A High Wycombe woman was chosen to attend the first ever education forum for girls in London.

Faiza Amin, 23, joined pioneers in education and women’s rights including Justine Greening, the new secretary of state for education and minister for women and equalities, and Julia Gillard, former Australian Prime Minister and chair of the Global Partnership for Education, at the first Girls’ Education Forum in London to come up with a “concrete” plan of action to ensure every girl around the world receives a “quality” education.

Government ministers from countries including Tanzania and Afghanistan were also at the forum where Ms Greening announced Britain’s pledge to dedicate an extra £100million to education programmes for 175,000 of the poorest and most marginalised girls around the world.

Ms Amin was invited to attend the forum after taking part in the International Citizen Service (ICS) programme funded by the Department for International Development (DFID), which brings together 18-25 year olds from the UK and some of the world’s poorest countries to fight poverty in Africa, Asia and Central America.

As part of her placement, she volunteered in Nepal working alongside Nepalese volunteers to run awareness campaigns discouraging early marriage and promoting the right to girls’ education.

Ms Amin took part in workshops and discussions at the forum about how governments can improve girls’ access to education and ensure all girls are “empowered to achieve their full potential”.

She said: “I’m really pleased to have had the chance to attend the Girls’ Education Forum.

“When I was in Nepal I saw first-hand how difficult it can be for girls to get a good education. I met girls of 15 or 16 who weren’t able to study as much as they wanted, because they were expected to work around the house, and one of the girls we met got married whilst we were in Nepal.

“This had a huge impact on me, and now I want to help create a concrete plan for girls’ education so girls everywhere have the same opportunities that my sisters and I have had.”

She said the forum gave her the opportunity to share what she saw in Nepal and “contribute to a real solution”.

She added: “It’s so important that young people are involved in these conversations, because the decisions made will impact young people around the world.”

Ms Greening, who was previously the secretary of state for international development, said: “Education doesn’t just shape individuals, it shapes countries – but right now too many young girls are deprived of an education simply because of their gender.

“The UK is leading the fight for gender equality and has already helped 5.3 million girls in developing countries receive a quality education.

“I am proud that the UK will now be helping a further 175,000 of the most vulnerable and marginalised girls in the world to get the education they need to have choice and control over their futures.

“Fantastic volunteers like Faiza are a vital part of this work.”