Girl Scouts attend Young Womens World Forum

Area Girl Scouts attended a five-day World Forum in Chicago to address a number of global issues.

Hannah Cox of Pearland and Kalpana Vaidya of Houston represented the Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council of Houston at the forum in July. Approximately 500 girls from 145 countries attend the World Forum, along with representatives from 100 different councils in the U.S., according to a press release.

Girls met to discuss poverty and world hunger, as well as gender equality and female empowerment. One day was spent exploring environmental sustainability by volunteering at the Chicago Zoo.

"I was extremely fortunate to be chosen as the chaperone for the two delegates to the GWF from Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council," said San Jacinto volunteer Kelly Brouillard in the release. "Meeting girls and young women from around the globe within a forum for open discussion of the issues that plague us all was a life altering experience."

The forum aimed to show young women the opportunities available for global change, according to the release. Brouillard says she can't wait for Cox and Vaidya to bring these new ideas back to Houston.

"I look forward to witnessing these young women put their ideas into motion," she said in the release. "They will change the world. They will make the world a better place."