En Pointe ~ Custom Surgery & Prosthesis Too!

Very cool to see young Gabi Shull dance again, overcoming knee cancer with novel ankle-as-knee transplant and custom dancing prosthetic! Thanks to John Farrier from Neatorama for spotting this!

CODEGIRL ~ High School Technovation Teams!

Cool new documentary CODEGIRL...

"From rural Moldova to urban Brazil to suburban Massachusetts, CODEGIRL follows teams who dream of holding their own in the world’s fastest-growing industry. The winning team [in the Technovation Challenge] gets $10K to complete and release their app, but every girl discovers something valuable along the way."

Inside Our Skin ~ Lupita Nyong’o on True Beauty

The Kid Should See This spotlights Lupita Nyong’o with Elmo on Sesame Street talking about their lovely skins... Joseph Lamour on Upworthy shares another moment with Lupita Nyong’o where she spoke again about skin at the Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon hosted by Essence... And, for good measure, here's Lupita's role model Alek Wek on Tyra's show... It's truly stunning how much superficial aesthetics play a role in peoples lives planet-wide. One of the most shocking illustrations of this for me -- beyond the experiences of Lupita, Alek, and Tyra's lovely guest Nya -- remains the Black Dolls & "Girls Like Me" stories.

Girls Coding ~ BBC on Hackathons for Youth...

"In New York, the BBC's Samira Hussain caught up with 12-year-old Nia Johnson at the "Black Girls Code" Hackathon to find out why she loves learning about computer programming."

KIBO ~ KinderLabs Kids Robo Kits Kickstarting!

FYI, KIBO from KinderLabs are programming robots for kids!

"[KIBO kits are] specifically designed for young children aged 4-7 years old. It is different from any other kit out there because it appeals to both technically minded kids and those that connect more to arts and culture or physical activity. Young children learn by doing. Children build their own robot with KIBO, program it to do what they want, and decorate it. KIBO gives children the chance to make their ideas physical and tangible -- exactly what their young minds and bodies need. And KIBO does all this without requiring screen time from PCs, tablets or smartphones."

Kickstarting now...

Roominate ~ Building Toys for Creative Girls!

I just heard MIT Professor Emeritus Rod Brooks of iRobot and now Rethink Robotics fame speaking this morning about his venture experiences. He was particularly proud of his MIT alumna daughter's company which is making Roominate -- building toys encouraging all girls to be creative artists, architects, engineers, and visionaries! Alice Brooks is clearly a chip off the old block;-)

"The Roominate line is designed by Alice and Bettina -- two engineers out of Caltech, MIT, and Stanford on a mission to get more girls interested in engineering. They believe that early exposure through toys will inspire the next generation of female technology innovators. They designed Roominate to get young girls to have fun with STEM, while building hands-on skills and confidence."

Epic Timelapses ~ People & Places Fast-Forward!

Black Dolls ~ Modeling Beauty, Self-Esteem...

Lisa Hix in CollectorsWeekly shares Black Is Beautiful: Why Black Dolls Matter which points at the award-winning documentary Why Do You Have Black Dolls? by Samantha Knowles...

"Black dolls are more than just playthings -- they are powerful cultural artifacts that represent the history of the people they depict."

This reminds me of the still-shocking experiment on race by Drs Kenneth and Mamie Clark where in young African American kids were shown black and white dolls and asked their opinions, here replicated by Good Morning America... Filmmaker Kiri Davis earlier recreated the doll study in her A Girl Like Me documentary...

Somewhere in America ~ Covering Fashion!

MIT friends and more share what's going on Somewhere In America...

GoldieBlox ~ Girls Construction Book & Kit...

Check out GoldieBlox girls construction toys! Plus see earlier Kickstarter campaign.

Girl Rising ~ 10x10 Campaign for Education...

CNN spotlights inspiring film Girl Rising...

"One girl with courage is a revolution. CNN Films' "Girl Rising," directed by Academy Award nominee Richard Robbins, tells the stories of girls across the globe and the power of education to change the world."

Rescuing Hug ~ Healing Power of Touch Revisit!

Nice CNN piece on the Rescuing Hug one premature baby gave her twin in the NICU in 1995 and those same young women today. This was a discovery moment in understanding the healing power of touch!

Time Lapse Lotte ~ Dutch Girl from 0 to 12 years!

