Empowering Girls’ Voices: Student & Educator Summits
February 3, 2026 - February 6, 2026
We’re helping girls engage with the issues they care about most.
Recent election cycles have created unprecedented interest, personal investment, and civic engagement among young people. So, what issues have inspired youth to get involved? And how can we keep our girls active and engaged year in and year out?
From February 3-6, 2026, Close Up and the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools (ICGS) will partner for parallel nationwide summits for high school students and educators in Washington, D.C., harnessing the energy in the lead-up to the midterm elections. The Empowering Girls’ Voices Student Summit will help girls of all backgrounds share their own policy priorities, develop empathy for the perspectives of others, and build the skills and confidence to be strong civic leaders. Educators attending with the students will take part in the concurrent Empowering Girls’ Voices Educator Summit.
Student Summit
The student summit is open to high school girls in grades 9-12 who have an interest in civic engagement and action, with a cohort of 4-8 students per school recommended. Major components include:
- Building an Inclusive Community: Close Up will facilitate dialogue to build a cohesive learning community for examining the federal agenda ahead of the midterm elections.
- Identifying a National Issue that Matters to You: Students will form action committees and deliberate issues and challenges within priority areas.
- Developing Policy Proposals: After deliberating on a range of ideas and values, students will craft statements that identify new policies to advance their agendas.
- Hearing from Experts: Students will hear from female experts who are making a difference in their selected policy area to help strengthen their committee goals.
- Advocating for Your Policy: After hearing from experts, students will focus on effective advocacy strategies as they refine their proposals.
- Summit Convention: Students will present their proposals, debate, and vote on which proposals to include in their National Agenda for Change.
The student summit will culminate in a Civic Action Symposium, with girls sharing selected policy proposals with a panel of female leaders and policymakers.
Educator Summit
Educators are invited to take part in a concurrent professional development summit built on Close Up’s 50+ years of experience and focused on giving girls the skills to engage with different perspectives and lead from a place of consensus. They will observe parts of the student summit as well as participate in the following Close Up-led workshops:
- Current Issues in the Classroom: Educators will learn to connect current issues to longstanding political and social controversies through nonpartisan facilitation, well-crafted questions, guided inquiry, and critical analysis and evaluation.
- Facilitating Deliberation: Educators will practice the techniques to sustain unbiased classroom deliberation, observe students in a national deliberation, and consider the challenges and possibilities of infusing more deliberation into their curriculum.
- Civil Discourse in Action: Educators will travel to a local girls’ school to see first-hand how schools are incorporating civil discourse into the student experience.
- Panel Presentation: Educators will hear from influential women leaders in Washington about the challenges and opportunities that arise when leaning into challenging conversations and civil discourse in a school community.
Registration
The student summit is open to all high school girls in grades 9-12 who have an interest in civic engagement and action. We recommend a cohort of 4-8 girls per school. If you would like to offer this opportunity to a larger class or club, please reach out to us about capacity.
Educators are invited to attend with or without a cohort of students and will participate in a series of professional development workshops.
- Dates: Both summits will run from Tuesday, February 3, to Friday, February 6, 2026.
- Location: The summits will take place at a hotel in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.
- Student Tuition: The tuition is $1,550 per student. This covers all summit sessions, evening activities, meals, hotel accommodations, and daytime and nighttime supervision and security.
- Educator Tuition: The tuition is $1,550 per educator. This covers hotel accommodations and some meals.*
*This cost does not include the ICGS Educating Girls’ Symposium taking place on Friday, February 6. Separate registration is required for that event. Learn more and sign up!
Important Payment Dates:
- October 15, 2025: Nonrefundable deposit of $1,550 due for student cohort
- December 19, 2025: Nonrefundable final payment due