Watch and read this powerful speech delivered by Julieta Ramirez, Global Advocacy Champion, at the United Nations (U.N.), March 2025. Invited and selected to deliver this oral statement at the U.N. General Assembly on behalf of WAGGGS. We as Girl Guides and Girl Scouts appeal to all, that is time to ACT.
Julieta's Oral Statement Text
My name is Julieta Ramirez and I am proud to be from Mexico. I am a Global Advocacy Champion for the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts.
I want you all to look at the scarf I’m wearing…..it represents the voices of over 10 million girls and young women from around the world. Of course, it is not possible for every one of those millions of girls to be in this room with us today, which is why we are here to voice their demands.
30 years ago women spoke up and laid the foundation for an equitable world free of violence and discrimination against women and girls everywhere. 30 years later, the future they had dreamed of is far from reality and the space they fought for is under threat. As young women, we don’t want to be here 30 years from now demanding the same rights. Every year you tell us that our voices are important, but now you need to show us our voices matter. Don’t just listen to girls who are calling for free, safe, and quality education, ACT!
Don’t just listen to girls who are demanding protection from damaging corporate and societal beauty standards, ACT!
Don’t just listen to girls who are surviving violence, desperate for vital support systems and services and an end to impunity for gender-based violence, ACT!
Don’t just listen to girls who are being targeted by online misogynistic abuse and hate speech enabled by tech giants, ACT!
Don’t just listen to girls who are left behind by climate initiatives and to those disproportionately impacted in the global south, ACT!
Don’t just listen to girls who are forced out of schools and into early marriage and pregnancy by cycles of poverty and violence; ACT
Don’t just listen to girls who are surviving slavery, wars, genocides, and colonisation promoted by greed. ACT
We are here today as young women because we still believe in the UN’s ability to make positive and meaningful change on the global stage, valuing the dignity and worth of every person, in order to protect the human rights of all. Prove us right. Don’t just listen to us, ACT!