A 17 year old senior girl from Westfield High School started working with the United Nations back in March, and is now serving as a moderator at the United Nations after being selected as one of 14 girls nationwide to represent the Girl Scouts of the USA at the United Nations Annual Commission on the Status of Women conference. During her preparation for the conference, Wilson was nominated by the Girl Scouts to work with the Working Group on Girls coalition, a U.N. committee that advocated for girls rights.
Wilson stated that, “I worked in a team of 10 girls from around the world to write WGG’s Girls Statement, which is the only spoken piece of literature delivered by girls and about girls at the CSW conference, The U.N. was a whole new world to me, and I found it amazing to see so many people come together to execute our event and discuss girls’ rights.” She continued to say that, “For example, girls and women are more heavily affected by natural disasters. Typically, they are responsible for caring for family members in addition to themselves, and in regions of the world where women must travel to collect water, This task becomes extremely dangerous during natural disasters.”
Her statement was given in March to a general assembly that was made up of U.N. policymakers, conference chairs, and U.N. state member representatives. The girls tackled topics relating to gender equity in the context of climate change and included the girls’ recommendations on how they think girls can be better supported in the middle of it.
Wilson kept on working and in July was given an offer by the Working Group on Girls to work on the annual Girls Speak Out event that is designed to recognize the International Day of the Girl. The event marked the 10th anniversary of the International Day of the Girl, and took place on October 11th, at the Economic and Social Council chamber at United Nations Permanent Headquarters in New York City. The event brought in 400 in person guests and several thousands of people that were attending virtually.
When speaking about the event Wilson said that, “Not only did I get to speak with many amazing girl activists from around the world and learn more deeply about gender inequity in the U.S., Pacific Island, Africa and more, but I also learned a lot about how the U.N. functions, and what can be done to influence policymakers and member states into action.” She concluded in saying, “I never would have been able to do any of the work with the UN if I wasn’t a Girl Scout, I think that looking back to being a kindergartener, Girl Scouts instilled a message of girl power that I have carried with me all the way to the UN.”
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