Six senior pupils from Columba College leave for New York City tomorrow, to take part in the 59th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), which will be held at the United Nations next week.
The only problem is, there will only be one day in their eight-day itinerary free for sight-seeing in the Big Apple.
Claire Anglin, Amira Alloo, Sarah Dippie, Elizabeth Yarnall, Annabelle Ritchie, Caroline Moratti and former Columba College principal Elizabeth Wilson will be part of a 12-strong delegation from Presbyterian Women of Aotearoa New Zealand to attend.
They will be among 9000 representatives from around the world, who will attend events, network, and make international connections and decisions that may affect New Zealand Government and global policies.
Head girl Sarah Dippie said the main focus of the session at the United Nations would be on the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and the challenges that were affecting its implementation, the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of women.
Sarah said other topics for discussion included violence and discrimination against women, the poverty gap, climate change, education and training of women and girls, and women's health issues, such as access to reproductive health and informed decision-making.
The girls said they felt privileged and excited about the opportunity to possibly make a difference.
They hoped to learn from other delegates and bring back a better understanding of ways to close the gender gap.
While their main focus was on the CSW, they said it was a long way to go without seeing some of the city's famous landmarks.
''We've only got one day off,'' Sarah said.
''We're hoping to do some sight-seeing - the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, The Met and Ground Zero.''
There was even a suggestion from the girls that time would also have to be made for them to go shopping for dresses for their school formal.
