Changing Faces Women's Leadership Program
- Photos from top to bottom: 2007 participants discuss the issues; 2005 group photo; 2008 participants out on local site visit.
"I believe we will have better government when men and women discuss public issues together and make their decisions on the basis of their differing areas of concern for the welfare of their families and their world... Too often the great decisions are originated and given form in bodies made up wholly of men or so completely dominated by them that whatever of special value women have to offer is shunted aside without expression."
--Eleanor Roosevelt, December 1952
When women are empowered to exercise leadership at all levels it is not just in the service of women, but as a contribution to the betterment of society as a whole. Now more than ever, communities and organizations across the Asia Pacific region are in need of balanced and constructive leadership. Launched in 2002, Changing Faces is a program designed to bring together women from the United States and the Asia Pacific region to participate in dialogue on leadership and issues specific to women in leadership around the region. The program seeks professional women at lower and middle level positions of leadership who have the potential to move into positions of greater responsibility and influence.
To date, 91 women from 27 countries have participated in the Changing Faces Program. These women come from a broad cross-section of the societies in which they live and work, representing government, media, civil society, academia, and the corporate/business sectors.
2009 Changing Faces Women's Leadership Program
Theme: Women as Entrepreneurs: Fostering Economic Growth and Strengthening Communities
The 2009 program will focus on the important role that entrepreneurship plays in contributing to the development of local economies. Participants will discuss how they can use their entrepreneurial skills, experience, knowledge, and lessons learned to promote community growth and broader linkages between business and the community
The purposes of this program are to:
- Expand participant knowledge base on the thematic content of the program, through discussion sessions with locally-based experts and field visits.
- Provide participants with information and skills useful for the enhancement of their own leadership abilities in areas such as communication, strategic planning and negotiation.
- Promote regional awareness among participants through interaction and exposure to new ideas and viewpoints.
- Create opportunities to think creatively and strategically about future directions for themselves and their organizations and to formulate action plans to address issues of concern for their communities.
Program Dates: August 23 - September 3, 2009
Program Location: Honolulu, Hawai'i
Who Can Apply: Women from Asia, the Pacific Islands and the United States from all relevant professional backgrounds, including business owners, government and industry regulators and funders, and civil society organization leaders. Successful candidates will have 5-12 years of work experience with the potential to move into positions of greater responsibility and influence. Applicants must have the ability to communicate in English in a professional, multi-cultural setting. Preference will be given to candidates without significant previous international travel experience.
Application Deadline: 2009 application period CLOSED
Funding: The East-West Center will provide lodging accommodations, meals related to the program, ground transportation, program materials and a modest per diem. Selected participants are responsible for their own visa fees and roundtrip airfare from their home city to Honolulu, where the program opens and concludes. A limited number of travel stipends will be available for participants from developing countries, however selected participants should expect some cost-sharing.
PDF program announcement available here.
Program Overview
The Changing Faces program consists of three phases of participation:
Pre-Arrival Phase
Each participant will be asked to write and submit an action plan for the priority issue identified in her application. Participants will engage in online dialogue through the program website.
Honolulu Seminar
Workshops will cover topics including communication, team-building, organizational planning, and models of leadership in differing cultural contexts. Drawing on East-West Center and community expertise, participants will meet with specialists and practitioners to explore a variety of leadership case studies. In addition, community resource persons and local site visits will highlight thematically relevant activities taking place in the culturally and ethnically diverse state of Hawai`i. Seminar participants will make presentations on their priority issues and individual action plans.
Follow-up
Participants will refine action plans, maintain regular contact with program staff and fellow participants and provide updates on action plan progress via an program website and listserve. Participants will be asked to submit a formal progress report in June 2010.
For More Information
Liz A. Dorn
Seminar Specialist, Seminars
East-West Center
1601 East West Road
Honolulu, HI 96848 USA
Phone: (808) 944-7682
Fax: (808) 944-7600
dorne@eastwestcenter.org
