Being a young woman in Ireland can be really tough….

Here at Shona, we celebrate women from all over the world, those who succeed and those who overcome, those who lead and those who think, those who win and those who learn. We share our stories so that we don’t feel alone. We laugh, learn, try and cry together.

Figuring out who we are, and where we fit into this world is hard, and there are so many challenges; anxiety, depression, body image, self-esteem, boys, family drama, social media, exams stress, hormones, sexuality, relationships, bullying and feeling like we don’t fit in.

The world (and Instagram) tells us we should have it all figured out by now, and that we should be perfect, which none of us will ever be. Really, we should be helping each other to be smart, strong and, above all else, kind.

When girls support each other, there’s no limit to what we can achieve

We know exactly how it feels to struggle and feel alone, because we’ve been there. We believe that we all need to give ourselves a break, and take care of ourselves, and of each other, to celebrate each other’s differences, and to support each other so we can all achieve everything our quirky little hearts desire.

Whether you identify as a cis- or trans girl or as a non-binary individual—wherever you are on your journey of gender expression and identity—you are welcome here.

What do we do?

• We recently asked 559 teenage girls across Ireland how they were doing really, and the research result were quite shocking. Have a read here
• We run powerful and engaging school workshops suitable for all secondary school students focused on kindness, mindset, resilience and confidence. Contact [email protected] for more info and to book in.
• To celebrate International Day Of The Girl, each year we run our Shine Festival where we bring together girls from all over Ireland and created once-in-a-lifetime memories. Our online site, with over 250 informative videos on topics such as mental health, women’s health, women in sports, careers, the arts, activism and much more, will remain live as a well-being resource for teachers, schools and students.
• Is there a young woman in your school who has shown leadership, kindness or a passion for social issues? Is she in 4^th, 5^th, or 6^th year? Why not nominate her to get involved in our Junior Ambassador Programme. Find out more info here
• The Shona Safe Bathrooms Challenge:  We want to turn your school halls and bathrooms into a safe and positive space. All the details can be found here
• To stay up to date with any new events or projects we are running, why not sign up to our newsletter here

Watch us in action here…

The story behind The Shona Project is a very special one, you can read about it here.

Since our launch in 2016 we’ve gone from strength to strength and won countless awards and accolades. Here is just a selection.

• In 2021 our founder Tammy, received the Irish Red Cross Humanitarian of The Year Award
• That same year we also won the Red Cross award for Innovation for Change
• In 2021 we were recognised as being one of the Top 100 women in Social Enterprise in Europe and 100 Women who are changing Ireland.
• In 2021 Shine Festival scooped the gold award for Digital and Social Innovation at the IMRO awards
• In 2019 we received the award for CEO of the year at the Irish Womens awards.
• Rethink Awardee 2018/ 2019
• Image Magazine Social Entrepreneur of the year Finalist 2018/ 2019/2022

We’ve also met royalty, made TV shows and been projected on the GPO in Dublin! But we’re most proud of the tens of thousands of girls across Ireland who are standing taller and being kinder because of our work. Talk to us at [email protected] or sign up to our newsletter here.