Meeting of the Program participants in 2014. The third day

May 31, 2014

For the contest winners of the year 2014 it was the last day of this meeting, but at the same time it can be one of many days of common movement for the girls who stay active and will continue their collaboration with Ukrainian Women’s Fund and the First Step to Success girls’ network.
Young leaders who joined the program for the first time had opportunity to study at the training on the basics of planning and writing project proposals. Thanks to Larysa Makdyuk the training contained not only lecture, but practical tips and best practices, which the girls worked out in small groups thus acquiring new experience.

In the end of this day the girl were invited to visit Pinchuk Art Center, where they could get acquainted with works of contemporary art. But before that, after the training completion Olesya Bondar, Director of Ukrainian Women’s Fund, presented the mini-grants program for this year winners, told about possibilities to collaborate with the UWF and how the relationships between the network and the First Step to Success program will look like. The Program emphasizes: we are open to collaboration, to proposals from girls about new projects and initiatives, we are ready to provide consultative, methodological and financial support for young active leaders, who are ready to join young women’s movement of Ukraine.

The three days’ meeting elapsed as a one day filled with new acquaintances, new impressions and new hopes. The team of Ukrainian Women’s Fund sincerely wishes new victories in leadership space and civil society activism to each of the contest winners.

«I hope for further fruitful collaboration. Thank you for the First Step to Success and for everything you do for women of Ukraine» Stefania Vakulenko (Kyiv)

Photo sotry (Part one)

The third and the forth days of the five days’ school of raising organizational capacity for participants of the First Step to Success Program of the years 2006 – 2013 from morning to evening were filled with trainings, seminars and master classes. During two days the girls exchanged experiences, ideas, even stood for own positions in discussions.
On May 31 the talk was about “Gender. Gender roles. Gender aspects of work in civic space”. To conduct this part of education Natalia Tarasenko and Olga Sozonik (2008 Program winners) joined the meeting. Olga showed the participants the problem of “gender roles” in non-standard art-therapy manner, and Natalia reminded the basics of gender theory in action in civic space. A certain gain was the “engagement map”, which the participants compiled in compliance with their readiness to engage in common initiatives to improve situation of gender equality in place.

Unexpected event for the participants was discussion meeting “Displays of feminism in contemporary society” with Natalia Monakhova, lecturer at the Chair of cultural studies of Drahomanov National Pedagogical University. Some of the girls agreed with the expert, some of them could not accept her rather categorical position, nevertheless, the discussion succeeded and continued at coffee break. There were different ideas, but the essence was the same: "We are all women, representatives of civil society. We protect women’s rights and advocate values of gender equality choosing the most appropriate for us form of activities".

 Photo story (Part 2)