Across Latin America, girls continue to face significant barriers to express their voice and claim their place as a leader in their own communities. Deeply rooted gender norms, limited platforms for self-expression, and few visible examples of girls in leadership roles often leave them unsure of their own potential, even when their capacity and courage are already there. In Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil and El Salvador, sisters and local partners are working to change this reality through the Conversation Circles and the Girls for Girls Clubs.
What starts as a simple training session has grown into something more impactful. Girls for Girls Clubs have evolved into organized groups with their own identity, internal leadership, and sense of belonging within their schools and communities. Through monthly Conversation circles, girls come together to reflect, share and support one another, developing socio-emotional skills, self-confidence, and the courage to speak in front of others, often for the first time.
Central to this model is a rotating leadership system, where girls take turn guiding discussions and mentoring younger participants. This progression, from participant to peer mentor to facilitator, reflects a core conviction behind the initiative; that leadership is something they build through practice and trust. In several communities, boys have joined parts of the process too, learning alongside their peers about respect and equality. Their involvement has helped shift relationships toward greater mutual respect, both inside and outside the group. Formal recognition from schools has further anchored this work, helping it endures even as individual members move on.
Jazmin Emili, 13 years old, is one of the girls whose life has been transformed through this process. Through the program, she has developed greater self-esteem, stronger communication skills, and the confidence to actively lead to changes, even though at the beginning, she was hesitant about speaking. By participating in regional dialogues and advocacy training, she understood the challenges girls face and discover the different tools to defend their rights.
Today, Jazmín serves as a facilitator in Conversation Circles and is a board member of the youth advocacy group “Revolución Mariposa Collectivo”, an initiative for girls, grounded in a rights-based approach, treating girls as protagonists of their own development. She mentors girls who are beginning their leadership journeys, encouraging them to speak up and believe in their potential. By serving with confidence and purpose, Jazmín is helping inspire a new generation of resilient girls committed to making a difference.
