A group of young women from G20 countries will meet in Toronto later this month, with the intent of putting the concerns of girls and women squarely in the spotlight.
The so-called G(irls) 20 Summit will take place June 15 and is led by The Belinda Stronach Foundation. It will bring together young delegates from each of the G20 countries -- and one from Malawi -- to discuss the issues in the lives of girls and women around the world.
The plan is to hold a summit every year in order to spark what the organization describes as "a global conversation about the economic prowess of girls and women and our commitment to creating a space where girls' voices can be heard globally."
"We believe there are 3.3 billion ways to improve the world," Stronach told CTV's Canada on Tuesday morning, alluding to the estimated number of female citizens across the globe.
The idea for the G(irls) 20 Summit was first hatched when the former Liberal cabinet minister took a trip to Africa five years ago.
"When you see extreme poverty first-hand and you have a chance to talk to women and girls and mothers, you want to come back and do something about it," Stronach said.
Upon returning to Canada, Stronach co-founded Spread the Net -- a campaign that helps distribute bed nets to African children to prevent malaria infection through mosquito contact.
But she was also thinking about ways to improve the lives of the girls and women.
Five years later, the inaugural G(irls) 20 Summit will take place 10 days before the high-profile G20 leaders summit in Toronto.
Backed up by 30 big-time corporate partners, Stronach said the message that investing in girls and women should be a major priority, is gaining momentum.
"We have phenomenal partners from Google to Aeroplan to Dove, Nike, a whole range of NGO partners that have come on board to work with us -- because they see the importance of the issue," Stronach said.
Canadian delegate Leah Stuart-Sheppard, 19, said it is exciting to be given the opportunity to network with other young women who share a goal of bettering the lives of girls and women around the world.
"I'm really excited to meet everyone else and to hear the different life experiences and challenges that everyone has had to face, and sort of share our experiences and see where we can go from there," said Stuart-Sheppard, appearing on Canada AM alongside Stronach.
For Stuart-Sheppard, the key issue is education: "Education is really helpful for women, in terms of health and economic prosperity it sort of leads into both. An extra year of education means 10 to 20 per cent higher income."
