GOING ON 13 will approach distribution with traditional outreach strategies along with interactive and web-based models in order to more successfully reach pre-teen girls and their providers.

Traditional outreach will include community screenings built on partnerships with nationally recognized organizations such as Girls Inc. and Children Now, distribution with a reputable educational distribution company such as New Day Films, attendance at academic conferences like the National Women’s Studies Association, and the creation of a printed study guide in collaboration with New Moon Magazine — a magazine made by and for girls ages 9 to 13.

At the center of our online strategy will be a self-guided digital interactive toolkit designed to provide girls with culturally sensitive information about puberty and a safe social networking site where they can share their own experiences. Through online games and mazes, girls will have access to much-needed facts in regards to mental and physical health, reproduction and sexual education, and safety both on the web and in schools, but will be able to “own” this content by creating their own multiple choice quizzes reinforcing the themes of the site, voting on user-generated videos, and rating books, movies and television based on gender and cultural competency. Uploaded video responses under subject headings like “most embarrassing moments”, “things I learned the hard way” and “does your mom or dad ever do this?” will be stitched together by to create a video “chain letter” downloadable to portable devices. By sharing their experiences in a secure and adult-curated environment, girls will be able to learn from and connect to those that relate best to them: other pre-teen girls.

Ultimately, using this film and related outreach tools as a starting point, we want communities to identify the issues specific to “their” girls and develop strategies to better serve girls and their families, and to protect them from the potential dangers that begin when girls transform into teen women.

Partnerships have already been forged with organizations such as Girls Inc., Chicken and Egg Pictures, and Working Films to assist with editorial content and maximize worldwide distribution.

Find out how it works! Organize a screening in your community. Or donate now (all donations are tax-deductible).

Stay tuned for more info, or sign up on our e-mail list to receive monthly updates.