In partnership with local women and civil society organizations, WCI designs programs that are tailor-made to meet the needs of specific groups of women in communities around the world. Our programs help women find their voices by providing trainings and offering technical assistance in four core areas including political leadership, conflict mitigation, economic empowerment and civic participation.
Our recent missions have brought us to some of the most challenging regions in the world, which have afforded us the opportunity to make a significant impact, thanks to the many women who have taken a stand as leaders.
- Afghanistan
- Albania
- Algeria
- Angola
- Azerbaijan
- Bahrain
- Bosnia
- Colombia
- Egypt
- Ethiopia
- Ghana
- Morocco
- Namibia
- Oman
- Palestine
- Qatar
- Romania
- Saudi Arabia
- South Africa
- Sri Lanka
- Sudan
- Tanzania
- Tunisia
- Uganda
- United Arab
- Emirates
- United States
- Uruguay
- Venezuela
- Yemen
WCI Afghanistan
Over the past eight years, WCI’s programs in Afghanistan have been designed to meet the specific needs of women affected by long-standing conflict, poverty and national trauma. To date, WCI has focused its efforts on women’s political participation at a national and local level and has conducted workshops, trainings and rural outreach projects which aim to build the capacity of women in politics through both a pre and post election training. To date, WCI has trained 625 Women candidates for elected office and 75% of current women MPs.
WCI’s programs include workshops, trainings and dialogue on conflict transformation and gender within the context of the Quran, financial literacy, the Afghan Constitution, civic participation, human rights, inter-gender communication, leadership, media and messaging, public speaking, campaign skills strategies, coalition and consensus building, constituent relations, negotiation, effective leadership, caucus formation, diplomacy, management, leadership, strategic planning and community mobilization.
WCI COLOMBIA
Working in post-conflict Colombia, WCI sought to implement conflict mitigation programs that built the capacity of women in decision-making processes, especially on matters of peace, security, and conflict as a means of reducing political violence, terrorism and extremism, which disproportionately affects women and children. After completing a needs assessment in October 2007, WCI worked through Colombia’s sophisticated network of civil society organizations to support local women’s conflict transformation efforts through capacity-building workshops, networking opportunities, technical assistance and sub-grants totaling more than $105,000. WCI worked with Fundación de Apoyo Comunitario or the Foundation for Community Support (FUNDAC) to commemorate International Women’s Day in Bogotá. More than 200 women from various localities of Bogotá attended the forum which presented the current status of women and women’s rights in Colombia in the context of human rights law and the Colombian armed conflict.
In addition, WCI, in collaboration with Congreso Visible, conducted a gender audit of Colombian National Congress which raised awareness of the history, structure, functions and role of women within the Colombian National Congress. WCI also worked residents of the “City of Women” in Turbaco, Colombia, a collective settlement for women and families displaced by violent militant groups to provide residents with trainings in human rights, advocacy, conflict mediation, health and nutrition, social services and civic participation. These women then constructed a strong foundation for women’s equality and development by presenting their ideas for reform to members of the Congressional Women’s Committee in a meeting facilitated by WCI. As a result of this important action, WCI implemented the creation of a digital database for tracking gender-related legislation in the future, ensuring that lasting change and equality take root in Colombia.
WCI Ethiopia
Working in post-conflict Ethiopia, WCI worked to raise awareness for the importance of women’s leadership, and sought to facilitate cooperation between men and women elected officials in the newly elected Parliament of Ethiopia. In 2005, WCI engaged both men and women elected officials as well as civil society members in gender mainstreaming focused on women in government and media campaigns on the importance of voting for women. WCI also conducted a campaign skills training for women candidates leading to 11 women from the training being elected into office. In addition, WCI held eight three-day general orientation trainings for legislators in the House of People’s Representatives regarding lawmaking and gender concerns, which were attended by 450 MPs (more than 95% of the legislative body).
WCI also conducted capacity-building training for Parliamentary staffers throughout 2006 and 2007. Partnering with the Parliament’s Women’s Caucus, WCI worked to empower newly-elected female MPs with a five-day Gender and Leadership series, as well as several workshops for more than 40 members of Ethiopia’s Women’s Affairs Committee. WCI partnered with Art of Living Foundation, to organize a four-day Conflict Management and Resolution training for 26 men and women MPs from ruling and opposing parties. WCI also worked with 288 locally elected officials representing nine regions to provide skills workshops in gender mainstreaming, the role of women in the Parliament, and the establishment of a Women’s Caucus. Finally, outside of the political sphere, WCI collaborated with a local civil society group to engage community members in advocacy trainings which addressed issues of effective communication and messaging, obstetric fistula and HIV/AIDS. Subsequent to the trainings, 100 women representatives chose to be tested for HIV/AIDS at a local counseling center.
WCI LIBERIA
WCI designed and is currently implementing a comprehensive, three-year program to increase women’s participation in peace building and decision-making processes in Liberia. With their strong history of community leadership and activism, rural Liberian women are an essential tool to political and economic progress for this post conflict nation. WCI’s program focuses on both the economic empowerment and political participation necessary for women to be effective leaders and bring Liberia forward to a peaceful future. It is designed to strengthen women’s networks and build the leadership capacity of over 20,000 rural women and men throughout the country.
This program is implemented for sustainability by partnering with the Ministry of Gender and Development and the National Rural Women’s Program (NRWP) of Liberia, an umbrella organization that connects hundreds of rural women’s organizations to establish a unified voice for change. Over the last two years, WCI, with its partners, have provided training and support in order to increase participants’ skills and knowledge in leadership, advocacy, food preservation, value-added production techniques, and business, budgeting and financial literacy.
