Sparking change

Milena Petrovic
Contributor
We are little bees and there’s a lot of buzz,” says Valérie Plante, Girls Action Foundation’s (gaf) network and communications director. Her team is a bustling beehive, she says, preparing for the launch of their light a spark campaign.
Plante, 36, has   been with gaf for seven years and loves every moment of it.  Based in Montreal, gaf is a non-profit national women’s organization eager to launch on International Women’s Day their new program. It will encourage Canadian women of all generations to work together and raise awareness on sexism, violence and the media pressures facing women.

Women are traditionally represented on either end of a spectrum: they are either victimized by abuse and economic inequality; or hyper-sexualized in the media’s pop cultural sphere. light a spark’s mission is to break down those stereotypical barriers and illuminate women for what they are: “fierce, powerful, smart and free.”
gaf’s goal is to build a team of 50 female leaders, known as “Sparks,” who are bright, passionate and prepared to create change. Higher profile mentors, called “Trailblazers”, work with the Sparks to lead workshops, events and promote the foundation.  And the group has netted some big names. Among the five Trailblazers gaf has secured so far are Tré Armstrong, dancer and judge on So You Think You Can Dance Canada, and Montreal rock guitarist Melissa Auf der Maur.
As a national campaign, Plante says it’s important to have our mentors represent the place they’re coming from, including Quebec. Their workshops and events, held locally and nationally, focus on stimulating the minds of women and building their critical thinking skills and confidence.   As a not-for-profit organization, the gaf team works hard to network and fundraise. Using social media and traditional door-to-door methods, they have gathered enough money to hire a team of experts to help them promote their campaign.
Tim Georgeson, an advertisement photographer and film director published in National Geographic and The New York Times, worked on the campaign’s public service announcement videos.
Plante says they chose to avoid the “help-the-girls route” and promoted it as an “asset-based advertisement” by focusing on glorifying women for what they are. The psas put that philosophy to use, and, inspired by the definition of women as “fierce, powerful, smart and free,” feature girls boxing, doing gymnastics, juggling books and carelessly running through a fountain. Without dialogue, the videos illustrate each empowering trait. The clips currently run on ctv and Montreal’s vox tv. “[It was exciting when] our video was aired on ctv during Oprah,” gushes Plante.
Plante notes the campaign’s workshops are not about suggesting there is a right and wrong way to view images of women in the media, but rather that there is a way to critically assess how they are portrayed. “Education is the key,” Plante adds. gaf reaches 60,000 girls and is looking to expand their team. Currently, they have 35 Sparks but are optimistic they’ll reach their 50-Spark mark, and are still accepting nominations for influential women on their website and Facebook page.
“I wish it was beyond just a day,” says Plante of the coming International Women’s Day, March 8. gaf aims to remind people that women are to be thought of not just one day, but every day. As they work to blaze a trail for change, brighten women’s futures and demonstrate  how to break boundaries, with luck they’ll help bring out the fierce, powerful, smart and free girl each woman is set to be.
For more information, visit
www.girlsactionfoundation.ca/en