A Consolidated Report of the Five Mentorship Sessions of Every Woman Treaty Mentorship Program with Dr. Uzodinma Adirieje as Mentor and Ms. Immaculate Gwokyalya and Ms. Samikchya Sharma as Mentees
Submitted by:
Samikchya Sharma
SAATH
+9779841376277
Table of Contents:
Page number
TITLE OF REPORT 1
SUBMITTED BY 1
DATE AND DURATION OF ACTIVITY 3
TYPE OF ACTIVITY 3
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND 3
GOALS 3
OBJECTIVES 4
JUSTIFICATION 4
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITIES 4
IMPLEMENTATION PLAN/METHODOLOGY 9
RESULT/OUTPUT/OUTCOME 9
ACHIEVEMENTS 10
CHALLENGES 10
IMPLICATION OF CHALLENGES 10
SUGGESTIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS 10
CONCLUSIONS 10
NEXT STEPS 11
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 11
PARTICIPANTS 11
DATE AND DURATION OF ACTIVITY
November 21, 2023 (1 hour)
December 1, 2023 (1 hour)
December 12, 2023 (1 hour)
December 15, 2023 (1 hour)
December 19, 2023 (1 hour)
TYPE OF ACTIVITY
Five mentorship sessions on a Virtual medium
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
Every Woman Treaty is a network of
women's rights activists converging for the Treaty on Violence against Women. The
network brings together professionals and activists from different parts of the
world and supports their capacities to become rights activists in their home
country. Indrani Fellowship is a signature fellowship program of Every Woman
Treaty and all the graduates of the Fellowship are facilitated with the
opportunity to receive Mentorship sessions from distinguished professionals and
activists who have supported the international development of human rights.
The 5 days of Mentorship sessions in November and December of 2023 is a collaborative effort of the
world leaders and aspiring leaders to come together, discuss, and support the
professional growth and well-being of the aspiring leader in the role of a
mentee and the world leader in the role of a mentor.
GOAL
Every Woman Treaty Mentorship Program
aims to support aspiring human rights professionals to grow in their own
capacities and become advocates in their respective countries while also
supporting the international development of human rights and treaty-based
approaches to human rights.
The main goal of the mentorship
program is to equip Emerging Leaders with leadership skills to be transformed
into world leaders in ending violence against women and girls and advocate for
the treaty.
OBJECTIVES
The main objectives of the mentorship
program are:
1. Assisting aspiring activists (mentees) in skills
development through virtual knowledge-sharing sessions
2. To provide mentorship to two aspiring
activists for capacity development in professional advocacy
3. Aspiring activists (mentees) shadowing mentor
in his work for hands-on skills development
JUSTIFICATION
Women from all over the world working
in the area of human or more specifically human rights have all contributed to
the global movement of human rights. In this light, the Every Woman Treaty has
provided an opportunity by bringing together experts from all around the world
to support aspiring activists and advocates. The mentorship sessions will pave
way for the aspiring leaders to work on their skills, hone their capacities, and become world-class leaders.
DETAILS DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITIES
The mentorship program in its first
phase was divided into 5 mentorship sessions where a mentor supported the
learning of 2 mentees from different parts of the world.
The details of the activities of the
mentorship program are:
a. Mentorship Session 1: November 21, 2023 (1
hour)
On the first mentorship session, the
mentor introduced himself along with the mentees. The outline of the entire
mentorship session was explained and each session was divided into different days
and each days were dedicated to addressing different questions. The mentor guided
the mentees through their short and long-term goal of the mentorship and their
personal gain in general over 3 months and a year.
During the first session, the
following questions were discussed:
1. What goal do you want to achieve in
3 months?
- The mentee responded to this
question by mentioning Networking as her short-term goal.
2. What goal do you want to achieve in
one year?
- The mentee responded to this
question by mentioning Storytelling and Identification of skills supporting the
long-term goal.
3. What goal do you want to achieve in
5 years?
- The response to this question was
Advocate of Women’s Rights, specifically on socio-economic rights and the mentor
mentioned that it was a clear long-term goal for the mentee.
The mentee received clarity on her
short and long-term goals in terms of her current professional standing in the
first session. The mentor mentioned that goals need to be SMART and precise.
