Climb Your Own Everest: Youth Leadership Mentoring

Session Submission Type: Workshop

Short Description

This session will begin with a brief case study on youth leadership and the work of Empower Nepali Girls. Participants will journal their reflections on the future of youth leadership, empowerment, and the role of a transformational leader as a motivating factor for supporting youth leadership development. Together in small groups, attendees will explore newer and more impactful ways to promote youth leadership, identifying obstacles and solutions. Participants will leave with numerous new ideas on transforming their community, empowering young people, inspiring others in the face of hardships and challenges, and serving as a role model for young leaders.

Detailed Abstract

After the USA’s presidential election in 2016, many people crawled into their shells of disappointment, while at the same time, many decided to take their level of contribution to foster social justice and gender equality to a higher level. During the chaos, I noticed Hillary Clinton, as a female leader, operating in a dichotomy, Feeling pressure to be a strong leader on the one hand and a humble female on the other (Owens, 2012). More than any other time, I feel the necessity to stand up and to continue working on issues that we have been ignoring for decades. This is why, as a scholar practitioner, I have dedicated my research to women and youth leadership as a crucial factor of causing change in the global community for the next generations. This is also why I would like to emphasize in this workshop the important role of a transformational leader as a motivating factor for the advancement of young female education in developing countries.
 
I chose this research topic in order to combine it with what I was already doing as a board member of Empower Nepali Girls, a non-profit organization that focuses on empowering marginalized girls, by providing education and opportunities they would otherwise not have. In many developing countries, kids are growing up without having a role model, especially a female role model to follow (Wolfe, 2014). Based on leadership theories, one influential way to lead is by “leading by example”. Although we are not always aware of it, in our own lives, we are influenced by our parents and teachers, and the actions of other people. A leader’s behavior is a reference point. Leaders need to focus on setting a good example to encourage positive behavior (Thatcher, 2013).
 
Youth leadership, especially empowering girls is the focus of my study. Adolescent girls are uniquely capable of raising the standard of living in the developing world. Sadly, what often gets ignored is that girls are the most likely agents of change but they are often invisible in their societies and to our media (Marshall, 2010). The focus of Empower Nepali Girls, is the prevention human trafficking and forced early marriage by dealing with root problem which is education. Girls with eight years of education are four times less likely to be married. Moreover, if 10% more girls got to secondary school, the country’s economy would grow 3%. Consequently, when an educated girl earns income, she reinvests 90% of it in her family, compared to 35% for a boy (Wolfe, 2014).
 
The founder of our non-profit organization is a visionary, transformational and charismatic leader. Visionary leadership potentially has tremendous importance as a motivator of change and innovation and may indeed, more than anything else, lie at the core of effective leadership. (Day, 2014) We had a vision to put 300 girls from remote villages to be the leader of change in their own village, for the rest of the girls to follow. These girls are attempting something that is absolutely unprecedented, which is to become the first ones in their villages to attain an education and pursue a professional career. Thus, they will demonstrate to their families and communities that they are indeed among their country’s greatest resources who will someday transform their nation. This is our hope and dream (Safari, 2016). 
 
We kept on asking ourselves “What would be motivating for the girls to face the challenges and hardship of continuing their education?” This question, led to my decision to become a motivator by climbing Mount Everest, the highest peak in their country which they were likely to associate with something that only strong men could do. That is a form of transformational leadership which is the process whereby a person engages with others and creates a connection that raises the level of motivation and morality in both the leader and the follower. This type of leader is attentive to the needs and motives of followers and tries to help followers reach their fullest potential (Northouse, 2016). Having grown up in a patriarchal culture myself and having had many experiences of gender discrimination and inequality expanded this project for me from girls' empowerment to a quest of self-actualization. Specifically, it extended my horizons of understanding about what we deal with as human beings to overcome our limitations. Blind spots, self-talk, various subconscious fear-based actions, illusion of time and many more were at the core of this understanding.
  
This experiential workshop has four parts. Firstly, there will be a PowerPoint presentation about youth leadership and a case study of our work at Empower Nepali Girls organization. Secondly, participants will individually answer self-reflecting questions about their roles in the future of youth leadership and women empowerment, which will be based on their own research interest. Thirdly, they will discuss in small groups, what they see as newer and more impactful ways to promote youth leadership. Together we identify the obstacles and find applicable solutions. Lastly, we wrap up by answering final questions and hopefully joining together and making a team to start a collective project for those who are interested to bring youth leadership to their own communities. Participants will walk out of this entertaining and experiential workshop, empowered with numerous new ideas on how to transform their community, how to bring lasting change to their organizations, how to empower young people to take their level of contribution to the next level, how to be resilient in turbulent times, how to be a great leader, how to inspire other people in the face of hardships and challenges and how to be a role model for young leaders of tomorrow.

Sub Unit

• Youth Leadership

Presenter

• Sara Safari, Empower Nepali Girls