Education That Opens Doors: Lessons from Morocco and Peru's Award-Winning Girls' Programmes
Written by Admin • 2026-10-13 01:48:00
UNESCO's 2026 education prize highlights two programmes in Morocco and Peru that combine school participation with empowerment, mentoring, and preparation for the future.
Education That Opens Doors: Lessons from Morocco and Peru's Award-Winning Girls' Programmes
Exploring how educational innovation empowers adolescent girls through unique initiatives.
Education Beyond Enrolment
A place in school is an essential starting point, but the educational journey involves more than enrolment. Students also need opportunities to build confidence, understand their rights, develop practical skills, and imagine pathways beyond graduation. For adolescent girls, programmes that connect learning with personal development and community support can help make education more relevant to their everyday lives.
The recent UNESCO Prize for Girls' and Women's Education provides a credible news hook, highlighting how educational initiatives can truly transform lives. This article examines two award-winning programmes—Project Soar in a Bag from Morocco and CARE Peru's Girls with Opportunities—showcasing their distinct approaches to empowering young women.
Morocco: Learning Value, Voice, Rights, and Direction
Project Soar in a Bag employs a structured empowerment curriculum delivered by trained local women facilitators. The curriculum is organized around five key pillars: value, voice, body, rights, and path. This holistic approach not only aims to keep girls in school but also fosters their self-esteem, life skills, and ability to navigate societal challenges.
Peru: Connecting School with Future Opportunities
CARE Peru's Girls with Opportunities programme integrates socio-emotional learning, financial education, and STEAM-related learning to support rural and Indigenous girls. Since its launch in 2016, the programme has reached over 37,000 adolescent girls aged 14–19, equipping them with the tools needed to complete secondary education and pursue further study or employment.
The conditions in which a girl is born should not determine the opportunities.— Marilú Martens, CARE Peru's National Director
Facts & Insights
- UNESCO awarded its 2026 Prize for Girls' and Women's Education to Project Soar in a Bag and CARE Peru's Girls with Opportunities programme.
- Project Soar's curriculum is organised around five pillars: value, voice, body, rights, and path.
- CARE Peru's Girls with Opportunities programme has operated since 2016 and has reached more than 37,000 rural adolescent girls aged 14–19, according to UNESCO's award announcement.
$50,000
Award received by each 2026 laureate
5
Project Soar curriculum pillars
37,000+
Rural adolescent girls reached by CARE Peru's programme since 2016
2016
Launch year of Girls with Opportunities
Learning Should Expand What Comes Next
Education creates its greatest value when students can carry what they learn into the next stage of their lives. The programmes recognized in Morocco and Peru show how educational support can extend beyond classroom instruction to include confidence, practical skills, mentoring, and community participation. Their continued success will depend on sustainable delivery and careful evaluation of long-term outcomes.
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Pexels - Photo by 🇻🇳🇻🇳Nguyễn Tiến Thịnh 🇻🇳🇻🇳