The session was very fruitful since the structure led by the mentors worked
well for both mentees. The mentor was calm and patient with the
understanding of topics that were discussed in the session.
b. Mentorship Session 2: December 1, 2023 (1
hour)
The second mentorship session explored
the professional skills that the mentees wanted to explore. In doing so, the
mentor individually asked both the mentees the questions that were to be
discussed in the session. Before the discussion, a recap of the previous
session was also done. The mentee mentioned that she was clear about
the long-term goal and the role of short-term goals to reach the long-term
goals. The mentee mentioned the impact of the first session in terms of
being able to share it with her supervisor to discuss about possibilities of
expansion to reach more women in the future.
In the second mentorship session, the
following questions were discussed:
1. What professional knowledge &
skills do you need?
2. Education/training? Professional
networking? Shadowing a mentor?
Networking, Storytelling, and Fundraising were the answers to the
discussion questions from the mentees' side.
Networking is about Communication and how to connect with like-minded
people
Storytelling requires an audience and you need to define the
audience before identifying which story to tell
For fundraising, you need to develop the proposal writing capacity
along with the knowledge of project management.
The mentee mentioned that it is important to receive training and
education in the area in which you want to establish your career and work under
a mentor who can help you and support you to achieve your goal. In addition to
this, the mentee also mentioned that being a part of professional networking
adds to your objective.
The second session focused more on the
professional skills that the mentees wanted to learn and the mentor described
what it meant during the session and how it could be achieved. The mentor also
shared his experience working on Google groups and WhatsApp groups to carry out our incredible networking activity.
The session then moved ahead with the
choice the mentees made as a way forward with the mentorship session and
described which areas they would want to develop their skills in. In
conclusion, the session was brief and shed light on professional skills and
how to achieve them.
Mentorship Session 3: December 12, 2023 (1
hour)
The third session of the mentorship
was based on the professional skills required for professional activism. The
main questions discussed were:
1. What are the main skills for
professional activism? How do you become a professional activist? Network
building, Training facilitation, Negotiation, Public Speaking, Fundraising,
Writing Op-eds, Organizational Development, Partnership Management, and Program
Management
2. Additional topics to discuss: How
to gain the following skills: communication, fund-raising, advocating &
lobbying, planning, leading a group, etc.
The mentor divided the questions into
three parts:
1. Skills for professional activism you knew before this
mentorship program
2. Skills for professional activism you became aware of as a result
of this mentorship program
3. Skills for professional activism you have improved during this
mentorship program
The mentee was clear about the skills
that are required for professional activism. Some of the skills and capacity
development areas for professional activism include:
Evidence-based Research
Outreach
Monitoring and Evaluation
Project Management and Planning
Advocacy
Communication
Training and Facilitation Skills
Social Mobilization
Collaboration
The mentee mentioned the following
during the discussion:
Capacity Development Skills aware of
before the mentorship:
Research
Outreach
Monitoring and Evaluation
Collaboration
Communication
After the mentorship:
Advocacy
Social Mobilization
Skills that have improved after the
mentorship:
Report Writing
Communication
The third mentorship session explored
the main skills that are required for professional activism. The session
focused on what skills the mentee was aware of, what the mentee was not aware
of, and what the mentee had learned during the mentorship sessions. The third
session focused on professional activism and Advocacy as a tool for activism. The mentees, each shared what they learned and developed
throughout the mentorship period.
Mentorship Session 4: December 15, 2023 (1
hour)
During the fourth mentorship session, Dr
Uzodinma gave both mentees a detailed explanation of how to better write
reports as per the format prescribed. Both the mentees agreed to correct the
reports and submit the same after review.
In addition to the review of reports and
feedback, the mentor focused on the following questions:
1. Is it possible to reach out to mentors for
advice in emergency situations? What is an emergency situation? How to handle
the issues during your activism or any other circumstances? How do you
proactively solve issues? How do you
learn from past experiences (positive or negative experiences)?
Both the mentees defined what their
understanding of emergency situations was upon being asked the question. The
mentee mentioned that an Emergency situation meant a situation that was urgent and could not be foreseen. To handle issues, the mentee mentioned that she
would derive learning from past experiences and try to resolve any problem. The
mentor suggested that any past experience can be used as learning.
The mentor helped both the mentees
understand the meaning of emergency situations and provided feedback on how to
move ahead from your past experiences to solve problems.
Mentorship Session 5: December 19, 2023 (1
hour)
On the last day of the mentorship
session, the mentor provided detailed feedback to both mentees on how to
present their report. After the feedback, the following question was discussed,
1. How do you rate a presentation,
public speaking, writing, or overall learning & behaviors of the mentorship
parties? How do you rate the mentorship relationship between (mentors and
mentees)?
The question was broken down into
rating the mentor in terms of presentation, public speaking, writing, or
overall learning and behaviors of the mentorship parties. The following
responses in simple words were received by the mentee.
