Going To School along with Government of Goa Kick off ‘Match Day 2024’ in Majorda

Going To School along with Government of Goa Kick off ‘Match Day 2024’ in Majorda
~ Going to School signed an MoU with the Government of Goa to equip girls across Goa with skills needed to solve climate change, by bringing football and life skill-building to school for girls.
~ Going to School’s ‘Outdoor School for Girls’ programme delivers football with digital, life, STEM and sustainable entrepreneurial skills through integrated skills curricula to girls in government schools from the fifth to the tenth grade.
~ Echidna Giving supports the Outdoor School for Girls programme to deliver life skills to adolescent girls during school hours, on outdoor football pitches.
Panaji, March 2024: Going to School, a creative not-for-profit trust, in partnership with the Government of Goa and Echidna Giving, organised ‘Match Day 2024’ in Majorda to celebrate the power of sport, especially football, in equipping girls with skills to succeed in life and solve the climate crisis.

With priority given to the girl child, the day began with an engaging discussion with the team of 11 girls who feature in the upcoming TV series on football made by Going to School. The dynamic conversation moved between the power of play in learning skills and the enterprising solutions girls had designed to enable them to play football in India and practice their digital skills to design enterprise solutions for climate change.

Former Indian national footballers Roberto Fernandes and Denzil Franco were chief guests at the event. Other guests included representatives from the Government of Goa, Going to School, Echidna Giving, principals of government schools and more than 700 girls from across the state.

“I am thankful to Going to School and Oracle for organising such a programme and fully support them for this initiative,” said Fernandes.

Franco, too, was supportive of the initiative and stated that “Football teaches lessons about teamwork, communication, and leadership – helping girls improve their self-esteem and confidence. The ‘Outdoor School for Girls’ is a great initiative and will equip our girls for a better future.”

Going to School has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Goa to run the Outdoor School for Girls programme, a skills-sports educational program for girls in government schools. Echidna Giving supports the programme by delivering life skills to adolescent girls during school hours and on football pitches, equipping a generation of girls in Goa, Mumbai and Bengaluru’s government schools with the skills they need to become sustainable entrepreneurs in problem-solving for climate change in their communities.

The Outdoor School for Girls project delivers sport (football) with digital, life, STEM, and Sustainable Entrepreneurial skills through integrated skills curricula to girls in government schools in India. From the fifth to the tenth grade, the programme is designed to equip girls with the skills they need to complete their education during school hours, moving from the game they have designed on the pitch to the wider canvas of the city, kick-starting sustainable enterprises, finding solutions to climate change and creating jobs. This ultimately addresses two of the city’s biggest challenges: youth unemployment and the climate crisis.

Going to School aims to equip 2.7 million girls with football, life, sustainability and enterprise skills necessary to complete their education and move from the pitch to leading enterprises that are dedicated to addressing the climate crisis and creating more jobs.

“We have been working closely with the Government of Goa to engage with girls in government schools and thank them for providing us with the opportunity. Echidna Giving has been a strong partner in this initiative to offer life skills to girls across Goa, Mumbai, and Bengaluru,” said Lisa Heydlauff, Going to School.

Heydlauff stated that for the first time in the government education system in India, girls are playing football and learning integrated skills to solve climate change at school.

“Going to School fiercely focuses on girls’ retention in school and transition from school to the sustainable enterprise of their choice. On completing their education, these girls will have the chance to become entrepreneurs. The girls have awesome potential and we cannot wait to see what they achieve,” added Heydlauff.

Going to School has also signed MoUs with the governments of Karnataka and Maharashtra to implement the Outdoor School for Girls programme in government schools during school hours. They also run experiential business school crash courses for young women aged 18 and above, to be able to learn sustainable enterprise skills in the city with start-up entrepreneurs. City Business Schools for Young Women, run outside like the Outdoor School for Girls programme, is part of their Youth Venture Fund programme supported by J.P. Morgan.

“Once a girl completes a crash course, she can elect to begin researching a business that solves climate change that she can pitch for support for start-up seed capital grants from Deutsche Bank,” said Heydlauff.

Heydlauff concluded that the “commitment to enable the girl child to learn skills she needs at school and to transition from school to a sustainable enterprise of her choice to address the climate crisis is a multi-partner initiative” and underscores girls and women’s decisive role in the Earth’s future.