Asking questions. Wondering why things are the way they are. Checking out whether things are working the way you want. Imagining new possibilities for yourself and your community. These simple yet powerful skills can make you a great inquirer!

Inquiry is all about being curious, looking into things, stirring questions up, seeing things more clearly, making up your own mind about what you believe -- and, sometimes, planning and acting to make things better.

Do you wish your neighborhood offered more for girls/young women? Do you think you should have a better education? Do you wonder how images of “"sluts" and "hos" in music videos affect girls? Are you sick of being harassed by guys on the street? 

These are just a few questions that Chicago girls have inquired about. What they found out led them to all kinds of knowledge and insight -- and sometimes, to creative ways of challenging the status quo.

To get started, ask questions! If you want to go deeper, there's a process that is called participatory evaluation research (PER).  All that means is being actively involved in uncovering information and making sense of it all.

Learn more about PER, as well as how to get money to hire a trainer or consultant who can help you use PER or other kinds of investigation.

P.S. If you want to impress folks, call your inquiry skills "assessment" or "evaluation."

Inquiring girls say…

"Before [I worked on this project] I would see a naked lady in an ad and not think anything about it. Now I think WHY is she naked?" -- Sabuwra, 17, Sister from 2001-2005