Through the Scottish Girls Project we provide a weekly safe space for girls over the 7 week course. In the project’s sessions, the girls come together and receive group mentoring to help encourage each other to make informed choices regarding their mental, physical and emotional health.
Read more about how EPIC Assist is collaborating with The University of Edinburgh to create safe and empowering spaces for girls.
The Scottish Girls Project focuses on a specific topic each week. These are related to healthy living, positive self-image and self-development. The participants explore these topics through interactive activities and discussions. The following topics have been covered throughout the five editions of SGP so far:
- Communication and relationships
- Healthy eating
- Gender stereotype and body image
- Physical exercise
- Stress relief and relaxation
- Developing self-esteem
- Self-health
The engagement and feedback from participants has been very positive in all editions of the project so far. We have found SGP to be an effective way of encouraging girls to adopt good behaviours and habits which are important in order to live as a healthy young woman. Most importantly, these behaviours and habits are likely to continue later in life. The SGP has the capacity to make an impact on participants’ lives for a long time after the completion of the project.
Past Projects
The Scottish Girls Project has been run five times. The first edition ran in April and May 2017 with primary school girls in the low-socioeconomic area of Wester Hailes, Edinburgh. It was conducted in collaboration with the WHALE Arts Centre and funded by the South West Neighbourhood Partnership Health Matters.
The second edition of SGP, funded by Ponton House Trust, started in January 2018 and ended in March 2018. The participants were Muslim teenage girls and the sessions were held in the Edinburgh Central Mosque.
In early 2019, a project in Clydebank with Y-Sort-It and West Dunbartonshire Council commenced. It targeted girls aged 11-16 who were either from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds or were recently resettled refugees. The funding was provided by the Alexander Cross Cameron Bequest.
Two projects in Livingston with West Lothian Action Project were commenced soon after. The projects were for girls aged 8-11 from socio-economically disadvantaged areas.
In 2019, we re-ran the Girls Project in Wester Hailes with WHALE Arts. This time girls aged 5-11 participated in the Project, which was run in April and May 2019. The funding came from The University of Edinburgh’s Edinburgh Local Community Grants.