Meghan speaks at Girl Ups Virtual Summit
The Duchess of Sussex spoke at the 2020 Girl Up Leadership Summit, sharing a pre-recorded message with the organization. Girl up is a movement which was founded ten years ago and aims to advance girls skills, rights and opportunities to be leaders.
Meghan spoke about female changemakers and applauded all the girls around the world already working to make change in their communities. She shared some of the things she has learned in her own life sharing that those in power depend on you more than you depend on them. She encouraged them to continue to fight for change in all areas, specifically mentioning racial justice, gender, climate change, mental health, civic engagement and public service.
The Duchess has previously spoken on gender equality and racial justice during a speech she recorded for her alma maters 2020 graduating class. Her main priority seems to continue to be gender equality, having been a women’s advocate since 2015 but her interests are beginning to expand. Since joining the royal family, she has begun to speak up more on conservation and mental health.
Her husband, brother-in-law and father-in-law have all spoken extensively about climate change (Prince Charles began advocating for sustainability & conservation in the 1980’s.) The Royal Foundation launched the Heads Together campaign in 2017 and she has joined in on working on a few mental health projects since 2019.
She finished her remarks by encouraging girls to listen to their gut and stand up when they feel something is wrong. Meghan told the girls that they must chase their convictions with action, something that even she has found difficult at times. She reminded them that it may not seem like they are seeing change day to day but promised that it all adds up over time and that change will come. xx