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Young Women's Learning Partnership (YWLP)
WLP's Young Women's Learning Partnership (YWLP) initiative focuses on developing the leadership capacities of young women and girls so that they are equipped with the skills necessary to build just and peaceful societies, to develop collective solutions to the challenges they face in their communities, and to contribute to the women’s movement.
| Youth Population at a Glance |
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| Percentage of population under 25:
Afghanistan: 66.6% Zimbabwe: 64.4%
Source: Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2006 Revision and World Urbanization Prospects: The 2005 Revision, http://esa.un.org/unpp, Thursday, July 05, 2007.
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Currently, approximately half of the world’s population is under 25. In many Arab countries, youth under the age of 20 account for one third of the population. Young women have an instrumental role in shaping the futures of their societies, and have much to contribute. YWLP seeks to mentor and train young women leaders to advocate for themselves and their futures, as well as to transform intergenerational relations in order to augment the voices and contributions of young women.
The initiative focuses on engaging young women and girls in a leadership learning process that is participatory, inclusive, and respectful of diversity. WLP’s Leading to Choices: A Leadership Training Handbook for Women, which reflects this ethic of leadership, is currently being adapted for young women and girls between the ages of 12-25 in cooperation with partners in Jordan and Bahrain. Training workshops based on these manuals are engaging the youth to create a shared vision, build consensus, strengthen their communication skills, and create action plans to achieve common goals. The manual case studies include highly interactive exercises.
"We have young women who, before now, didn't believe in themselves; they didn't believe in their capabilities. But this program is really turning things around. We have young women who really, really want to make a difference in the lives of their communities."
Bunmi Dipo-Salami, former Program Director, WLP Nigeria/BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights
Stories and Reports
Profile of a Young Ukrainian Activist: Olena Prykhodko
As the second in our series of Young Women's Learning Partnership profiles, WLP spoke with Olena Prykhodko of Ukraine. Ms. Prykhodko is a member of the Interregional Young Women Leaders Group, which unites girls and young women to promote principles of democracy, equality, and youth leadership in social and political life. She describes her greatest accomplishment as forming a group called the Kharkiv Regional Council of High School Students, which was able to bring youth opinions on child welfare policies to the highest national decision-making level. Ms. Prykhodko, as chair of the group, spoke at a meeting with the president and most senior members of regional and national administration, resulting in stricter policies controlling sales of alcohol and in the construction of free, open air sports areas.
Ms. Prykhodkho interviewed with WLP Program Associate, Siobhan Hayes, to discuss the possibilities for youth participation in politics.
( categories:
Young Women's Learning Partnership (YWLP) | Issue 21 (Fall 2008) )
YWLP Profile: Young Woman Entrepreneur Builds Own Business Selling Eco-Friendly Laundry Soap
As part of our new Young Women's Learning Partnership program (YWLP), WLP will be profiling exceptional young women leaders. This month we spoke with Maggie Dawson, founder of Maggie's Pure Land Products. At the age of 29 Maggie is the head of a successful company that sells the dried fruit from the Chinese Soapberry tree as a natural, environmentally friendly alternative to laundry detergent.
Maggie first learned about the dried soap nuts when she was visiting a friend in Europe. Upon her return to the US, she tried to find and order them online. After doing extensive research on soap nuts, learning how they have been used for thousands of years, she teamed up with an experienced business partner who helped her locate suppliers of the soap nuts in Indonesia. She traveled there to meet with the suppliers, and while she was there met a woman artist, Ni Made Sriasih, in Bali who painted the cover for the soap nut box. She began contacting local stores and soon the soap nut packets were featured in nearly 800 natural food stores in the US and Canada.
( categories:
Young Women's Learning Partnership (YWLP) | Issue 19 (Winter/Spring 2008) )
WLP Program Focus: Young Women's Learning Partnership (YWLP) and International Women's Democracy Network (IWDN)
Young Women's Learning Partnership (YWLP)
WLP's new Young Women's Learning Partnership program aims to empower young people to create a shared vision, to build consensus, strengthen their communication skills, and create action plans to address the issues that impact their lives. Currently Leading to Choices: A Leadership Training Handbook for Women, WLP's leadership training manual which has been culturally adapted and translated into 17 languages is being adapted for young women and girls in Jordan and Bahrain.
