There have been 685 walks in 80+ countries over the past 17 years.
The Global Mentoring Walks are back again for their 17th year with a 2024 theme of Inspiring Inclusion.
Last year, there were more than 130 walks in 43 countries planned with an estimated 15,000 participants registered—and we hope to expand our reach even further this year. If you are planning a walk and have not registered, please register here to be added to the list below!
The 2024 Vital Voices Global Mentoring Walks will be held the week of International Women’s Day, with a majority of the events scheduled on Saturday, March 2.
This includes the Vital Voices sponsored walk in New York City with Diane von Furstenberg and Alyse Nelson serving as Flag Bearers.
We look forward to bringing together established and emerging women leaders from all around the world to walk together in the name of our global community and mentorship.
Below is a list of walks that were planned last year. A current roster will be posted by February 16, 2024.
Reminder, register here to have the Global Mentoring Walk happening in your city listed for 2024. You can reach out to our Vital Voices Global Mentoring Walks Coordinator Julia Drake at: juliad@vitalvoices.org with any questions.
What are the Vital Voices Global Mentoring Walks?
For more than 20 years, Vital Voices has identified women who understand that power expands the moment it’s shared, and who choose to leverage their leadership for collective progress. Across cultures and generations, we have seen that women leaders have a natural inclination to share talent, experience and power.
The Vital Voices Global Mentoring Walks embody this resolve to pay it forward.
Every year, we work with our Global Leadership Network to organize Global Mentoring Walks in their communities, convening women leaders to walk together.
International Women’s Day recognizes women’s contribution to global progress and reminds us of the work that remains to advance women and communities everywhere. It is the ideal opportunity to demonstrate the power of women’s leadership and unite women in support of other women. Through the Vital Voices Global Mentoring Walk, mentors and mentees come together to walk in their communities, sharing challenges and solutions and forming supportive bonds that foster growth, confidence and leadership.
This global movement began with one women’s effort to share her knowledge and experience with aspiring women leaders. Geraldine Laybourne, Founder and former CEO of Oxygen Media, responded to requests for advice from young women by inviting them to meet her for a morning walk. It became a routine for Laybourne, and an invaluable opportunity for women who wanted to learn from her experience and perspective. A longtime friend of and board member for Vital Voices, Laybourne introduced the concept to leaders of our Global Leadership Network, who in 2008 took the idea to their home countries and coordinated the first annual Vital Voices Global Mentoring Walks. Since then, more than 550 Walks have been coordinated in over 80 countries around the world.