Think Young Women (TYW) is organizing a two-month training on young women leadership on the theme: “Power to Change”.
The training was officially opened at the American Corner on Kairaba Avenue.
Speaking at the opening ceremony the group’s communications and networking officer, Aisha Keita, said Think Young Women was established in April 2011, with core partners Satang Nabaneh and Amie Kujabi.
The programme is funded by the United States Embassy in Banjul.
She noted that it is designed to empower twenty-five young women thus building their confidence to articulate key concerns, galvanize actions to end violence against girls and women and to become facilitative leaders and acquire skills for life.
According to Aisha Keita, the programme will be 4 hours weekly sessions for two months 8 days for the course, and 2 days will be dedicated for the opening and closing of the programme.
She revealed that the programme has the following specific objectives: foster a cadre of young women leaders to promote social justice, develop volunteerism and transform their communities, empower and strengthen young women’s leadership, facilitation skills and techniques, develop strategies to improve outreach, media and communication tools in championing issues affecting women such as violence against women, HIV AIDS and take affirmative actions, use mentoring approaches to connect emerging young women leaders with well seasoned older women and enhance the capacity of women and girls to become advocates and agents for advancing women’s right and empowerment.
She added that the educational principles of the programme are designed as a process of mutual learning, one that takes the participants experiences as a starting point of the learning process, and active participation and in-depth reflection are the keys to the success of this programme.
For her part, the US ambassador to The Gambia, Pamela White, said she was happy with the training.
According to her, such forums could bring up gender equality, noting that Gambian women can be in polities, teaching and other fields.
Ambassador White said at the end of the training everybody is expected to choose what she would like to become in future so that they would have the power to make a change.
Madi Jorbateh, board member of Child Protection Alliance, expressed gratitude with the organization of the training.
The women chosen for the training are the leaders of tomorrow as leadership is about responsibility and capability in society and organizations, he said, noting that everybody is a leader by knowing one’s mission and they have to get strategy to have a transmission.
The executive director of African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies, Hanna Forster, reiterated the support of her centre because they want to show gender equality.
“Gender equality is good by being disciplined and learning to stand up to be the mothers of tomorrow,” she said.
She also congratulated the Think Young Women for their commitment and urged them to make good use of the knowledge gained from the training.