You've been paying attention to the conference, now meet some of the delegates address global issues about women and girls.



Lillian Kathiri M'Nkubitu, African Union

As the delegate from the African Union Lillian told us that she wants to see a change and find a way to bring better education the rural areas of Kenya. She told Stardoll that she sees vast inequality between the cities and what is made available to the children in terms of education and resource. In particular, she sees IT training as one of the areas that could bring about the most change to her country. This is what she is working on at the workshops her at the GirlsG20Summit.

Lilian recently graduated from the Starehe Girls Institute and will begin her studies in Medicine and Surgery at Egerton University this August. As a passionate advocate for her community, Lilian has taken on a number of leadership roles. She is currently the Ambassador of Global Give Back Circle, where she is responsible for the acquisition and relationship management of private sector partnerships and mentors for girls in the program. With the Masomo Mashinani Foundation, Lilian mentors primary school children in less privileged areas on the essence of education and health care practices.


Mariana Carvalho, European Union Portugal

Mariana is passionate about empowering girls in her native Portugal. She is currently studying at Brown University in the US and wants to find funding to build a school for girls in Portugal to bring about a change in the economic outlook for girls.

Mariana is also actively involved in a number of community service programs, Mariana is the leader of UWC-USA HIV/AIDS Peer Educators, a group consisting of students from around the world using theatre, dance and music to convey messages about HIV/AIDS and other STDs. She is the leader of the Relay for Life cancer society at her school, and she is also leading a program with peers from the Global Changemakers conference called Ripple Effect, which promotes HIV/AIDS awareness through a variety of methods including an international online database of information.


Zeynep Hazal Alyagut, Turkey

Hazel has her eye on mobilizing volunteerism to make a change and bring more resources to those living in the rural areas of her country. She is also looking to overcome traditional suspicion of non-profit organizations as untrustworthy because she sees this as a key area that will drive rural development and create a sustainable revenue stream for Tatvan's villages.

At the university where she is studying, Hazal was selected to be a teaching assistant for the Business 101 class, and she had a central role in organizing the 2010 Marketing Dynamics Conference. She is a project coordinator of Genc Business Platform, a platform that aims to mitigate the effects of unemployment on youth in Turkey.


Tara Suri, USA

Tara wants to tackle the areas of respect and equality for young women. She would like to see an attitudinal change around areas of rape, domestic violence and other issues where women are treated in what she sees as an unfair light. An inspiring leader, Tara has founded and co-founded a number of initiatives including EduGate, The Stoplight Project, and Turn Your World Around. She started Turn Your World Around when she was 13 years old to help prevent female infanticide. The organization has grown larger, engaging youth around the world and has raised $100,000 for initiatives ranging from increasing access to education in Sudan to working with Sex trafficking victims.

ALL IMAGES FROM Franck Jessueld, Girls20Summit photographer