Girl Up Leader, Miriam Farooq, 16, dedicates her time to charities that work to enrich the lives of women and girls across Asia. She started Hong Kong’s first Girl Up club at her school and almost 2 years later, she’s organized fundraisers and advocacy events.

After being diagnosed with aggressive bone cancer at age 11, Grace Bunke (pictured here) bravely underwent treatment and surgery. Today, she continues to enjoy her favorite activity—running—and dreams of being a future Paralympian.

Photographer Ami Vitale shot powerful portraits of elephant keepers at the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary in Kenya, Africa. “I wanted to focus on young African women who are dreaming big,” said Vitale of her subjects. “They are protecting their communities and the natural world around them. It takes guts, a passion for the environment, and nerves of steel to protect these endangered animals and the people living side by side with them.” Choosing to show the brave females who work in this field, Vitale explains, “These women are working in difficult environments and defying stereotypes. They are real life warriors, protecting these animals from poachers. I want to inspire all women to follow their own path and not just the one society dictates to us.”

Zakia was one of the first girls from the Bamiyan region of Afghanistan to begin riding a bicycle. This 23-year-old was inspired to teach other younger women in her village to ride when she saw them without access to public transportation and riding bicycles served as a good solution to get to school. Biking is often frowned upon for women in their society, but Zakia is now dreaming big by hoping that some of the female riders she trains with will go on to be among the best in the world, representing their country in international competitions.

Photographer Scarlet Page was inspired by the England Lionesses, England’s national women’s football team, and their “fearless drive” to win. “They are so inspiring and exciting to our generation of young girls,” Scarlet says of the team. She adds, “these girls grew up at a time when the dream of being a female football player was not as accessible as it is now. Football was for boys -- or so it seemed -- but these players have turned it around and are proving how exciting, fearless and skillful they are to a new generation of young girls who love who they are and what they are achieving.”

Ta’Kaiya Blaney is a 15-year-old high school student from the Tla’Amin First Nation on Vancouver Island, in BC, Canada. Ta’Kaiya has performed and spoken at grass-roots Indigenous gatherings and rallies and at International conferences and forums across the globe. In 2014, Ta’Kaiya was the youngest keynote speaker for Powershift, an annual global youth summit focusing on climate change policy, at Pittsburg, P.A. and Victoria, B.C. A singer, songwriter, and actor since age 6, Ta’Kaiya is comfortable in front of the large audiences she often speaks in support of cultural and environmental initiatives.

Nandini, Sejal, and Anjali and Uma represent the girls who are defying tradition in India and continuing to pursue education. Through the organization Magic Bus, girls like these are encouraged to continue their schooling as well as participate in physical activities they never had the chance to before. The confidence these girls gain through sports allow them to be their own agents of change, breaking the cycle of poverty they were born into.

Sol started surfing in the summer of 2016 when she started to frequently take part in a surf social project called Escolinha de Pé de Serra Surf. Determined to succeed at the sport, Sol started dedicating her afternoons to surfing. Today, she is a regular participant at surf championships in the region, and at only age 11, is often the youngest to compete. Sol dreams big with a goal of becoming the first female world champion surfer from Brazil.

"When I was approached for this amazing campaign I thought of little girls who are underprivileged yet they are given support through community programs and specialized facilities such as "Queen Rania Family and Child Centre" which was established under The Jordan River Foundation, explains Photographer Banan Alawneh. “I was very inspired by the community centre, which offers holistic services that aim to combat child abuse and strengthen families across Jordan. Kids enroll in activities to stimulate and express their feelings through art, where those activities ensure the proper implementation of child rights and the reinforcement of appropriate child-rearing methods within their families. I've met many little girls in the centre, and was amazed by those outspoken confident ones who didn't hesitate when I was asking them about their dreams and what they want to be in the future.”

Photographer Danielle Sykes shot these photos at Hasbro’s photo studio, Pixel Works, in Burbank, California. “My very first instinct when hearing about this project was to incorporate a hot air balloon,” the photographer says. “They are whimsical, adventurous and pretty scary – like dreams! Building a tabletop miniature diorama to portray the scene, starring Princess Rapunzel, the artist says, was the perfect way to bring her concept to life. “Rapunzel would need to have lots of trust in herself to embark on a hot air balloon adventure,” she says. “Just like dreaming big, you have to be willing to try to fly despite not knowing exactly what’s around the corner.” Also expressing her concept by showing young girls mapping their own adventure sparked by Rapunzel’s journey, she says, “Dreaming big is not simply about just having an idea or about the fairytale endings that we tend to focus on. It’s about the process, which involves lots of hard work, achievements and disappointments alike, and a whole lot of exploration. We don’t know where Rapunzel ends up on this hot air balloon ride and it doesn’t matter. It’s really just about appreciating a moment during the journey.”

