Vienna, Austria - 18 March 2021 – In June 2020, UNODC, under the Global Action against Trafficking in Person and the Smuggling of Migrants (GLO.ACT), launched its network of Gender Champions against Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling to ensure better representation of women in institutions charged with responding to both crimes. A core component of the work undertaken by GLO.ACT is to strengthen the capacity, knowledge and resource available to the members of Women’s Network.
On 16 and 17 March 2021, the GLO.ACT Women’s Network conducted a webinar on goal and vision setting for network members. The webinar is the first of a four-part series aimed at equipping network members, female practitioners from GLO.ACT partner countries and male gender champions, with the tools to make progress towards achieving their career goals while being equipped with strategies to maximize their impact in their current roles and overcome existing barriers to their progression.
During the webinar, participants learnt about the attributes of a good leader and explored various leadership styles. On a personal level, they were guided through a process of identifying their personal vision and setting short, medium- and longer-term career goals for themselves. Participants were also encouraged to identify their personal strengths and weaknesses learnt how to use their own strengths to their advantage. Participants emerged from the workshop with a personal development plan, mapping their individual strategies for achieving their career goals in male-dominated environments.
Opening the workshop, Jane Townsley, training consultant and a member of the Women’s Network Advisory Board, said, “When we talk about a leader, we are not necessarily talking about a Prime Ministers or a CEO”. She explained that “anyone can lead, at any level of an organization.”
Following the first day of the workshop which focused on vision and goal setting, day two centred around reflective learning. Reflective learning recognizes the role social contexts and experiences play in an individual learning process. Speaking in her capacity as Assistant Superintendent at the National Police Academy in Islamabad, Maria Mahmood spoke about the use of ‘soft power’ that women usually bring to the workplace and how this impacts the way women see and resolve conflict. She also pointed out how important it is that “the empowerment paradigm is contextualized.”
UNODC, through the GLO.ACT Women’s Network intends to provide training and support to participants to monitor and achieve their personal development goals and at the end of the series, career-coaching and mentorship opportunities will be offered to participants who are interested.
The next webinar under the leadership and management series is scheduled to take place in April 2021.
The Global Action against Trafficking in Persons and the Smuggling of Migrants - Asia and the Middle East (GLO.ACT Asia and the Middle East) is a four-year (2018-2022), €12 million joint initiative by the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) being implemented in partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in four countries: Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Islamic Republic of Iran, Republic of Iraq and Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
The project builds on a global community of practice set in motion in GLO.ACT 2015-2019 and assists governmental authorities and civil society organizations in targeted, innovative and demand-driven interventions: sustaining effective strategy and policy development, legislative review and harmonization, capability development, and regional and trans-regional cooperation. The project also provides direct assistance to victims of human trafficking and vulnerable migrants through the strengthening of identification, referral, and protection mechanisms. The project is fully committed to mainstreaming Human Rights and Gender Equality considerations across all of its activities.
The project is funded by the European Union.
For more information, please contact:
https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/glo-act2/index.html
Email: unodc-glo.act@un.org
Twitter: @glo_act
For more information about the GLO.ACT Women’s Network:
https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/glo-act5/index.html
For more information about Trafficking in Persons or Smuggling of Migrants:
https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/index.html?ref=menuside
