One night Villa Grimaldi hosted an event that the public was open to attending. Many people spoke about the program- how they got involved, why it was important, but also about their beliefs on women's rights today. Two girls from Chile spoke and also the two girls from Sri Lanka- Nurath and Jenty. Although the presentations were extremely interesting I missed most of the first half because of my nerves. This was due to the fact that we had only been informed that we would be speaking earlier that day! The only thing we could do was hastily prepare a PowerPoint, which in that of itself was a miracle considering our already hectic days schedule of museum hopping and dialoging. When we arrived we were given simultaneous translating devices so we could understand every word of the speaker- but unfortunately that meant they could understand every word of ours. I don't think I have ever been so nervous. True I joined the Girl Ambassador program to let my voice be heard and to become a more confident leader in society... But that didn't mean I was entirely ready to present in front of a bunch of important people from around the world (including some members of the UN and US embassies).
In the end Abiba and I got up there and did our thing. We discussed some of what we had been learning in Chile, but mostly we talked about the US. We were "ambassadors", representing our country- maybe some people would think WE were what most Americans were like. So, it was imperative that we make a good impression. We included information about our sister Museum the Gage Foundation, we talked about the women's rights movement, influential women leader who inspire us and finally what we had been dialoging about in our program- the sexualized nature of our media, womens underrepresentation in government, and the still existing ideas of what a woman should be and how they should act in society. We ended with what our personal hopes and goals were for the future and what we hope to see change in society in the next coming years- regarding women and human rights. Finally! We were done people clapped but my head was in the clouds. Somehow Abiba helped lead me back to our front row seats but I didn't come to my sense until a traditional Sri Lankan dance was preformed. I learned alot about myself from the presentation- that I have the tools and means to reach out to others, but that I am just like any normal teen- afraid of making mistakes and the judgements people might make of me.
After a whopping three hours the event ended and we mingled with the other participants and attenders. Though most were spanish speakers we talked with many- all of whom gave us the best of praise (an extreme confidence booster). I got to meet such amazing people that I would have never met before- let alone who would be congratulating ME for something, not the other way around. Everyone thought we were wonderful for taking such a active stance, while we are still so young. Looking back I am truly glad that I (grudgingly) participated. I was an experience of a lifetime (within another experience of a lifetime). I hope that I someday get the chance to do something similar, and that in the future my public speaking skills will be better matched to my knowledge!
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