Plan International Canada Inc.

Published purpose

This 36-month cost-sharing project will give young people, especially girls and gender diverse youth, the enhanced skills, gendered knowledge, and resiliency they need to develop strong body confidence and self-esteem. In doing so, it will allow young women to better position themselves for leadership roles, by teaching them critical analysis to participate more confidently in present and future opportunities that help to shape leaders. Activities will include: intersectional research; the development and delivery of a comprehensive curriculum with a marginalized or vulnerable population group; the adaptation of existing Dove Self-Esteem Project materials through an intersectional lens and for the Canadian context; and the creation of a digital community for youth with supplementary resources for young people, teachers, parents and others. Other activities supported by Plan International Canada and Unilever Canada will include digital public awareness campaigns and the broad-scale delivery of Dove Self-Esteem Project programming, tailored to diverse experiences, to youth of all genders in three Regions of Canada. Beyond individual change, the project will also challenge norms and representations that affect body confidence and self-esteem to create more supportive environments at the community and systemic levels through outreach with community stakeholders and the launch of a multi-sectoral task force with industry. The task force will be jointly supported to undertake research and to develop a sustainability and action plan that supports the body confidence, self-esteem and leadership of young women and gender-diverse youth. WAGE funding is matched by a combined $1.4M from Unilever Canada Inc. and $100K from Plan International Canada Inc.