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A daring new era in leadership

Vital Voices has partnered with POND’S in our new initiative to inspire and strengthen the women of the world who dare to apply innovative and value-driven approaches to tackle social, human rights and environmental challenges at all levels of society. The VVLead Fellowship kicked off this month, with fellows meeting for the first time in Johannesburg, South Africa for the start of a 21-month fellowship.

Pomp and Accelerate

Our VV GROW 2016-2017 cohort graduated this month! The VV GROW Fellowship is a highly competitive, one-year accelerator program for women owners of small- and medium- businesses in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa. The program includes customized business skills training, technical assistance, leadership development, and access to networks to grow their businesses and increase their leadership impact. Check out this blog authored by our Vice President of Economic Empowerment and Entrepreneurship, Malini Patel.

#AVITALVOICE

Over the course of a year, our #AVitalVoice campaign will tell the story of 100 courageous Vital Voices Network women across the globe. Last week, one of our profilees was Aleks Gren a financial mentor based out of Poland. Aleks’s story was amplified by actress and activist Kate Bosworth. Be sure to follow along on social media as we continue to shine a spotlight on these incredible leaders!

“Build a World of Purpose”

Congratulations to Agnes Igoye, former Global Freedom Exchange Fellow and Justice Institute Facilitator, on her graduation from the Harvard Kennedy School. Agnes graduated with honors and accolades, as well as a mention from Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg in his “Build a World of Purpose” themed commencement speech. Agnes is more committed than ever to continue her lifesaving work to end human trafficking in her home country. Learn more about Agnes and what other women in our global network of leaders and change-makers are up to.

Story of Impact: Claire Copher, HERlead

Check out this story of impact shared by 2014 HERlead Fellow, Claire Copher, as we gear up for the HERlead leadership forum next week with our partners at ANN INC.. Since 2011, over 250 high school girls from across the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico have been trained, mentored and inspired to become the next generation of female leaders through the HERlead Fellowship.

Stop Interrupting Us

A recent study highlighted in the New York Times shows “that being interrupted, talked over, shut down or penalized for speaking out is nearly a universal experience for women when they are outnumbered by men.” Check out this great article profiling experiences of both Senator Kamala Harris and Founder of Huffington Post, Arianna Huffington.

Thank You!

In honor of the VV GROW graduation, we wanted to express our gratitude for our VV GROW Founding Global Partner, ExxonMobil, and our VV GROW Platinum Sponsor, FedEx. Your gracious partnership yields increased prosperity, security and humanity around the world.
Follow along daily: @VitalVoices, Facebook.com/vitalvoices, instagram.com/vitalvoices and vitalvoices.org
BEFORE YOU GO…
  • Fin – Female IN: A secret Facebook group with over 1 million women, mostly Nigerian, who use the space to openly share stories of a “distinctly Nigerian experience”. Founder Ms Omolola is in conversation with Zuckerberg to continue empowering Nigerian women and work on moving the group forward. Looks like social media isn’t all bad.
  • Roxanne Gay, a feminist writer and professor, released her memoir Hunger on Tuesday. She hopes her writing will “…expand conversations that we have about different kinds of bodies”, despite the body shaming she continues to fight against.