The Final State of the Union
This is historical material “frozen in time”. The website is no longer updated and links to external websites and some internal pages may not work.
Summary:
After a rigorous round of review from a panel of distinguished judges – we’re thrilled to announce the Equal Future App Challenge notable app: Girl emPower, created by Laura Phelps and Andrew Cavanagh. The White House launched the Equal Futures App Challenge to spur the creation of apps that inspire girls to become leaders in our democracy.
This article is cross-posted on the Council on Women and Girls blog.
At the UN General Assembly in September 2011, President Obama issued the following challenge:
“This week, the United States signed a new Declaration on Women’s Participation. Next year, we should each announce the steps we are taking to break down economic and political barriers that stand in the way of women and girls. That is what our commitment to human progress demands.”
In response, the United States is working with countries around the world as part of a new international effort – the Equal Futures Partnership – to politically and economically empower women in each of our countries. As part of this effort, the White House launched the Equal Futures App Challenge to spur the creation of apps that inspire girls to become leaders in our democracy. Check out this video message about the challenge from President Obama:
After a rigorous round of review from our panel of distinguished judges – including Jack Dorsey, Creator and Co-Founder of Twitter, and Academy Award-winning actor and advocate, Geena Davis – we’re thrilled to announce our notable app: Girl emPower, created by Laura Phelps and Andrew Cavanagh.
This free iPad app includes the following features designed to inspire girls to serve as leaders in our government:
- A map highlighting women members of Congress all across the country that allows users to immediately learn about their biographies, read their latest tweets about the issues they’re focusing on, review their websites, and more.
- Inspiring videos of distinguished women leaders talking about their diverse career paths.
- A collection of fun facts about how our government works and a quiz game that allows users to test their knowledge of what they’ve learned.
This app is ready to download – spread the word and help us inspire the civic leaders of tomorrow!
Sarah Hurwitz is Senior Advisor to the White House Council on Women and Girls
Brian Forde is Senior Advisor to the U.S. Chief Technology Officer for Mobile and Data Innovation
