Berlin, Germany. – At the beginning of the month, from the 03rd to the 06th of November, the International Federation of Liberal Youth – IFLRY had its seminar “Coming together as Female Leaders,” a training for female leaders from Africa and the Middle East, as part of the activities of its Female Leadership Academy -FLA.
This was held for the first time in Rabat, Morocco, an exciting, safe, and thriving city known for being the administrative and political centre of the country.
The seminar was led by Kawtar Mawas, President of the Africa Liberal Youth for Freedom and co-coordinator of the FLP, and with the team Tirza Drent, from the Jonge Democraten; Nejra Vreto from the Boris Divkovic Foundation; Nicole Vestling, from the Centre Party International Foundation and Aura Arbulu Vasquez, as part of the IFLRY Office.
For four days, the participants, female leaders from Morocco, Jordan, Ivory Coast, and Senegal, were trained in skills lab sessions focused on advocacy, project management, how to raise funds for their projects, facing debates, public speaking tips, discovering different types of leadership, what is it needed to negotiate, and storytelling.
Also, as part of the seminar, the female leaders had an exchange with Hakima ElHaite, President of Liberal International and Former Minister of Environment in Morocco, where they had the chance to raise their voice in affairs such as climate change, the situation of women rights and human rights in general, leadership of Africa and the youth in crisis.
This meeting was held thanks to the support of the people from the Mouvement Populaire, whose people also invited the participants to meet the Liberal Academy of this political party with Mohammed Ferras, President of Al Hurriya Liberal Network.
Something important to remark is that many of the women leaders of the program were interested in actively participating in formal politics. How is it in Morocco? The country has a bicameral system, there are 395 seats in the House of Representatives, and there is a quota system for women ( 60 seats are reserved for them, and 30 seats are reserved for youth politicians). Currently, in the lower House, there are 96 elected women, that represent 24.3 % of the seats. However, the cultural beliefs around gender roles are alive in public speech and society. Many political decisions are still made based on the gender of the proponent. There are societal barriers to overcome.
The participants also held an interesting exchange with Khadija Oum Bachair El Morabit, Deputy President of the International Network of Liberal Women and a Female Entrepreneur in Morocco. She shared her experiences as a female entrepreneur, as a woman living in a society where many people still believe that some jobs are restricted depending on gender. She had the chance to tell us her life story, how she left the country after facing serious difficulties in opening a business, and how she came back because she believes in the construction of an equal society.
In relation to this, something that impressed me about the participants of the seminar was that many of them did not own a bank account; according to the World Bank, the average in the world is 73.99, but in Morocco, the number decreased to 32.7%. Certainly, the financial inclusion of women is a path to a more independent life. I believe that focusing on these small steps could also make a difference in designing future courses in female leadership in the region.
To summarize, in the 4-day event by IFLRY, the energy of the participants and sometimes trainers could be low on the third and fourth days; however, this is completely normal, and sharing time and activities can demand a lot from us. Nevertheless, this did not happen during this particular seminar. Even when the program was challenging, the energy of the room was high, and the participants were active during the entire seminar. Only two energizers were used during the entire seminar, a record, to say the least.
And I think that this was a success in the first stage of delivering a seminar; the profiles of the participants in a seminar can make a huge difference; another subject that is extremely vital for a seminar is the location; this can be tricky at times because there can be issues with the budgeting; however, the illumination, sound and space of the seminar were pretty accurate; finally, the leadership and, the team held each other’s back during the seminar and beyond, this was an important factor for the success, everyone was an important piece of the puzzle, and everyone works hard to deliver.
Finally, It can be difficult to explain, but the participants developed great chemistry between themselves and the team; their interactions and the constructive feedback in the creation of their stories or their projects was accurate and respectful, and there was a safe space that allowed them to express their thoughts in an open and critical way. I am eager to discover what they have to offer to the world, I think they are amazing, smart, kind women who can eat the world if they wish to.