The Elders, who co-founded Girls Not Brides, celebrate their 10th birthday

As The Elders celebrate their 10

th

anniversary today, Girls Not Brides congratulates them on a decade of accomplishments and thanks them for their leadership in helping to put child marriage on the global agenda.

Girls Not Brides was founded as an initiative of The Elders in 2011, before becoming an independent charity two years later. Recognising the devastating impact that child marriage has on girls worldwide, The Elders decided to make it the flagship issue of their efforts to advance gender equality. Their aim was to galvanise a global movement – to create the space for organisations around the world to work in partnership to empower girls and end child marriage. This marked the beginning of Girls Not Brides, a vibrant global movement which now spans more than 700 civil society organisations in over 90 countries.

Six years on, there has been significant progress – including a global commitment to end child marriage by 2030 in the Sustainable Development Goals. There is still much work to be done, but the Girls Not Brides Partnership continues to work to make The Elders’ vision of a world without child marriage a reality.

If you would like to celebrate The Elders' 10th anniversary, visit their website.