“The wonderful part about Intergenerational Leadership Dialogue is that everyone’s story is heard and every opinion is taken as valued regardless of their age”- Monita Ulka
The Intergenerational leadership Dialogue was quite new to YWCA of Bangladesh, although they have been practicing intergenerational leadership from the beginning. It was introduced at the Training of Trainers (ToT) program organized by RiseUp! team Bangladesh. The aim of the program was to understand the perspective of various generations on young women’s leadership. A panel of 5 women of different age groups shared their distinctive leadership journey with the YWCA of Bangladesh.
The concept of a safe space was core to our panel, where everyone, both panellists and the audience, felt safe to share their personal leadership journey along with their challenges and successes in the journey. Popy Florence Lakra, General Secretary of YWCA of Dinajpur, shared her journey from a youth member to the General Secretary of her YWCA entity, “I have been involved with YWCA since 1997. The journey was not easy, but I never gave up my willingness and commitment. My consistency and my passion have led me to where I am today.”
Stories have the amazing power to inspire and transform mindsets. It presented opportunities to reflect and connect on creating transformative leadership. The women who participated were greatly moved by the session where they felt valued in the eyes and hearts of others.
The program engaged women from different age groups and ethnicities to bring out their thoughts on leadership approaches. Though the concept was new, once the session started, everyone opened up to each other, creating a wonderful environment where each person had a story to share.
One of the participants named, Monita shared, “The wonderful part about Intergenerational Leadership Dialogue is that everyone’s story is heard and every opinion is taken as valued regardless of their age”. Thus, a Safe Space was created.
They further went on exchanging each other’s wisdom and insights in leadership. They echoed the wonderful things that generations have to learn from each other.
Alice Sajjan, Youth Lead RiseUp! closed the dialogue with a thank you note and by reminding everyone that all women can contribute to shaping each other and that we can create a better world if women of all ages walk together in harmony.
