Leah Clare Stuart-Sheppard, left, representing Canada, takes notes at the inaugural G(irls)20 Summit. Born in Toronto, Stuart-Sheppard is now studying in Ottawa. (Adrien Veczan/Canadian Press)

Irem Tumer isn't expecting any miracles out of the G(irls)20 Summit.

"I believe that formal debate and conferences don't really change things," the 19-year-old representative of Turkey said skeptically on Wednesday at the first day of the first-of-its-kind gathering.

Irem Tumer, 19, of Turkey, hopes to bring ideas back to her home country. (Amber Hildebrandt/CBC)The event, organized by the Belinda Stronach Foundation, has brought together young women from the 20 countries represented at the G20, plus one representative from the African Union. Travel and accommodation for the delegates is being covered by sponsors.

Held in downtown Toronto as the city girds itself for the large international G20 summit, the event aims to brainstorm solutions, from a young female perspective, to the world's problems. Their ideas will then be made public, with hopes of influencing the world leaders before they begin official talks at both the G8 and G20.

Even though Tumer doesn't expect major change to come out of the G20 summit — or the young women's version — she does think the event is important. The law student at Bilkent University in Ankar, who has been involved in youth organizations since Grade 9, says it's all about what the participants do with the knowledge gleaned from the summit when they go home.

Setting the bar high

Businesswoman and former politician Belinda Stronach agrees that it's not just about bending the ears of politicians. Important, too, is sending the group of activist-minded young women back to their own countries armed with new skills to continue doing what they do best.

Businesswoman and former politician Belinda Stronach delivers a speech at the G(irls)20 Summit. (Amber Hildebrandt/CBC)To that effect, the first three days of the summit will focus on coming up with concrete solutions to make public, but the final seven will involve workshops to teach the girls skills, from specifics like how to use social media to general topics such as leadership, financial literacy and media relations.

"We're going to set the bar very high for that other G20 summit that is to follow," Stronach said in her speech to the delegates. The executive vice-chair at automobile parts manufacturer Magna International hopes to make the summit an annual pre-G20 event. "France is next," she says, smiling.

Wednesday's opening sessions focused broadly on education and the economy, but also tackled a range of issues, including child marriage, violence against women, and lack of health care for women.

Among the statistics shared by several experts on women's issues who spoke at the conference:

• Thirty-six per cent of women in the developing world, outside of China, are married before they turn 18.
• Women aged 15 to 19 account for a tenth of births in the world, but more die in that age category than any other.
• Less than two cents out of every development dollar is directed at girls.
• About 25,000 girls a day will become child brides in the next decade.
• German Chancellor Angela Merkel is the sole female world leader at the G20.

"The statistics never fail to shock me," Sarah Degnan Kambou of the International Centre for Research on Women commented in her speech.

'Their only hope'

For the most part, the young delegates are among the more fortunate in their home countries, a fact not lost on them. "I'm actually a lucky person," Indonesia delegate, Kartika Nurhayati, 19, told the summit.

She has two educated parents and is studying engineering. But at the age of 14 — troubled by fellow public school students living in a slum — she and a few friends started up a foundation to help the poor.

China's delegate, 19-year-old Xinyun Zhang, has a similar story. While her life in Shanghai at the country's only public all-girls school seemed perfect, she learned about hardship when visiting a poor part of Anhui province to work as a volunteer teacher, giving lessons on English and musical instruments including the flute and the pipa, sometimes referred to as a Chinese lute.

"The situation in Anhui province really shocked me," said Zhang, who is finishing up high school at Shanghai No. 3 Girls High School. Because of low wages in rural villages, the communities typically end up with inferior teachers, starting a vicious cycle that robs many of the chance to pass the national college entrance exams and thus a chance to further their education.

"[Education] is their only hope to change their life."