Kickstarting a cultural movement in a single day

The Nike Foundation created Girl Effect in 2008. It's not so much a charity as it is a simple economic idea – that girls are the most powerful force for change on the planet.

Right now, there are over 250 million girls worldwide who are denied any chance of reaching their potential because they lack the protection and education they need. But if they were given an opportunity, not only would it improve their lives, it would change the lives of those around them – their family, their community and ultimately their countries. This is the Girl Effect.

For over five years, the Nike Foundation had been lobbying governments to invest more in unleashing the power of these girls. So it was a crucial moment when all the world leaders were in London to discuss the Millennium Development Goals. Nike Foundation needed to make as much noise as possible – so they wanted help.

Our challenge was to capture people's attention and transform them into vocal advocates for the Girl Effect in a single day.

Girl Effect Live was a day of inspiration, conversation and celebration about the power of girls to change the world. Over 12-hours, we hosted a street festival across five venues in Brick Lane.

We believed empathy was the key. So the event was skewed towards a younger female audience. Our aim was to create an emotional connection between girls living in the UK and girls around the world living in poverty.

First, we wanted to highlight their similarities, and then explain how they could make a real difference.

Throughout the day, our hosts were on hand to help turn empathy into action – by encouraging our audience to speak out and share their reactions on social media or via our video booths.

Online youth broadcasters SBTV were there to capture the moment. They filmed live performances, as well as interviews with talent and our audience, all of which they immediately shared on their platform.

There was even a unique icon for the event: a customisable 'G' or ‘Girl’ necklace. This stylish “badge of support” was designed by East London jewellery designers Tatty Devine.

Walk with Me was an original immersive experience, which I created in collaboration with Punchdrunk Theatre Company.

Based on real-life stories, the narrative tells the journey of three young girls from Ethiopia: best friends Etenesh, Abeba, Kess. Within the story, each girl suffers an injustice that destroys their friendship and prevents them from fulfilling their potential.

Each audience member follows the story from a different girl's perspective– walking in her footsteps as she narrates her experience via interactive audio. During the performance, audience members are separated. So it is only after the show they can piece the full story together – prompting deeper discussion.

Girls Reframed was an original art exhibition inspired by the real lives of 20 girls growing up in poverty. Although they were all living in circumstances that put them at risk, the exhibition was ultimately a celebration.

We wanted to breakdown the stereotypes so our audience connected with the person – rather than the problem. Based on a series of interviews and photographs, we commissioned 20 artists to create a unique portrait that celebrated each of these girls – their passions and their dreams. The exhibitions also featured illustrated quotes from these interviews.

In just 12-hours, thousands of girls took part in Girl Effect Live eliciting an impassioned response. The day generated a huge groundswell of support, including over three-thousand tweets and five-hundred videos messages – which were shared with world leaders the following day.

And the message was heard. Following the summit, world leaders agreed to add women's empowerment as a stand-alone Millennium Development Goal, and for gender equality to underpin all future goals.