Carolyn Peterken
Part O rt One ne Debunking the myths
Contexts change But there have been leaders in diverse contexts over thousands of years
So many models – so much complexity But is there one “right” model – and how central are they to successful leadership?
Development partners are often highly capable... ... They may just need a little guidance, and exposure to a diversity of experiences
So what can and should we be doing to support development partners in strengthening their ability to lead, without disempowering them?
What we can do - a case study
“Regional network for the study and promotion of women’s leadership” Objectives: ◦ To de develo lop po p polic licie ies for the promotion of leadership for the women of francophone West Africa ◦ To facilit ilitate w women’s ’s a access t to re resourc rces (expertise, funding, training) ◦ To facilit ilitate t the c condit ditio ions u unde der w whic ich women c can t take u up p le leaders rship po ip posit itio ions ◦ To ide identif ify blo blockages t to women’s ’s pa part rtic icipa patio ion and help them to reach their leadership potential ◦ To encourage w ge women en l leader ers leading to better integration of women in decision- making ◦ To po posit itiv ively ly in inspir pire y younger g generations in their life and career choices
Advocacy Development of Information models and sharing benchmarks LEADAFRICAINE Development of Observatory – competencies, strategic knowledge and monitoring experience of disadvantaged women Sharing best practices
7 week pro progra ram thro rough Q QUT’s ’s I Internatio ional P l Pro roject’s ’s U Unit it ( (May 2 2012) Organisational Excellence Framework Advocacy and Community Engagement Relationship management Gender analysis framework Entrepreneurship Policy development Training and facilitation skills Field visits Action planning
Facilitation of a conference on “community participation in local development” Workshop for parliamentarians on the integration of gender into programs and budgets in the Ivory Coast Facilitation of a series of conferences on women’s leadership Literacy training for 300 women and training of 200 young girls and boys in electronics, IT and telecommunications
Two workshops for ministerial gender focal points and planners on the integration of gender into programs and budgets in the Ivory Coast Workshop in Dakar, Senegal on the role of observers of gender in the post-2015 era Support from UN Women for the project “Advocacy for equitable gender policies in Ivory Coast” Workshop on women’s leadership for directors of education and training facilities in the Ivory Coast to engage women in the discussions about the country’s development towards 2020
Provision of equipment and training in sewing and dressmaking for 25 physically handicapped women, and opening of savings accounts for participants
Australian Government/DFAT Friedrich Ebert Foundation (Germany) Koné-Avicennes Foundation (FONDAKA) Australian High Commission in Accra ROEG (Réseau des Observatoires d’Egalité, du Genre) UN Women Ivory Coast Ministry of Solidarity, Family, Women and Children
What can we learn - why was the experience of LEADAFRICAINES so successful?
Flexibility to adapt the program to the issues that were of importance to the women Work on real life case studies and examples that the group brought to the program Development of action plans to help the women apply their learnings when they returned home
Progressive development of materials and tools that could be directly used back in West Africa
They know the context They are part of the culture They have the networks They have the capability But with a little gentle guidance when requested
Empowerment: Innovations in Leadership and how not to save our development partners Back to basics – capacity development, practical tools, culturally and contextually relevant Don’t over-complicate things – it’s not all about models Help to expand networks Confidence in the abilities of our development partners Celebrate the achievements! And most importantly - open the conversational doors – this is where the innovation emerges
Enough fro from m me! Questi tion ons o or comments?
Recommend
More recommend
