10304), a non-profit in her Staten Island Community that promotes positive self-development, activism and social responsibility. She is currently planning a non-violence conference in her community. Did I mention she also commutes by ferry and subway every day to attend Medgar Evers CUNY College in Brooklyn? She wants girls to know that: "Change starts with you. And a better you, makes a better community!"

Tara Suri: When she was just 13, Tara founded Helping Orphans Pursue Education (H.O.P.E.) Tara traveled to India to spend one summer at an orphanage and helped raise funds to build a new, safe and warm dormitory there (vs. the thatched-roof they used to sleep under). She's also supported orphanages in Sudan and Ghana. Now she is launching Aandolan.org as a resource for other youth that want to start their own service projects.

SEE PICS BELOW:

www.flickr.com courtneymacavinta's NYC Young Women's Volunteer Summit photoset

Comments (0) | by Courtney on May 12

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• 92% of teen girls would like to change something about the way they look
• 86% of the approx. 10 million American girls and women who suffer from an eating disorder report the onset of their condition by age 20
• Just 2% of women think they’re beautiful
• More than 50% of women between ages 18-25 would rather be run over by a truck than be “fat”

Girls and women: We don’t have to let unrealistic ideals diminish our power. We can get REAL instead.

Check out the Getting REAL workshops for girls, college women and moms. And join our Getting REAL new social network.
Colleges: Book this interactive presentation today in conjunction with your campus’ National Eating Disorders Awareness Week or V-Day programs in 2008.

Comments (0) | by Courtney on March 1

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This is what can happen when a group of women get together to empower each other. I started ChicksWhoClick more than six years ago (before we had myspace and facebook to play with!). It's a private network of creative and powerful women who know people. And this year, we launched a scholarship! The winner will get cash for college and be invited to the network. Check it out and spread the word! We're hoping to support one ambitious young woman's first year of community college. We needed this kinda support when were starting out and we're only happy to pay it forward.

ChicksWhoClick Scholarship
Are you a young woman between the ages of 17 and 20 who will be entering community college for the 2008-2009 academic year? If so, you may qualify for the ChicksWhoClick (CWC) scholarship!

About CWC
ChicksWhoClick is an international private network of women in media, creative arts, communications and girls' & women's advocacy. CWC was founded in 2002 and consists of an email list, social networking web site and offline networking events. Members of CWC share inside lines on job and project leads, publicize their work, get career advice and contacts, collaborate and support each other's work and goals.

About the scholarship
CWC believes in supporting young women in reaching their potential. We've created a privately funded scholarship to help one young woman pay for her community college education in pursuit of a career in media, journalism, creative arts, communications, or girls' & women's advocacy.

The winner will receive:
• A cash gift-card in the amount of $1,150 to be applied toward your college education
• A membership invitation to CWC to introduce you to a network of mentors and peers who can support you as you pursue your education, future job opportunities and creative paths.

How the winner is chosen:
A CWC panel will review applicant submissions. By July 1, finalists will be contacted for proof of community college enrollment and a brief phone interview. The panel will choose the winner based on a majority vote. Winner will be announced in August 2008. Applicants will be judged on the strength of their essays and the idea those essays contain. Finalists will also be evaluated on interviews.

Qualifications
To qualify, the applicant must:
• Be a young woman between the ages of 17-20 living in the United States.
• Be attending a U.S. community college in fall 2008 or winter 2009.
• Be intent on pursing a degree or career in communications, journalism, new media, creative writing or women's studies.
• Agree to send an update to CWC after the conclusion of the 2008-2009 academic year describing how your education is evolving, how the scholarship has supported you and what's next for you.
• Be prepared to provide proof of enrollment for fall 2008 or winter 2009 semesters.

How to apply
Only electronic submissions will be accepted.

DEADLINE: MAY 1, 2008

Please submit the following materials to Tara Swords, CWC moderator, via email (tara@taraswords.com) by the deadline:

o An essay of 700-800 words telling us your intended field of study, why you are drawn to it, and how this scholarship and support from CWC can help you achieve your goals.

• The following personal information in the body of your email:
o Name, age, mailing address and telephone number
o Name, city and state of the community college you plan to attend and when you will enroll
o Your intended field of study

Good luck!

