Young women in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, like others around the world, face the dual challenge of age and gender when pursuing positions of leadership. When compounded by the economic, political, and social hardships stemming from the transition to a democratic and market-oriented system, young women from the South Caucasus find themselves in an especially vulnerable environment.

Partners realized that young women, if empowered with tools to address the specific challenges they face, are a strong force for progress and reform in all sectors. But, in order to succeed, they must have access to a wide range of options, gain confidence in their own abilities, possess specialized leadership and management skills, and develop the capacity to advocate within government, businesses, and the general public. In pursuit of these goals, Partners and Partners-Georgia collaborated to develop and implement the South Caucasus Young Women’s Leadership Institute (YWLI). This 18-month program trained 24 young women from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia in key leadership skills. The young women gathered in Tbilisi, Georgia for four trainings on empowerment and personal development, effective leadership and management, conflict management, and cooperative planning. Participants also contributed to community service initiatives outside of the trainings to utilize their new skills.

The young women from all three countries became involved in numerous activities in their home countries. For example, one young woman from Georgia participated in organizing the training on “Youth Against War” by the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly in Georgia; two Armenian participants conducted a training on team building and communication skills for refugee children; and two participants from Azerbaijan organized and facilitated the School for Intercultural Dialogue and Understanding Conference, attended by 70 participants from Western and Eastern Europe.

The young women had much to say about the potential their new skills offered. One participant from Georgia said, “This program taught me how to plan, develop, and implement any kind of presentation most effectively. These are the skills that are absolutely essential for any active NGO member. I made very important presentations at the university for our NGO and was pleasantly surprised at how well I did.” Another participant from Armenia stated, “Thanks to my participation in the YWLI Program, I have become more self-confident as a person and as a professional. Effective communication skills helped me during my job interviews with various international organizations. For instance, three weeks ago I passed the competition and got a new prestigious job at the U.N. World Food Program.”

The YWLI participants are not only impacting their region through positions of leadership and utilizing their skills to help hundreds of South Caucasian citizens, but also by demonstrating the potential for cooperation between divided groups, such as Armenians and Azeris.

Additional Resources
Statistics from Women's Leadership Network Program (Microsoft Word Document)