On July 12, 2021, we launched the Women’s Empowerment Programme (WEP) Latin America, which brings together 20 young women changemakers from Bolivia, Brazil, El Salvador, Honduras and Peru. Cooperating with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s Doha Declaration (UNODC) and the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna (DA), the fully virtual WEP will take place between July 2021 and March 2022. Thanks to the financial support of the State of Qatar, the selected young leaders were equipped with Global Citizen Fellowships to embark on this journey together with the BKMC. From July to September the GC Fellows will take part in an intensive leadership training, preparing them to implement an SDG Micro-Project in the months to come.  

Orientation Session 

The initial orientation session of the WEP gave an overview of the training programme and provided the opportunity for the fellows to meet and get to know each other. They shared their inspiring backgrounds as young professionals in international and environmental affairs, the education and NGO sector, as well as being founders of their own initiatives.

SDGs, Global Citizenship, and SDG Micro-Projects: Turning Ideas into Action

On the 14th of July, CEO Monika Froehler introduced the mission and vision of the BKMC. The fellows subsequently voted on the strongest statements they would use to describe the concept of global citizenship and the relation between justice and the SDGs.   

Global Citizenship Education Expert d’Arcy Lunn then elaborated on how to turn ideas into action. After an inspiring session, the fellows felt more motivated to be changemakers for the SDGs. 

SDG Micro-Project Ideation Workshop

On the following day, the cohort got together for a workshop on SDG Micro-Project Ideation, facilitated by COO Katrin Harvey, Program Officer Viola Christian and Project Intern Anna Koessler. Split up into small teams, the fellows practiced their skills to spot a challenge, find a solution, and innovate an SDG Micro-Project.

With 10 weeks of intensive training ahead of them, the GC Fellows, now have a solid understanding on Global Citizenship, the SDGs and SDG Micro-Projects. We cannot wait to see what initiatives they will pursue as their very own SDG Micro-Projects.