Photographer Calliope Karvounis says she grew up looking up to her mother as her role model. “My mother was a very strong and independent woman,” she says. “[She was] always by my side to guide me and nurture me into the woman I am today.” Because of the positive influence her own mother had on her, Calliope hopes that she can shape her own daughters’ lives in the same way. Exploring the mother-daughter bond in this series of photographs, Calliope’s daughters Anna and India participated in the project by acting as co-photographer and model, respectively. “One of my daughters aspires to be a photographer, like me,” Calliope explains, “and the creative concept was to have her photograph her sister and get a glimpse of her dream so she can have the courage and strength to pursue it.” Shooting around their hometown of Athens, Greece, the photographer says this project showed her a new side of her girls.

At the age of 4, Paty was placed in Photographer Theresa Balderas’ family-run orphanage and lived there for two years before being adopted by a wonderful family. Today, at age 8, Paty is happy, funny, and her outgoing personality allows her to make friends easily. Paty loves learning math at school and dreams of traveling the world someday, just like Moana, who inspires her to be brave. Paty hopes to inspire others to believe that there is hope for all kids that are in a foster home to one day start a better life.

Champion windsurfers Maya Morris, 18, and Yarden Isaac, 17, inspired photographer Ronit Cohen to dream big. As she explains, “Maya and Yarden are two very impressive young girls. They are beautiful, funny and intelligent, and they enjoy what they are doing, which is the most important thing.” Expanding on what inspired her most about the two young athletes, Ronit says, “I was impressed with their seriousness and their determination. At such a young age they're so committed to their professional training. They also prove that when you fully commit to a process and training you reach great achievements.” Maya is the World Champion in Windsurfing for Youth up to age 19 and is currently in Japan, training for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Yarden is the European Champion in Windsurfing for Youth.

Tutya Yilmaz is an 18-year-old Turkish artistic gymnast who has represented Turkey at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games; 2015 European Games and in 2016, she became the youngest gymnast to represent Turkey at the Rio Olympics. “As a little girl, I was scared when I entered into the gym,” the athlete admits. “Gymnastics seemed difficult to me. However, as I grew up and as I saw how I was able to overcome what seems difficult, I started enjoying every step.” Photographer Dilan Bozyel hopes that her photos of Tutya will millions of girls who dream of exceeding their boundaries and opening up to the world.

Monique Coleman, 36, is an actress best known for her role as Taylor McKessie in Disney’s High School Musical movies. Monique has won accolades for her numerous television and film roles, and even competed on season three of Dancing With the Stars. In 2010, Monique was named the first-ever United Nations Youth Champion for the International Year of Youth. She then traveled to 24 countries in a six-month span in order to empower and inspire young people, meet with government officials on behalf of youth, and volunteer.

The photographer called on one of her own personal dreams for this particular photo. “This is my own little dream of flying in the sky,” she explained. “When I was a kid, I would fly all the time in my dreams and then would wake up feeling very happy.” Adding that this dream can be rooted in reality, she says, “What I wanted to show little boys and girls is that this dream can become reality. They can become pilots and fly planes – why not?”

Rong Jing, 29, overcame a childhood bout of polio to become a fencing champion. At age 16, Rong was selected to begin training in the sport by the provincial wheelchair fencing team of east China's Jiangsu Province. Originally discouraged by her lack of athletic experience, Rong persisted, eventually reaching the top of her sport and winning a gold medal in 2012 at the London Paralympics. Since 2015, she has attended seven international competitions and won six gold medals. In 2016, Rong represented China in the Rio Paralympics, serving as the country’s flag bearer in the Opening Ceremony. That year Rong Jing also took home three gold medals, one for each event she competed in.

Miu is 13, and although she can be reserved, she is someone her friends trust and frequently turn to for advice. Her dream is to one day help those who struggle by becoming a professional counselor.

Laura Zalenga has created a series of images celebrating the importance of dreaming as depicted by five young girls engaged in imaginative play. She explains “[The girls are] climbing up a wall that isn't easy to climb and reaching for their dreams.”