On March 5, 2016 thousands of women around the world will celebrate International Women’s Day with the Vital Voices Global Leadership Network (GLN) through our signature event – the Global Mentoring Walk. For nearly ten years, these walks have connected established women leaders and a rising generation of aspiring leaders to foster women’s leadership through mentoring. This year there are 87 walks planned in 59 countries – an all-time high.
International Women’s Day is a global celebration of the social, economic, cultural and political contributions of women around the world. But while progress has been made, there is still work to be done. International Women’s Day serves as a call to action to close the gap between progress and potential, in order to accelerate gender parity globally.
Each year, key members of the Vital Voices GLN serve as Mentoring Walk Flag Bearers. As Flag Bearers, they lead the design and implementation of Mentoring Walk events in their communities. While Flag Bearers tailor their walks to address pressing challenges in their local communities, each walk is designed to bring women together to provide mentorship, guidance and support, so that progress can be made even faster. Ever year, women around the world share with us that this mentorship, guidance and support leads to incredible impact in their communities:
Women from around the world can speak to the impact of the Mentoring Walk and their experience as participants.
“Bringing the Vital Voices Global Mentoring Walk to Kathmandu narrowed [the] gaps within the Nepalese culture and created a platform of cooperation between established and emerging women leaders…From this first Mentoring Walk I have realized that empowerment is possible when women support one another, develop strong networks and collaborate with each other to realize their full potential” – Samjhana Phuyal describing Nepal’s inaugural Mentoring Walk in 2015
When they walk together, women and girls demonstrate the power of sharing successes and challenges, and building meaningful connections that boost confidence and promote growth and leadership. For many, the connections they build are the start of an ongoing mentoring relationship and trigger a greater resolve pay it forward to other women and girls in their community.
“Above all, mentoring is a partnership…and because I can’t directly pay back my mentors for all the help they have provided, I choose to pay it forward instead. The real advantage of mentoring it in its ability to be transitive, because power shared is power amplified.” -Alyse Nelson, President and CEO, Vital Voices
Truly a global movement, the Mentoring Walks will take place in nearly every corner of the globe to celebrate International Women’s Day. See if there is a walk in your hometown and Join Vital Voices, as well as thousands of women across the world as we walk together on March 5, 2016:
|
City |
Country |
Flag Bearer |
|
SĢ©tif |
Algeria |
Nassima Hofra |
|
Buenos Aires |
Argentina |
MarĢ_a Emilia Vanin |
|
Cordoba |
Argentina |
Maria Laura Faroa |
|
Rosario |
Argentina |
Maria Cecilia Ribecco |
|
Salta |
Argentina |
Milagro Lopez Sanabria |
|
Tucuman |
Argentina |
Herminia Ledesma |
|
Ushuaia |
Argentina |
Marilina Henninger |
|
Geelong |
Australia |
Colette Cross |
|
SĢ£o Paulo |
Brazil |
Ana Fontes |
|
Bamenda |
Cameroon |
Awondo Judith |
|
Fundong |
Cameroon |
Awondo Judith |
|
YaoundĢ© |
Cameroon |
Domou Bergeline |
