In 2011, the United Nations (UN) declared Oct. 11 the annual International Day of the Girl Child (IDG). Since then, the UN has honored the day with a summit in the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), where girls from around the world are given the opportunity to speak for and with representatives from global organizations. International Day of the Girl Child is meant to shine a light on the adversity that girls face separate from women.
Every year, the IDG summit has a different theme for discussion. This year’s theme was “Girls’ vision for the future.” Speakers included the ECOSOC President and representatives from Peru, Turkiye, United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), and UN Women, in addition to a panel of young girls from organizations such as The Girl Scouts of the USA and the Greek Orthodox Church.
The event began with an empowering performance from the Boerum Hill School for International Studies Step Team, which started the day off with high energy. This performance was followed by a town hall-style discussion. Because of the difficulty of getting visas, international girl speakers appeared via video to pose questions to the panel of in-person speakers.
In response to a question posed about girls’ mental health, Natalia Winder Rossi, Director of Social Policy and Social Protection at UNICEF, said, “We know that adolescent girls face a unique set of risk factors which can affect their mental health, including gender-based violence, barriers to education and skills, early marriage, and motherhood.” The event had a strong focus on girls in underserved communities and conflict zones. Winder Rossi also noted, “UNICEF is working to address adolescent girls’ safety, health, and wellbeing before, during, and after emergencies, which we know are right now the norm in many of our countries.”
After the town hall portion, the panel gave closing remarks, and then attendees over the age of 18 were asked to leave the room so that all the girls could participate in leadership workshops without the added pressure of adults being in the room. This was to ensure that the core values of International Day of the Girl Child were honored by letting girls have the floor and not allowing adults to speak for them or overly guide their conversation.
Helena Paredes, 20, is a junior at Pace University majoring in Political Science and Peace and Justice Studies. After attending the IDG summit up to the point of restriction, she said, “A lot of my Peace and Justice studies courses focus on gender-based violence, so to hear from people of other commissions and organizations through the United Nations talking to younger girls is something that we need. I didn’t start learning this until entering into higher education; a lot of these girls are in middle school or high school, and for them to have this opportunity to learn these things that I’m just learning now is really important.”
The event is best summed up by a quote from the Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, Amina J. Mohammed’s, opening speech for the event: “There is no future without girls and their vision for the future.”