My travel adventure continues...and it's only getting better :) Be sure to follow me on twitter @elisabethjessop. I will be posting updates several times a day.
Hola from Mexico City! I am currently at the G(irls)20 Summit.
Why am I here? I feel so privileged to represent the United States as the U.S. Delegate at the G(irls)20 Summit. Can you believe it? They chose me!
I found out that I was selected at the beginning of May and it has been a whirlwind of excitement, anticipation, preparation, and a little anxiety. I am representing the United States! This is a big deal.
The G(irls)20 Summit brings together one girl, aged 18-20, from each G20 country and one girl from Africa, to look at the G20 Leaders agenda through the lens of the economic empowerment of girls and women so as to build strong economies, stable communities, and drive social innovation. During our time in Mexico, the delegates will participate in panel discussions, attend workshops and caucus' to discuss and promote tangible, scalable solutions toward financial prosperity and the economic empowerment of girls and women around the world. All of these activities will culminate in a delegate-led press conference and communiqué that provides a blueprint on how the G20 leaders can utilize and engage one of the best resources in the world – girls and women.
Modeled after the agenda for the G20, the G(irls)20 Summit for 2012 will focus on the issues of food security and violence against women.
If you have any information that you think may be useful for me going into the summit, please share! Also, I would love to hear from the media! You can email me at elisabeth.jessop@gmail.com or connect with me on Facebook or Twitter.
Another post to come on current U.S. policy regarding girls and women, particularly in regards to food security and gender-based violence.
I promise to write more about the summit later, and I will create a blog post to document each day of the summit, once I have returned. But for now, I'm soaking it all in, and enjoying every moment I here. I am surrounded by intelligence, passion, and commitment. I have enjoyed learning from our awesome sponsors, and the twenty (20) other intelligent, passionate young women that are here with me at the summit. We have had some incredible workshops already on our first day - Media and PR with Veritas, Maximizing the Playbook by Blackberry RIM (Research in Motion), and Navigating the Digital World at Google Mexico. We ended the evening with a fabulous dinner reception at the Canadian Ambassador's home where I met with many of Mexico's top officials.
Here are a few photos from my first day in Mexico City. Enjoy! More to come.
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| Me, Magdaly (Mexico), Claire (Canada), Sally (France), and Fisher (China) on our first evening in Mexico City. |
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| I love the colorful buildings in Mexico! |
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| Magadly brought us sweet Mexican candies :) Yummy coconut! |
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| Pretty view from our hotel. |
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| Awesome mural in our hotel. |