|
Douala |
Cameroon |
Edna Njilin |
|
San Jose |
Costa Rica |
Gioconda Lizano |
|
Kinshasa |
Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Mireille Tushiminina |
|
Quito |
Ecuador |
Maria Sara Jijon Calderon |
|
San Salvador |
El Salvador |
Rocio Flores |
|
Addis Ababa |
Ethiopia |
Feven Haddis |
|
Accra |
Ghana |
Brigitte Dzogbenuku |
|
Sunyani |
Ghana |
Rosina Teye |
|
Guatemala City |
Guatemala |
Dina De Dios |
|
Petion Ville |
Haiti |
Charlotte Tanis |
|
Tegucigalpa |
Honduras |
Cecilia Martinez |
|
Bangalore |
India |
Rekha Kurup |
|
Chennai |
India |
Kirthi Jayakumar |
|
Jaipur |
India |
Archana Surana |
|
Pune |
India |
Sweta Mohapatra |
|
Kingston |
Jamaica |
Nadeen Spence and Yaneek Page |
|
Amman |
Jordan |
Tamara Abdel-Jaber |
|
Nairobi |
Kenya |
Elizabeth Osewe |
|
Siaya |
Kenya |
Elizabeth Odera |
|
Beirut |
Lebanon |
Rima Kotaiche |
|
Paynesville |
Liberia |
Nancy Obi |
|
Antananarivo |
Madagascar |
Razafinimanana Nirisoa Malalatiana |
|
Lilongwe |
Malawi |
Tamala Chirwa |
|
Kuala Lumpur |
Malaysia |
Radziah Radzi |
|
Bamako |
Mali |
Hadeye Maiga |
|
Gao |
Mali |
Hadeye Maiga |
|
Mexico City |
Mexico |
Luz Maria de la Mora |
|
Yangon |
Myanmar |
Htar Htar |
|
Windhoek |
Namibia |
Anne Gebhardt |
|
Kathmandu |
Nepal |
Samjhana Phuyal |
|
Managua |
Nicaragua |
Ana Zavala |
|
Abuja |
Nigeria |
Florence Oozr and Odion Anavhe |
|
Calabar |
Nigeria |
Victoria Emah-Emah and Esther Eshiet |
|
Enugu |
Nigeria |
Joy Eze |
|
Ibadan |
Nigeria |
Topsie Egbetokun |
|
Ilorin |
Nigeria |
Tosin Apiriola |
|
Kaduna |
Nigeria |
Habiba Ali |
|
Lagos |
Nigeria |
Lucy Kanu and Kokoma Williams |
|
Obosi |
Nigeria |
Tessie Udegboka |
|
Belfast |
Northern Ireland |
Carol Fitzsimon |
|
Johi |
Pakistan |
Hakim Zadi |
|
BietLahem |
Palestine |
Sherin Allan |
|
Panama City |
Panama |
Dalys Rodriguez |
|
Port Moresby |
Papua New Guinea |
Rose Henry |
|
Arequipa |
Peru |
Jessica Rodriguez |
|
Lima |
Peru |
Jessica Soto |
|
Puerto Princesa City |
Philippines |
Amina Swanepoel |
|
Warsaw |
Poland |
Daria Mejnartowicz |
|
Doha |
Qatar |
Jiskala Khalayli |
|
Castries |
Saint Lucia |
Thecla Deterville |
|
Belgrade |
Serbia |
Andrea Brbakli€ą |
|
Freetown |
Sierra Leone |
Candelaria Irazusta |
|
Johannesburg |
South Africa |
Hema Vallabh |
|
Madrid |
Spain |
Sandra Slavkis |
|
Dar Es Salaam |
Tanzania |
Emelda Mwamanga |
|
Bangkok |
Thailand |
Mari Sawai |
|
Lome |
Togo |
Candide Leguede |
|
Port of Spain |
Trinidad and Tobago |
Nicole Joseph Chin |
|
Scarborough |
Trinidad and Tobago |
Nicole Joseph Chin |
|
Tunis |
Tunisia |
Douja Gharbi |
|
Dubai |
UAE |
Mona Tavassoli |
|
Arua |
Uganda |
Alice Emasu Seruyange |
|
Kampala |
Uganda |
Rehmah Kasule |
|
Kyanja |
Uganda |
Rachel Nankya |
|
Mbarara |
Uganda |
Orator Twesiime |
|
Odessa |
Ukraine |
Olga Azarova and Olena Galushko |
|
Miami |
United States |
Maria Gabriela Hoch |
|
Seattle |
United States |
Rostia Van Coevorden |
|
Montevideo |
Uruguay |
Paula Gallotti |
|
Lenakel |
Vanuatu |
Mary Jack |
|
Ho Chi Minh City |
Vietnam |
Le Rodriguez |
|
Hoa Binh City |
Vietnam |
Duc Nguyen |
|
Sanaa |
Yemen |
Mudeerah Al Sayyad |
|
Lusaka |
Zambia |
Lumbiwe Lulu Limbikani |
|
Harare |
Zimbabwe |
Nyaradzo Mashayamombe |
Learn more about the global Mentoring Walks in Nigeria, the United States, South Africa, and Ghana.
Follow the movement and action in real-time at #MentoringWalk.
To participate in a 2016 Mentoring Walk , please email mentoringwalk@vitalvoices.org