We have updates on some projects that The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been hard at work on.
First up, Meghan’s roundtable with Girls Inc. and the National Women’s Law Center —
Meghan’s work to empower young girls – a longtime passion project of hers – continues as she prepares to welcome her own daughter into the world sometime this summer.
In April, the Duchess helped organize and led a roundtable with Girls Inc. and the National Women’s Law Center that invited 13- to 18-year-old activists and leaders to speak about issues their generation is facing.
From Girls Inc Instagram —
Girls Inc., founded in 1864, focuses on the development of the whole girl and adapts to meet the specific challenges facing young women.
More from the Girls Inc. about page —
She learns to value herself, take risks, and discover and develop her inherent strengths. The combination of long-lasting mentoring relationships, a pro-girl environment, and evidence-based programming equips girls to navigate gender, economic, and social barriers, and grow up healthy, educated, and independent. Informed by girls and their families, we also advocate for legislation and policies to increase opportunities and rights for all girls.”
The discussion touched on the girls’ concerns for the future while also looking to the past for inspiration, reflecting on women who have sparked cultural change across generations. Many of the adolescents at the roundtable were girls of color, according to the Archewell Foundation website, which said —
The Duchess believes girls’ voices can and should be heard, and through Archewell she focuses on providing them with the platforms, tools, and forums to help define a path forward and continue making an impact.”
The site also said —
With ambitions of becoming medical professionals, senators, and presidents, the girls who attended had strong and incisive perspectives on issues critical to girls today. The group spoke about everyday struggles during COVID-19, including identity loss and isolation, and larger issues of mental health, racial bias and injustice, and more. When asked what tools girls need to thrive in the year ahead, a common thread emerged: acknowledgement, support, empathy, and resources.”
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Next, Meghan and Harry co-chair #VaxLive: The Concert to Reunite the World —
Meghan and husband Harry will continue to make impact as they serve as campaign chairs of Vax Live: The Concert to Reunite the World, which will air on Saturday, May 8. Hosted by Selena Gomez and featuring performances from Jennifer Lopez, H.E.R., J. Balvin, Eddie Vedder, and the Foo Fighters, President Joe Biden, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will also appear at the event, which “aims to inspire vaccine confidence worldwide and help get the COVID-19 vaccines to everyone, everywhere” according to a statement from Global Citizen, the sponsor of the concert. For their part, Meghan and Harry will deliver a message about vaccine equity.
Last night we were treated to a preview of Saturday’s broadcast via social media. Harry took the stage at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles for the recording of the #VaxLive event.
Harry gave an impassioned speech to an audience of fully vaccinated frontline health care and essential workers.
From Entertainment Tonight, The Duke’s speech below —
“Hi everybody. We are at a defining moment in the global fight against COVID-19. Tonight is a celebration of each of you here, the vaccinated frontline workers in the audience and the millions of frontline heroes around the world,” he said in his address. “You spent the last year battling courageously and selflessly to protect us all. You served and sacrificed, put yourselves in harm’s way and with bravery knowing the costs. We owe you an incredible depth of gratitude, thank you.”
He continued —
But we’re also coming together because this pandemic will not end unless we act collectively with an unprecedented commitment to our shared humanity. The vaccine must be distributed to everyone, everywhere. We cannot rest or truly recover until there is fair distribution to every corner of the world,” he added. “The mission in front of us is one we cannot afford to fail out and that’s what tonight is about. The virus does not respect borders, and access to the vaccine cannot be determined by geography. It must be accepted as a basic right for all and that is our starting point.”
None of us should be comfortable with thinking that we can be fine when so many others are suffering.”
In reality, and especially with this pandemic, when any suffer, we all suffer,” he exclaimed. “We must look beyond ourselves with empathy and compassion for those we know, and those we don’t. We need to lift up all of humanity, and make sure that no person or community is left behind.”
#VaxLive airs in the US on ABC, ABC News Live, CBS, YouTube, iHeartMedia broadcast radio stations, and the iHeartRadio app starting at 8 p.m. EST/7 p.m. CST on Saturday, May 8th.
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Finally, Harry’s upcoming project with Oprah for AppleTV+ —
And Oprah Winfrey, speaking on Drew Barrymore’s talk show recently, revealed that the documentary series she and Harry have been working on about mental health will premiere sometime this month on AppleTV+. The project was announced in 2019.
Below a clip from The Drew Barrymore Show when Oprah mentions the upcoming project with Prince Harry —
Join us back here on Saturday evening for our review and fashion updates on Meghan for the VaxLive broadcast.
Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for live updates!
LINKS:
- Learn more about National Women’s Law Center here.
- You can read more about #VaxLive here.
- Read more about Prince Harry’s appearance at #VaxLive last night here.
What a wonderful event for Meghan and Harry to be involved in. I got my second shot a few weeks ago here in the US and most people I know are either fully vaccinated or in the process of it. I have family in Europe that hasn’t been vaccinated yet as they are weeks behind schedule. I will definitely DVR the event to watch it later. I also checked the Archewell website today and saw how Meghan and Harry are asking people to donate money for Archie’s birthday to raise money for vaccine equity which I think I am going to do. Thank you for covering all the causes Meghan and Harry are involved in! They’ve been busy. I unfortunately won’t be able to watch the Oprah/Prince Harry docuseries as I do not have an Apple+ subscription.