Last month, I was in Buenos Aires, Argentina for the 9th annual G(irls)20 Global Summit where the ideas and recommendations of 26 brilliant young women were amplified on the global stage.

I could not have been more excited and proud to have played a role in such a critical event. Working at Kira, we create education technology, so it is such a treat to work with this organization specifically in support of girls education.

At the G(irls)20 Global Summit, young women from around the world spent a week in Buenos Aires for leadership training, social enterprise development, and mentoring from female leaders in the business and public sectors.

The Summit is modeled after the G20 Summit and culminates with a Communiqué approved and delivered to G20 Sherpas that features recommendations on policies and programs that will enable young women globally to fully participate in their local economies.

While at the Global Summit, I was fortunate enough to moderate a panel on financial inclusion featuring Silvia Morimoto, Country Director, United Nations Development Program, Patricia Blanco, Partner, Bain & Co., and Veronica Silva, CEO Apprendo and KAIROS Society Fellow.

The central question being: What barriers still face young women in the G20 countries that prevent them from fully taking part in the formal economy and how can the G20 leaders finally tackle these barriers?

The solution? They called upon each G20 government to:

  1. Incorporate financial literacy programs into the formal education system and create a regulating body to monitor the increase of financial autonomy of women and girls.
  2. Increase technology infrastructure to advance digital financial literacy programs in areas that lack infrastructure necessary to access financial services, with special attention towards access to internet in rural areas.
  3. Increase investment in corporations and civil society organizations which focus on financial literacy for illiterate women and girls in areas with limited digital access, with a special emphasis on marginalized communities.

In addition to financial literacy, the communique covered a wide variety of pillars with the other four being:

  1. PROVIDE SAFE ACCESS TO INCLUSIVE PARTICIPATION IN DIGITAL SPACES
  2. FOSTER ACCESS TO STEAM* EDUCATION AND CAREERS FOR WOMEN & GIRLS
  3. IMPLEMENT STRONG LEGAL MECHANISMS TO PREVENT AND ELIMINATE GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE
  4. ADVANCE ACCESS TO QUALITY EDUCATION IN RURAL COMMUNITIES THROUGH BOTH FORMAL AND INFORMAL MEANS

*STEAM is an educational approach to learning that uses Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics

In the past, Kira has been a proud partner of the G(irls)20’s Bootcamp for Brains program in Toronto. Now, we are thrilled to continue our support for this incredible organization by being part of the Global Summit. Onwards and upwards to the 2019 Global Summit in Tokyo Japan!

More about G(irls)20:

Launched in 2009 at the Clinton Global Initiative, G(irls)20 places young women at the centre of decision-making processes. Through our signature programs, Global Summit and Girls on Boards, we make strategic investments in young women through education and training, building networks, and access to unparalleled opportunities at home and abroad. While advocating for change at the global level through the annual G(irls)20 Global Summit, we are invested in changing the status quo for women at decision-making tables in communities across Canada by placing Girls on Boards.

Visit http://www.girls20.org to learn more about the Summit and our other programs.