Click on any of the completed projects in the map below to see more about our work in Liberia.
WCI IRAQ
Despite Iraqi women’s increasing political, social, and economic participation, barriers to full gender equality still remain. To address this issue, WCI, as part of its Active Leaders for Women’s Advancement in the Near East (ALWANE) program, has taken an innovative approach – bringing seemingly disparate stakeholders from around the region to spend two days debating, brainstorming, and envisioning a better future for Iraqi women. WCI’s ALWANE Future Search brought together ALWANE members from across the Levant region, North Africa, and the GCC, as well as a delegation of local and national Iraqi officials to discuss the current state of women’s empowerment in Iraq, and to develop next steps for the advancement of women’s leadership. The Future Search enabled these stakeholders to construct a collective vision for lasting equality in the nation as well as fostered a spirit of collaboration and understanding, empowering the participants to work together to identify objectives, and map out strategies and concrete action steps that will advance women’s leadership and participation in every sector of Iraqi society. From the process, WCI, working with the ALWANE Iraq Country Committee, developed a final report outlining the findings, commitments and recommendations from the Future Search process.
Following the Iraqi Future Search, ALWANE Iraq distributed the report to more than 1,000 government, business and civil society leaders in the country, forging a strong relationship with key government officials and ministries in the promotion of women’s full integration, participation and protection in Iraqi society. Select committee members have been invited to draft UNDP’s human development report for Iraq and appointed to serve on the National Iraqi Task Force for Youth. The committee has met with the Vice President of Iraq, and continues to work closely with the Ministry of Youth and Sport in its advocacy initiatives. In addition, the Future Search revealed the urgency of addressing a dangerous increase in gender-based violence in Iraq. As a result, WCI, in partnership with International Association of Human Values (IAHV), has launched the Al Azhar program which will work to build the capacity of the community and national leaders to address the issue of gender based violence through both policy and grassroots advocacy efforts.
WCI Malawi
In June of 2003, WCI began working in Malawi by training 80 women to run effective political campaigns for the May 2004 elections. By organizing meetings between foundations, women Members of Parliament (MP), civil rights groups, and local and religious leaders WCI worked with the communities of Malawi to generate support for female leadership, and develop campaign strategies for prospective MPs. As a result, women’s representation in Malawi’s Parliament after the 2004 elections increased from 8% to 14%, with 13 of the 27 women elected (48%) having attended at least one WCI workshop. WCI held a Post-Election Workshop for women Members of Parliament (MPs). WCI also held a Post-Election Workshop for women MPs, which increased their knowledge on legislative processes, key policy issues, and gender budgeting and analysis skills.
In November 2004, WCI built on the strong foundation established through its election programming and provided a five-day workshop on HIV/AIDS for 26 women MPs which increased the capacity of the Women’s Caucus to implement Malawi’s National HIV/AIDS Policy, and to help the Caucus discourage cultural practices that contribute to the high incidence of HIV/AIDS amongst women and girls. Additionally, WCI successfully united the Ethel Mutharika Foundation (EMF) and the Women’s Caucus in order to launch the HIV/AIDS Advocacy Campaign, which used television, radio, billboard and newspaper advertisements to promote awareness of the disease and increase the influence of the Women’s Caucus on HIV/AIDS policy
WCI Philadelphia
Now in its fifth year, WCI’s GALS program (Girls’ Advocacy and Leadership Series) brings WCI’s successful international curricula home to high school girls in Philadelphia. In partnership with New Century Trust, WCI provides process oriented programming in community leadership, advocacy, activism, global awareness, financial literacy, public speaking and networking. Using what they learn from these skills building workshops, participants work in teams to choose a pressing issue to address in their local community, and develop and implement an advocacy campaign to move this issue forward. Through the years, GALS’ advocacy campaigns have addressed issues from dating abuse, teen pregnancy, discrimination, bullying, drug abuse, self-esteem, and community violence. GALS offers a unique opportunity for Philadelphia schools to come together and design and implement advocacy campaigns that make a positive impact.
WCI Yemen
WCI’s Active Leaders for Women’s Advancement in the Near East (ALWANE) program works with men and women from 16 Middle East and North African nations to raise awareness for women’s empowerment and promote women’s leadership throughout the region. Coordinating men and women activists, entrepreneurs, elected officials, and youth from across the region, the WCI-ALWANE Yemen Committee designed and implemented a multi-pronged country-level advocacy campaign geared towards addressing the impact of conflict and crisis on women in Yemen. As part of the campaign, the committee established a Women’s Observatory Center designed to monitor violations against women stemming from the multiple internal conflicts which have arisen in Yemen. This Center was formally announced to the public in October 2012 in a 100 person event which was covered on national television. Many committee members have been formally interviewed about the initiative by all major television, newspaper and radio outlets in the capital. The center also recently produced its first documentary on the effects of the current conflicts on Yemeni women.
In addition, the committee has also launched a multi-platform and multi-media campaign to raise awareness about violence against women and child marriage, utilizing social media to engage and update hundreds of followers on the committee’s work as well as conducting workshops for women around the nation. In collaboration with local NGOs, WCI and the ALWANE Yemen committee also sought to raise awareness for the issue through innovative artistic ventures including painting murals, conducting art workshops, and developing a song, award-winning short film, book, and photography exhibit. Using these unique and innovative methods of engaging the people of Yemen, the ALWANE Yemen Committee has hugely impacted the landscape for women’s equality and protection in the nation.
Click here to view a video produced by the ALWANE Yemen committee outlining their work and accomplishments! Click here to view a video produced by the ALWANE Yemen committee outlining their work and accomplishments!