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Google's IWD Doodle Is The Ultimate Cheerleader

by Morgan Brinlee

Google has been commemorating holidays, historical events, and noteworthy people with the Google Doodle since 1998 with women rocking the Doodle on numerous occasions over the years. But this year, Google went above and beyond in their recognition of International Women's Day with a must-see Google Doodle celebrating the next generation of amazing women. At nearly a minute and a half, the Doodle is a heartfelt celebration of female potential that will make you both cry and cheer.

To create this year's International Women's Day Doodle, Google project lead Liat Ben-Rafael and Google animator Lydia Nichols traveled to 13 cities across the globe to ask a total of 337 women and girls to complete the sentence, "One day I will..." The result is an inspiring collection of goals — voiced in 14 different languages — from a diverse group of females looking to make their mark on the world.

"The aspirations we heard were as varied as the women and girls who shared them, from the very personal — swim with pigs in the Bahamas — to the very global — give a voice to those who can't speak — and everything in between," the Doodle's creators said in a statement put out by Google. "When it was done, we found that our own 'One day I will...'s had grown bigger and richer, inspired by the women we had met."

This Google Doodle is proof women don't stop dreaming of what they'll do once they reach a certain age or cross a major accomplishment off their bucket list (say, becoming the youngest-ever Nobel Prize laureate). Among the women who shared their "One day I will..." dream is the scientist Jane Goodall, who shares her desire to "discuss the environment with Pope Francis." Female education activists Malala Yousafzai and Muzoon Almellehan also voiced their shared dream to one day "see every girl in school."

Ben-Rafael and Nichols spoke to women in San Francisco, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City, Lagos, Moscow, Cairo, Berlin, London, Paris, Jakarta, Bangkok, New Delhi, and Tokyo to ensure they heard from women with different ethnicities, ages, and backgrounds. "Each new city brought more 'One day I will's, more signature dance moves, more hugs, more high-fives," they said.

In an effort to further encourage and celebrate the dreams of women and girls around the world, Google also launched a social media campaign under the hashtag #OneDayIWill, which asks ladies to complete the sentence themselves and add their own dream to the conversation.

Much as with women as a whole, there's a lot of things to cheer in Google's International Women's Day Doodle. In Tokyo, a young Japanese girl breaks out her best dance moves while sharing her goal of becoming "an artist like Michael Jackson." In Cairo, a woman voices her dream of being "the first female president of Egypt." In Berlin, a woman proudly shows off her baby bump and declares, "One day I will be a mommy." Although each woman shares her personal goal in her own native language, the hope, passion, and excitement emanating from these women needs no translation. It's beautiful and it's inspiring. Well done, Google, well done.