Published on September 6, 2024

The concept of girls running the world isn’t outlandish at all — not for Beyonce, and certainly not for Girls Run the World (GRTW).

Every year since 2018 GRTW inspired and empowered young women in Canberra through its Embassy Takeover program, where two women visit a participating embassy or mission to experience a day in the life of a diplomat. This opportunity allows each participant a valuable opportunity to pick the brains of ambassadors and other diplomatic leaders about the wonderful world of diplomacy, international relations and cross-cultural cooperation.

The nonprofit initiative – and subsequent takeover program – began with two girls spending a day at the Finnish Embassy and has since enabled more than 250 young women to experience a day at 51 diplomatic missions across the capital. This year, as many as 40 women will travel to 20 participating embassies and high commissions to learn from the best of the best in diplomacy and, hopefully, one day develop into diplomatic leadership roles.

Founded by Asha Clementi in 2017 and inspired by Plan International’s Girl’s Takeover movement, GRTW has a clear vision: to build and envision a future where more women hold senior positions in the diplomatic community and connect young women with international decision-makers. You may be wondering how this initiative will achieve this? It’s simple – by providing more opportunities for young women to engage in diplomacy to prepare them for career success in the field.

The local initiative continues to stay true to its vision with its latest Women in Strategic Policy program, delivered in partnership with the Australian National University’s Centre for Defence Studies.

The program, supported by a Strategic Policy Grant from the Department of Defence, will train and support young women to publish and contribute to strategic debate in Australia. To influence young women under the age of 35 over the next two years, the program will support the publication of over 40 opinion articles and ten policy papers – all expertly written by participating women. To launch the program, two virtual workshops will be held in September and October, and the good news is that applications are now open and can be easily submitted via the GRTW website.

If you are a young woman interested in a career in diplomacy, are interested in this initiative and its programs, or simply want to feel empowered and inspired, visit girlsruntheworld.com.au to find out more.