On March 25, 2017, Women’s Global Connection (WGC) had their annual Girls Global Summit. The event took place at the University of the Incarnate Word’s Rosenberg Sky Room. Over 250 girls and women (with the exception of a few boys) from throughout Bexar County attended. At the summit, teams of school-age girls led the audience in table topic discussions that had both local and international significance.

Topics included: human trafficking; education; literacy rates; sexual health legislation in Texas; women and girls in STEM fields; growing up as a racial minority; etc. Different girl groups from various schools, recruited by the WGC’s High School interns, facilitated each topic. Every attendee was able to listen to at least three topics that they were interested in as well as voice any questions that they had.

As part of the Summit, many of the topic leaders educated the participants on issues that coincided with SA2020’s vision for the city. A highlight was the summit focus on education and civic engagement. To that end, SA2020 CEO/President Molly Cox gave a keynote address about how owning your story as you grow up can empower girls to be connected and engaged citizens of the world.

Many summit attendees also tackled issues such as how to raise the literacy rate on the local and national levels. That extended also to how to participate in helping girls in developing nations have access to education.

On the civic engagement level, summit leaders encouraged attendees who would soon be of voting age to become active in their own communities – especially by preparing to vote. They discussed ways to increase voter turnout, especially among youth.

The participants were also able to listen to various speakers such as WGC Board Member Tracy Tylman, who served as the spirited emcee for the event. The founder of Sweb Development, a San Antonio based digital media firm with an international presence, Magaly Chocano, was awarded the WGC Globally Awesome Girl Award.

Tylman encouraged everyone to stand with confidence (power-posing) and she also stressed many positive traits that women in the 21st century should have as leaders. Cox spoke about how everyday citizens, just like the attendees, can make a difference within the San Antonio community by raising awareness on topics such as these. Chocano communicated the need for bright young minds to pursue their visions for the future.

As a whole, the 2017 Girls Global Summit was a great success. WGC encourages young women to participate not only as attendees, but also as interns in next year’s summit. We encourage all interested young women to contact us at wgcinsa@gmail.com.