saywlm

(South Asia Young Women’s Leadership and Mentoring)

I have learned how to communicate with the community, how to represent myself and so much about feminism.… I have met all the beautiful women through this project, learned a lot of things, shared my sorrows, heard others’ stories. Now I can practice feminism in my field and of course achieve much more in my own life. A Young Woman Leader | Bangladesh

As part of our work to facilitate and strengthen supportive networks for young women leaders (YWLs) in the global South, CREA established the SAYWLM (South Asia Young Women’s Leadership and Mentoring) program in 2017. SAYWLM was conceived to reinforce and sustain feminist organizations and the overall feminist movement by building cadres of young feminist leaders as strategic visionaries and change leaders.

CREA established the SAYWLM (South Asia Young Women’s Leadership and Mentoring) program in 2017 with the goal of building cadres of young feminist leaders who will sustain feminist organizations and the overall feminist movement.

Through this program, 30 young women leaders (YWLs) working in 30 organizations in India, Bangladesh and Nepal, build their skills. Each YWL in turn supports the leadership of at least 10 young women in their communities. This unique model of structured feminist mentoring emphasizes alternative models of leadership in a safe space when YWLs can experiment with their own use of power, reflect on their feminist journey and further their vision of change for their organizations, movements and communities.

These young leaders have been equipped with skills such as clarity of thought, effective communication and public speaking, and mobilization skills. They also engage actors and constituencies in a wide range of public campaigns, community mobilization, dialogues and interventions. YWLs explore and innovate in both the theory and practice of feminist mentoring. Partner organizations receive a small fund to support a new movement-building initiative on the gaps the YWLs have identified in their organization’s work or approach.

Through SAYWLM, CREA has published new resources for grassroot activists:

• All About Power and All About Movements, primers on understanding how power operates in society and why movements matter.
• Feminist Mentoring for Feminist Futures, a three-part guide detailing our journey in feminist mentoring through the stories of SAYWLM’s mentors and mentees who share their challenges and triumphs.