Institute at the Asian University for Women

The first AUW Women in Public Service Summer Institute led by Dr. Rangita de Silva de Alwis, Director of the Global Women's Leadersip Initiative is currently underway at the Asian University for Women in Chittagong, Bangladesh, running from August 1 – August 15, 2012. The Summer Institute constitutes a 3-week public service and leadership training program dedicated to strategy and solutions for the most pressing societal concerns and the public sector roles the women of Asia will take on in tackling them. The workshops enable the participants to focus not only on Big Ideas, but also on the most effective ways to implement them through governmental institutions. Ten Afghan student participants join 30 exceptional AUW students. These students will then return to AUW in the fall of 2013 to present their projects to the greater AUW student body. In the fall of 2012, following completion of the AUW Women in Public Service Summer Institute, the 13 Afghan participants will enroll in AUW’s Access Academy — a yearlong program that helps develop their communication and critical thinking skills to prepare them for matriculation into the undergraduate program. AUW Summer Institute Goals: • Develop young women leaders geared towards careers in the public sector • Build tangible policy-making and public service skills • Create a peer-to-peer mentoring program for emerging women leaders • Build role models for women in public service • Develop strong and sustainable networks Key Workshops and Areas of Focus: • Women and Transformative Politics and Policies • Mentors, Role Models, and Pipeline • Entry Points for Change: Women’s Activism • Identifying and Transcending Challenges to Women’s Leadership in Public Service • The Powerful Role of Transnational Networks • Women Negotiating Peace and Conflict Resolution • Women’s Rights as Human Rights • Economic Agency and Women’s Leadership • Civic Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship • Combating Gender Stereotypes in Work/ Family Reconciliation Policy • Role of the Media in Advancing Gender Equality, Accountability, and Good Governance • Ethics in Public Service • Political, Social, Economic and Cultural Empowerment • Legislative Action • Listening to Women’s Voices and Narratives • The Status of Women in Politics in the World and in the Region For a more comprehensive look at the topics being discussed, view the included pdf of the AUW Institute curriculum.