AGYA represented at the Clinton Global Initiative Conference in Texas

AGYA Girls Director and Co-Founder, Divinity Barkley, attended the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGIU) Meeting in Austin, Texas during the weekend of February 13-15. At the Conference, Divinity had the unique opportunity to network, share, and learn from global youth activists and college students.

Hosted by Former U.S. President, Bill Clinton, the conference highlighted 5 areas: education, energy & climate change, global health, peace & human rights, and poverty alleviation. President Clinton emphasized the importance young people to develop and implement innovative, sustainable solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges (http://www.cgiu.com/).

Divinity attended two workshops during the course of the conference. The first workshop, Raising Hope: Taking Action to Protect and Empower Women, featured the following esteemed advocates for women's rights:

• Ángel Cabrera, President, Thunderbird School of Global Management
• Christine Karumba, Country Director, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Women for Women International
• Somaly Mam, President, Somaly Mam Foundation; President, Acting for Women in Distressing Situations (AEFSIP)
• May Yu, Project Manager, 1Well

ABOVE: Divinity with Somaly Mam (http://www.somaly.org/), a staunch advocate of women's rights and courageous survivor of Cambodia's vicious and lucrative human sex trafficking trade.

The second workshop Divinity attended was entitled: Building an Organization. Facilitated by Cheryl Dorsey, the President of Echoing Green, this unique and informative skills-building workshop provided young social entrepreneurs with advice, warnings, and many valuable lessons about taking the necessary steps to develop a project that is both organizationally and financially sustainable.

On Day 1 of the Conference, Divinity was selected for a live television interview by the local newstation in Austin, Texas.

To see the article, click the following link: http://www.news8austin.com/content/your_news/default.asp?ArID=232024

To see the video interview, click the following link:

http://www.news8austin.com/shared/video/video_pop.asp?destlist=62108

On Day 3 of the Conference, Divinity participated in the CGIU Community Service Project, a clean-up of Rosewood Park.

"Attending this conference was such an amazing experience and I am grateful for the opportunity. I met many young people who have courageously decided to pursue their passions. They are taking small steps to solve big problems in the world. I will definitely apply all of the knowledge I gained during this awesome weekend to my work with AGYA."

ABOVE: Divinity with other young social activists who are doing work in Africa.

In the next few weeks, Divinity will develop her "Committment," a proposal prepared by GGIU members that offer creative solutions to some of the world's most challenging problems. The Clinton Foundation will offer funding opportunities for the most outstanding Committment proposals.