Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda announced the second phase of GOAL (Going Online as Leaders), a Facebook programme aimed at inspiring, guiding and encouraging tribal girls from across India to become village-level digital young leaders for their communities. Launched earlier this year in March, GOAL connects underprivileged young tribal women with senior expert mentors in the areas of business, fashion and arts to learn digital and life skills.
In the second phase of the programme, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Facebook together will digitally mentor 5000 young women in India’s tribal dominated districts.
Speaking at an event to commence the next expanded phase of the program, Munda said, “Through this partnership the GOAL programme will provide economically and socially marginalised young women with the tools and guidance they need to succeed, using technology they may otherwise have not had access to.” The Minister was joined by Anna Roy - Senior Advisor Data Management & Analysis and Chairperson, Women Entrepreneurship Platform NITI Aayog, and Facebook India leadership team including Ajit Mohan- Vice President & Managing Director and Ankhi Das, Director of Public Policy. Participants from the states of West Bengal, Jharkhand and Maharashtra, who are enrolled in the current program were also present at the event.The programme will include weekly one-to-one mentoring sessions, focused on a range of skills such as digital literacy, entrepreneurship and online safety. In total more than 200,000 hours ofguidance will be provided using Facebook family of apps including WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. Following the program, the participants will graduate to the GOAL alumni and will continue to receive support and guidance from the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Facebook.
The Ministry of Tribal Affairs will also work with district administration and other government agencies to help secure qualified participants with a fellowship, so they can put their newly learned skills to work. More than 125 young women have enrolled in the program. Most of them are now using the internet to highlight issues their communities face and have expressed a desire to set up their own business. “Facebook is committed to closing the digital gender gap by enabling more women to get online and access digital services. This programme is important because it actively supports these young women to build leadership qualities and encourages them to be champions and help share their learnings with others.” added Ankhi Das, Director of Public Policy, Facebook India.
