Young Women Civil Sector Capacity Building for Leadership Development

Republic of South Africa

Total amount: € 32,001.20.

Overview

The Women Development Foundation (WDF) initiated the project to aid the development of leadership skills among rural women from the Eastern Cape and Kwazulu-Natal provinces of South Africa. The leadership skills were provided to women’s organisations, community structures, faith-based organisations, youth organisations and other women’s civil sector organisations to help them succeed in the work they do for communities. Young women from communities within the project area attended workshops addressing subjects such as leadership skills, time management, public speaking and business communication skills. The project is aligned with the aspirations outlined in the Maputo Protocol and the Millennium Development Goal that advocates to promote gender equality and empower women.

Key results

At the onset of the project, a Training of Trainers (ToT) course was conducted by the Women Development Foundation, with a total of 8 female trainers equipped with the necessary skills to conduct the project's workshops. The WDF project empowered 120 women from South Africa, who were either business owners or part of local women’s empowerment organisations, attended workshops to develop their leadership, business and communication skills.

The aim of the workshops was to empower the young women, maintain and develop social relationships and to enhance their ability to provide for themselves, their families and contribute towards economic growth. The women were given manuals with guidelines and exercises to use and distribute amongst their communities in order to stimulate women-owned businesses and other non-government organisations. These women were provided with the necessary skills to ascend into leadership positions and work as change agents within their communities.