Comments (0) | by Courtney on February 20

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Hey girls & women! I've been offline for awhile because I was chair of the 5th Annual Girl Summit presented by Girls For A Change. More than 1,400 girls came together to learn how to change their worlds—inside and out!!! It was so powerful to see all these girls and women partnering together to make a change and celebrate their REAL power. Check it out! Also watch the new video all about the girls and women in GFC (I helped make it and it still makes me cry!).

I also talked about the Summit when I appeared on View from the Bay this week. The focus of the segment was the Getting REAL Tour (my new project with the fabulous Audrey Brashich).

Comments (0) | by Courtney on November 8

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Next week I'll be heading to Connecticut to present a self-esteem workshop for educators sponsored by Dove in cooperation with the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference.

The goal of the CIAC workshop is to empower educators with resources and tools (like the 7 Respect Basics) to help them support girls in building their self-esteem. While I'm in town, I'll also be doing an assembly for 275 freshman girls at nearby Southington High School.

I was introduced to Dove through its partner Girl Scouts. Together Dove and the Girls Scouts created the uniquely ME! self-esteem program (and I'm excited that I'll soon be writing articles for the uniquely ME! Web site). It's very inspiring to be a part of the Girl Scouts' and Dove's investment in girls and their role models. Check out Dove's film and the uniquely ME! program here. And if you haven't already, see Dove's new self-esteem spot featuring real girls (get your tissues ready!) which speaks to the heart of why I'm so devoted to empowering and valuing girls (and the girl in me.).

Comments (0) | by Courtney on April 19

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In honor of the Season of Nonviolence, Respect Rx is participating in an amazing conference in San Jose: Carry the Vision. The event will bring together more than 850 youth, parents, community leaders and members of Chavez, Gandhi and King families (I hope those names ring a bell). The goal is to:

ENGAGE with others who are transforming their lives and communities through the power of nonviolence.

LEARN nonviolent practices that allow you to creatively and dynamically meet the challenges of our time.

DISCOVER how the human values of caring and compassion can fuel our commitments to deep and profound change.

REALIZE what you can do to make a difference.

A Youth Leadership Summit is at the heart of the conference. More than 50 youth delegates (including two fabulous young women nominated by Respect Rx) will come together to explore their vision of the future and discover how the principles and practices of nonviolence can be applied to create a visionary model for 21st century leadership in the community and the world. These amazing young adults will also get to interact and learn from legendary social change agents including Arun Gandhi, Ela Gandhi, Yolanda King (keynote), Dr. Bernard Lafayette, Jr., Paul Chavez, Richard Chavez, Dolores Huerta and others.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED
1. Join in: Attend the conference and bring your teens:
Saturday, April 21, 2007
9 AM to 5 PM
Evergreen Valley College
3095 Yerba Buena Rd,
San Jose, CA

2. Practice: Find out how to commit to nonviolence in 64 Ways in 64 Days.

3. Spread the word: Let your friends and family know about the conference.

I hope to see you there--peace be with you (and also with you and you!).

Comments (0) | by Courtney on April 4

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My friend Anastasia Goodstein of Ypulse.com has a new book out: Totally Wired! In the book, she bridges the generational and digital divide by letting adults know what's up with tweens and teens online--and that they don't have to view the Net as something that's going to negatively snare their kids.

Girls For A Change will be hosting one of Anastasia's book signings later this month (and I'm honored to be introducing her at the event!). Details:

Totally Wired: Meet the Author
Monday, April 16
7 p.m.
Books Inc.
1375 Burlingame Avenue
Burlingame, CA

Please come out to meet the author of this well-researched guide for parents (and teens alike)! Check out more about the book here. Also, download the discussion guide for schools, librarians and teachers! PLUS read a Q&A with Anastasia:

How did you become so interested in this topic?
Blogging about teen media and marketing day in and day out means blogging about teens and technology. Since this generation has grown up “totally wired” with the Internet and cell phones, it has not only transformed the way that teens interact media and marketers, but also with each other, their parents and teachers. When MySpace hit its tipping point and the media began to pay attention to this story, I felt like a lot of coverage was helping to create a moral panic amongst parents around what teens and tweens were doing online. I wanted to be “a voice of reason” for parents and give them a balanced view of what teens are really doing – the good (of which there is lots) and the not so good. My hope is that this book can inspire conversations between parents and teens and bridge the growing gap between teens’ actual online lives and their parents’ perception of what teens are doing online.

