Girls@COP26 event wins international award

A pioneering Girls@COP26 event held at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) involving more than 2,500 secondary schoolgirls has won an international award for innovation and youth education.

Girls@COP26 – The Solutions are Feminist conference took place during COP26 last November. Its title was inspired by Dr Mary Robinson’s book: “Climate Justice: A Man-Made Problem With a Feminist Solution”.

The Sister Cities International Award was awarded to the Sister Cities Association, based in the US city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The association worked in coalition with Glasgow City Council (GCC), GCU’s Mary Robinson Centre for Climate Justice and the Women of the World (WOW) Foundation to give girls a voice during the United Nations COP26 summit held in Glasgow.

The award is in recognition of the outstanding work done in advancing the goals and mission of the Sister Cities organisation, who work with members across the United States to play a part in creating a more peaceful world through people-to-people exchanges and initiatives.

During the event, the third-year pupils discussed global issues around environment and gender – UN Sustainable Development Goal 5 - alongside other female related issues including health and challenges that can affect women and girls' bodies.

They discussed a range of themes like climate action, culture, fashion, everyday living and women's contribution to society with keynote speakers, including former Irish President Dr Mary Robinson, and a panel of experts. Each topic was discussed from the point of view of how woman and girls’ lives are disproportionately impacted, challenges faced and what can be done to facilitate change, empower women and build resilience.

Professor Tahseen Jafry, Director of the Mary Robinson Centre for Climate Justice, felt it was “vitally important that women and girls' voices are heard” and that “they must be front and centre of COP26."

Commenting on the award, she said: "The success of Girls@CoP26 is testimony to the pupils who took part and engaged so enthusiastically in the event.

“I am so proud of what they have achieved together with all the partners involved in delivering such an ambitious two-week programme. I am delighted that our work has been recognised and I look forward to our continuing collaboration.”

Kathy Risko, Executive Director, Sister Cities Association of Pittsburgh, said Sister Cities Pittsburgh was “very proud to partner with Girls@COP26 to engage Glasgow youth in important climate conversations”.

“We are energised by our sister relationship with Glasgow and look forward to future collaborations and exchanges between our two cities,” she added.

Bailie Annette Christie, GCC Convener for Culture, Sport and International Relations, said: "The Solutions are Feminist conference, in partnership with GCU and Women of the World (WOW), was the ideal platform for Glasgow's female voices to be heard, influence change and make an impact - pupil voice is very strong in Glasgow's schools and COP26 provided the perfect platform for the girls' opinions to be shared.

“This is a great honour and recognises not only the success of the event but also our partnership with Pittsburgh, a fairly recent connection and one that we hope to strengthen in the future.”

The pupils involved plan to meet together again on International Day of the Girl Child on October 11 2022, to share progress on the collective action from COP26 and launch a new “Girls manifesto” in advance of COP27.