The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

AFTER a very successful conference for high school girls last year, Girl Con 2018 is hosting its second event for some 300 participants at the Regency Theatre in Freeport on November 20.

Senate president and businesswoman Kay Forbes Smith, founder of Girl Con, said this year they are focusing on the issue of gender equality for women, which is one of the 17 United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) to end all forms of discrimination against women and girls everywhere.

Under this year's theme, 'I am, I can, I will,' the conference's mission is to inspire, motivate and empower girls who are in their senior year of high school as they prepare for their transition as young women in the real world.

Mrs Smith said that Girl Con has moved from being just an annual event to now a non-profit organisation that aims to ensure girls in The Bahamas have every opportunity to succeed and overcome challenges that confront them.

"There are too many instances of abuse, exploitation, and violence against women and girls," she said.

Referring to United Nations statistics, Mrs Smith said that it is estimated that 12 million girls under age 18 will get married and two million girls under age 15 will become pregnant in developing regions.

"As a result of this, Girl Con has made a commitment to support the UN Sustainable Development Goals as part of our core mission. Those goals prioritise the fight against many adversities that affect the rights of women, such as access to education, training, and even entry into the workplace," she said.

Expressing concerns about the prevalence of bullying in schools and incest in some homes, Mrs Smith noted that many girls feel hopeless when they should feel hopeful.

She said: "When we recognise what is going on globally we also recognise what is going on in The Bahamas. Of the 17 SDGs, we have put specific focus on the achievement of true gender equality."

The Girl Con committee is comprised of women who are committed to mentoring girls on Grand Bahama, and their plans are to expand it to the Family Islands.

This year, a group from Abaco will be attending the conference. The panelists are: Bahamian entertainer Angelique Sabrina; writer, motivational speaker, event planner and television personality Kerel Pinder; Italia Williams of Eye Candy and Gennett Martin-Isaacs.

Mrs Smith said the panelists are all women who are successful and have made significant contributions to the development of the country.

There will be an essay competition on this year's theme. The winner will receive $1,000 while $750 and $500 goes to the second and third place finishers, respectively. The top three winners and a chaperone will also travel to New York with the Girl Con committee to attend the UN Commission on the Status of Women.

"We want our young women to be exposed to global issues, to come and hear what is going on and to hear what women are doing in their respective countries, and the programmes that are in place to caters to girls," she said.

After the conference, Mrs Smith said that Girl Con expects to continue to host mentoring programmes throughout the year.

Yvonne Ward, district superintendent at the Ministry of Education, said that many girls will benefit from the conference which promotes female empowerment.

"I am very pleased to be a part of this committee because it is about professional women coming together to help mentor our young girls who are in their senior year of high school," she said.

"We want to encourage girls to educate themselves about gender equality and discrimination against women and other issues. We want the participants to know that we are here for them and so they can talk to us about their issues so we can help them overcome them," said Mrs Ward.