What was it like interviewing teenagers for the book? And how did you get them to be so honest and open with you?
I have always loved working with teens from my days working with C.I.T.s (counselors in training) at a summer camp to mentoring inner city girls in Boston to the teens I work with locally each week in San Francisco. I also went through some tough teenage years myself, which is why I’m so drawn to this work and this population. I have a lot of empathy for teens and am a good listener. I think if you treat teens as young adults, respect them and validate that what they have to say is important, you will be surprised at how much they open up to you. I actually really enjoyed hearing about how technology has become integrated into their everyday lives and interactions.

Do boys and girls have different tendencies when it comes to online socializing? Are there different things that parents should be concerned about for each?
Girls tend to be more social and communication oriented both online and off. Growing up totally wired gives them more ways to keep these conversations going. They can now text, IM or comment on each other’s blogs or MySpace pages in addition to talking in the halls, at lunch, after school or at home on the phone. All of the research shows girls are more active on social networking sites than boys (although they’re there, too). Boys tend to be more interest driven – listening to music, talking about technology, playing video games or uploading videos. There is also a striking difference in how girls and boys represent themselves with avatars (virtual representations of themselves online). Girls tend to create avatars that look more like them, albeit somewhat enhanced, and spend lots of time and energy dressing them. Boys tend to create avatars more like video game characters and are interested in having do fantastical things or have cool weapons. Parents should talk to both girls and boys about being safe, not giving out too much info online, not talking to virtual strangers, never meeting someone in person unless accompanied by a parent, and treating other teens ethically and respectfully online and off.

What advice do you have for parents who worry that their children are spending too much time on the internet and not enough time developing the social skills that result from in-person interactions?
Parents need to set boundaries with children and teens – even if they protest at the time, I believe they actually want you to do this. Too much of anything is never good – I suggest parents help teens set boundaries around their own internet use. For example, teens may appear to be
masters at multi-tasking, but the reality is that having IM windows popping up and the cell phone buzzing while trying to write a research paper or study, is distracting. Making homework time just about homework and having them log out of IM and turn the phone off, may feel painful, but they’ll actually retain more and get their work done faster – especially if they can socialize afterwards. There are tons of creative and educational activities teens can and should be doing online like writing blogs or uploading their art or creating a podcast or just researching whatever interests them. But I also think it’s important for teens to go outside, be in nature, go to the mall and hang out with their friends in person. Parents and teens need to work together to find the balance between time spent living life online and off. Parents should insist on teens turning off their phones (and leaving them outside the bedroom) after they go to bed. Believe it or not, this is when a lot of teen communication is happening.

Many parents are very fearful of the internet when it comes to their children – are these fears warranted?
All of the crime statistics I’ve read make it clear that children have more to fear from people they know than from strangers. That said, the internet is a virtual public space where adults and children can interact and where children can easily access objectionable content. Parents just need to be actively involved in what their kids are doing online. I interviewed parents who use filtering software for younger children and keep the computer in a central location in the house they can easily check in on to see where their children are surfing. But beyond filters, looking through their browser history or standing over them while they’re online, nothing can replace having a relationship with children and teens. Asking them to show you what sites they love and why, playing a game with them online, and most importantly teaching them values – talk about how it’s easier to say mean things to people online when you can’t see the person’s reaction, teach them what’s appropriate and inappropriate to post online. All the technology in the world can’t replace good parenting.

What are some common mistakes that parents make when trying to curb their children’s internet usage?
The most common mistakes would be relying too heavily on filtering technology – it’s often imperfect and blocks sites parents would be ok with, plus most internet savvy teens can get around it. Mostly, it doesn’t replace talking about sites they might stumble upon. I would also advise not overreacting if you discover your child has done something inappropriate online or posted something inappropriate. Use the opportunity as a teachable moment. It’s fine to restrict access for a time in response to an incident, but attempting to permanently cut it off will only deny teens the opportunity to experience all of the cool stuff that is online.

What is the most important lesson that you hope parents will learn from reading TOTALLY WIRED?
The most important lesson is that the internet is not the “big bad wolf.” It’s a virtual public space where teens are mostly doing what teens do offline – communicating, listening to music, doing homework, etc. But because it is a virtual space with the opportunity to be anonymous, and because of the viral nature of the web, it requires a different set of ground rules. In order to set these ground rules, parents need to become internet literate. They don’t have to learn HTML, but they do need to understand the basic features of a MySpace profile and how it works. There’s probably a teen in his or her bedroom with the door locked who would make a great teacher!

Comments (0) | by Courtney on April 4

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