11 October is the International Day of the Girl... a day to focus on young women's rights and opportunities.💪
All around the world, there are smart and capable girls who need to be supported and listened to, because they have the power to make the world a better place.
So let's celebrate this day by sharing some of our amazing young female record breakers’ stories, and hopefully it will inspire you to believe in yourself too!
Starting with…
Greta Thunberg
Do you recognize her? Greta is a famous Swedish climate-change activist, who has made a huge impact in the ongoing fight against climate change.
🔎 Climate change is the change in the average weather (temperature, rainfall and more) in a region over a long period of time. NASA scientists are concerned that the Earth’s surface is warming, and one of the reasons is human activity — such as burning fuel to power factories, cars and buses.
Greta started speaking up about climate change when she was 15 and, since then, lots more people (especially youngsters like you!) began to get involved. 😳
Today, thanks to her, more people than ever before are involved in climate action... it's called “the Greta Effect”!
In 2019, when she was 16 years old, she set a record for the youngest “Time Person of the Year”.
So what is Greta’s advice to young people who want to fight with her for a better future?
“One thing you can do at home is to make a list of things your family can do at home to reduce your ecological footprint," she told us.
Just keep bugging your parents or the adults around you. Be the person who dares to be uncomfortable and lead by example.
How eco-friendly are you? Take our environmental quiz to find out!
Sofia Tepla
You might remember Sofia, the Ukrainian contortionist who broke two records with her hard work, determination and... well... flexibility! 🤸♀️
She set her first record when she was 11, achieving the fastest time to travel 20 m in a contortion roll on the Italian TV show Lo Show dei Record.
She was ready to take on the world but, as soon as she went back to her home country, things took a dark turn.
And yet, Sofia did not give up! One year later, she set a second record.
I told myself that it is necessary to continue, and to prove to the whole world, that Ukraine is full of talented and purposeful children.
And that's exactly what she did! Her second record title is the most contortion roll push-ups in 30 seconds.
Sofia wants to inspire other Ukrainian athletes to not lose their spirit: “I wish them to boldly pursue their dream.”
Sofia is one of Guinness World Records' Young Achievers and is featured in our 2024 book, which is out now! Find out more about her here.
Gitanjali Rao
Gitanjali from Denver, Colorado, USA lives a double life... she is a teenage schoolgirl, but also a super-smart scientist who is making the world a better place, one invention at a time! 🤯
Gitanjali started developing her revolutionary invention when she was only 10 - a small device, named Tethys, that can detect if there is lead in water, a chemical that is unsafe for humans to drink or eat.
More recently, she invented a computer technology that helps stop cyberbullying. She called it Kindly. ❤️
Her message to all young girls is: “If I can do it, you can do it, and anyone can do it.
Take risks, find your own talent and use it. There’s no limit to the amount of times we can fail, and we still have time to succeed in our endeavours.
So what record title does Gitanjali hold?
Well, after achieving so much at such a young age, she became the first TIME Magazine Kid of the Year.
Here at Guinness World Records, we believe that every girl has the power to change the world, one step at a time.
We hope these stories inspired you to find your own super-power. 🙏🏼