Presentation - Simple and effective
Public Speaking - Very clear and precise
Writing - Clear
Overall Learning - Good; received insights on how to communicate
better through report writing
Behaviors of the parties - Great; always open and listening
In addition to this, the mentor also
asked the mentees to rate the mentorship relationship. To that the mentee
responded, “The mentorship relationship was that of a give and take. It was
open and honest. The mentor was very supportive and always guided the mentees
to become better in their assignments.”
Parting words from the mentor and
mentees:
Samikchya
-
The 5 days of the mentorship sessions were a
great learning opportunity. I am thankful and grateful to have connected with
Dr. Uzodinma who has helped me gain so much insights into better communication
skills. Also, thank you Imma for being so patient and open to adjustments.
Immaculate
-
I am very grateful to EWT for the mentorship
opportunity, every day is a new day to learn and unlearn a lot of things. Also
grateful to Dr. Uzodinma who has spared his time and energy to lead us on this
journey. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Dr. Uzodinma
-
We have attended to everything listed for us
to do. It's been great mentoring Sami and Imma, two young persons very eager to
learn, improve, and prosper/succeed.
Congratulations!
At the end of the fifth mentorship
session, the mentor asked if the mentees knew that the mentorship was a
yearlong commitment. Both the mentees agreed to know about it. The session
concluded with the exchange of greetings and by asking the mentees to submit the
consolidated report to the mentor before 2024.
IMPLEMENTATION PLAN/METHODOLOGY
The mentor and mentee both
collaborated throughout the mentorship sessions and the following methods were
applied to implement the virtual sessions:
·
Open Discussion
·
Question and
Answer
·
Discussion of Life
Situations
·
Feedback and
Review
·
Discussions and
Justifications
Planning:
Virtual Meeting for 5 days before the
end of December
Decision on meeting time by discussion
with the mentees
RESULT/OUTPUT/OUTCOME
A consolidated report of the 5
sessions submitted
A total of 5 mentorship sessions attended
The mentee gained an understanding
of the plan for the future and professional inclinations
Improved Capacity and Knowledge gained
regarding short and long-term goals
Confident about the skills required to
excel in professional activism
ACHIEVEMENTS
5 Mentorship sessions were attended and
completed
5 Reports published, 3 sessions specific
and 2 consolidated reports
Mentee is confident about her short
and long-term goals
The mentee is confident about her
professional growth after attending the mentorship sessions
Application of the discussion at the workplace has helped the mentee to make good use of the session outcomes
and this has also helped the mentee to vocalize the skills required for further
work
Mentee is aware of the skills that are
required to pursue professional activism
CHALLENGES
The time zone and work engagement of
both mentees were challenging
Submission of the report on time was
challenging
IMPLICATIONS OF CHALLENGES
Owing to the time zone and multiple
engagements, the mentorship sessions could not be held at the previously
proposed time.
Change in dates and times of the
mentorship session took place
The reports were not submitted in time
affecting the mentorship sessions' date and time.
CONCLUSIONS
A total of 5 mentorship sessions were
conducted in November and December by Dr. Uzodinma. The mentorship
sessions were a great way to connect with individuals from two different
countries and learn from their individual experiences.
The mentorship session has supported
the knowledge and understanding of skills, and short and long-term goals of the
mentee which will be used for long-term in professional growth and
development. In addition to this, the mentee has also been able to appreciate
learning through a virtual medium.
NEXT STEPS
The 5 mentorship sessions have
completed. We look forward to hearing from the Every Woman Treaty team about
how the mentorship program will look like in the coming days.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank the team of
Every Woman Treaty for providing us the opportunity to participate in the
mentorship program.
I am very grateful to Dr. Uzodinma
Adirieje for agreeing to mentor us and support our professional development in
the areas of women’s rights. The 5 days of the mentorship sessions were a
great learning opportunity. I am also thankful to Immaculate, my fellow mentor
for being very open to sharing and learning together.
PARTICIPANTS
The session was participated by Ms. Immaculate
Gwokyalya and Ms. Samikchya Sharma as the mentees of the program and Dr
Uzodinma Adirieje was the mentor for the participants. Dr. Uzodinma is the
National Coordinator of Coalition on Vaccines, Vitamins and Immunization for All
Nigerians; CEO of the Afriheath Optonet Association (AHOA); National Chairman of the Civil Society
for Development in Nigeria; Executive Director and President of the Society for
Conservation and Sustainability of Energy and Environment in Nigeria (SOCSEEN).
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