Opium Brides ~ Afghan Collateral Social Damage

PBS Frontline documents Opium Brides...

"Afghan opium farmers have long borrowed money from drug gangs to subsidize their crops. Now, as the Afghan government destroys their livelihood in an eradication program, the farmers find themselves in a horrifying situation: repay their debts or give their daughters to drug-traffickers. Najibullah Quraishi reports on the harrowing story of the collateral damage of the counter-narcotics effort."

Pinki Now ~ Oscar-Star Documentary & Updates

I've written about her before, so first the full Smile Pinki documentary... Newshour spotlights Oscar win! Here she is at the Oscars... Then 2010 update... And 2011 update...

Malala ~ TIME on Pakistani Girl Freedom-Fighter

My own 2012 TIME Person of the Year would have been the übercourageous Malala Yousafzai. Together with HuffPost's Joanne Bamberger, I'm quite disappointed US President Obama was picked as the populist favorite instead of...

"...the Pakistani schoolgirl who was shot and almost killed for defying the Taliban in her outspoken advocacy for girls' education. [...] Not only did she show almost unheard of courage in the face of almost-certain physical violence against her by speaking out about educating girls in Pakistan, she has raised awareness about the issue of violence against girls and women all over the world -- an epidemic that few seem focused on."

I can scarcely think of a more important issue planet-wide than supporting women and girls-rights, most especially to equal and complete education. The many faith-freak religious wingnuts who fight against and prevent this must be expunged from power.

Landesa's Dots ~ Girls' Education and Land Rights

Impatient Optimist Tim Hanstad notes Back to School? Not for Poor, Rural Girls in India...

"...far too many primary school aged children -- an estimated 67 million worldwide -- will never enroll in school. These children are generally the poorest of poor, for whom even a "free" education comes at too steep a price. For these families, sending children to school often means fewer hands laboring to support the family. [...] it is the poor, rural girls who most often stay out of school. Take a look at this new video that shines a spotlight on the role land ownership can play in getting these vulnerable groups into the classroom..."

Razia Jan ~ Afghan Girls' Schoolteacher Heroine

CNN's Allie Torgan tells of girls' school founder-teacher Razia Jan in Acid attacks, poison: What Afghan girls risk going to school...

"There were at least 185 documented attacks on schools and hospitals in Afghanistan last year, according to the United Nations. The majority were attributed to armed groups opposed to girls' education. "It is heartbreaking to see the way these terrorists treat... women," said Jan, 68. [...] They are scared that when these girls get an education, they will become aware of their rights as women and as a human being." Despite the threat of violence, Jan continues to open the doors of her Zabuli Education Center, a two-story, 14-room building where 354 area girls are receiving a free education. [...] "My school is very small. It's nothing big. But for this to start here, I think it's like a fire. And I think it will grow," she said. "I hope that one day these girls... will come back and teach."

Cycling Girl ~ Copenhagen Cycle Chic Spotlight!

The amazing Copenhagen Cycle Chic spots the iconic Cycling Girl!

No Ordinary Teacher ~ Gul-e-Khandana Inspires!

Rina Saeed Khan writes in the Guardian Weekly about the valley where girls are the future...

"In a rundown building in the mountain village of Sijban, girls sit at their desks, hair loosely covered in white or black scarves, staring raptly at their teacher. They say they want to become either doctors or teachers when they grow up. This is the one government primary school for girls in the Swat valley that was spared destruction by the Taliban. Their headteacher, Gul-e-Khandana, is no ordinary teacher -- she stood up to the Taliban and managed to save the school [...] now the Taliban have left the valley, enrolment is increasing. "More girls are coming back and many want to go on to college. There is a change; parents are willing to encourage their daughters. As for the girls, you can see the happiness on their faces, they are so happy to be back in a proper school again. Many lost almost two years of their studies." The Taliban destroyed more than 400 of the 1,576 schools in Swat. "Seventy percent of them were girls' schools," [...] as the conflict with the government intensified they started destroying both boys' schools as well as girls' schools. It was a terrible time. How can you build a nation without education?" [...] Gul-e-Khandana believes that girls are the future for Pakistan. "Above all, girls must be educated," she says. "When one girl is educated, she educates her entire household. The role of women is very important in our society -- it is they who can change our way of life for the better."