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Women Leadership Academy

Program description

is created to support women active in public life.

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Program description

The Academy brings together women politicians and activists, offering them the opportunity to improve their knowledge and skills; but also to fight and advocate for women’s (human) right of achieving full equality.

Women who attended the program impacted life in their communities, showing how women can work on same footing with men, making decisions, gaining self-confidence and motivating other women to become politically active.

Mission

We support political activists that in decision making positions steadily and courageously advocate and fight for women’s human right of achieving full equality.

Vision

Women and men participate equally in private, public and political life by making decisions to build a just society.

Program

EDUCATION

Organizing seminars where participants gain knowledge of gender equality, improve the skills of public speaking, political communication and connect with their colleagues in the country. This program is mainly for local politicians, because research and experience show the greatest degree of discrimination and under-representation of women in decision-making is at the local level.

MENTORSHIP

The goal of the mentoring program is to exchange perspectives, knowledge, experience and contacts between the elected student of the Academy and their mentors. The task of the mentors in the program of the Academy is to encourage, motivate, pose questions and try to be a kind of “external eye” that will open different views on the challenges faced in their daily political work.

ADVOCACY

The Academy runs its own public advocacy campaign and is intended to include in the advocacy activities of other organizations and coalitions in Serbia, in order to influence the application of existing laws, adoption of new regulations, measures and activities whose ultimate outcome should be: better the position of women and more gender equality in society.

Values

We show solidarity: we react every time a woman is under attack or in need of encouragement.

We are active: we initiate public campaigns.

We change the world around us: by initiating change locally. We think global and act local.

We are brave: launching initiatives that protect the rights of women and promote human rights and equality.

We take responsibility for our work in public and the people we represent. We share information and knowledge.

We defend the right to diversity and fight against discrimination: promoting tolerance, react to any discrimination and always take into account the minority opinion.

We stand as candidates and we win: dream of progress and living our dreams.

Foundation and development

Academy was launched by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in Serbia in 2011. The goal of the Academy is to empower political activists to take equal participation in decision-making and policy-making and to thereby promote the concept of gender equality in all spheres of life in the Republic of Serbia. Former education program was implemented in three cycles: in May 2011, March 2012 and September and October 2013. It was attended by 50 participants from 11 political parties. In addition to the three schools for political leaders, were organized and three one-day thematic meeting with alumni.

In 2011 and 2014 the Academy implemented advocacy activities through a campaign for the amendment of the electoral law and the establishment of national mechanisms for gender equality in the Government of Serbia.

Preparing for the closure of its programs in Serbia, NDI from May 2013 in the preparation and implementation of programs, the open invitation, include a consortium of three local non-governmental organizations: Center for modern skills, Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence and the Center for support of women. It is planned that local non-governmental organizations to fully take on the future work of the Academy, and NDI in accordance with capabilities provide consultation and support activities. To this end a memorandum on cooperation was signed between NDI and consortium of three local nongovernmental organizations: Center of Modern Skills, Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence and Center for Support to Women.

During 2015 and 2016 with the support of USAID, the Academy will implement four seminars for 120 political leaders and other activities aimed at empowering the participants to actively participate in decision-making and gender mainstreaming policies at all levels and in all spheres of life.

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