The BPW Task Force Leadership and Lifelong Learning has responded to the challenges of the current global pandemic situation and has elaborated an updated digital version of the BPW Leadership Training for Women. 
 
The first training has been successfully conducted with participants from different European clubs on three consecutive Friday afternoons (29 Jan; 5 Feb and 12 Feb, 2021). Everyone was actively involved in the training process by participating in a number of small group discussions, experience sharing in pairs, individual reflection, case study discussions and other interactive workshop and homework activities. Every participant received a detailed workbook prepared by the trainer team and additional material to further enhance the newly acquired knowledge and skills.  
 
Our affordable and high-quality leadership program, developed by international women for international women, aimed at creating digital-networking-around-a-relevant-topic opportunity for BPW members in a time when face-to-face meetings are not feasible. All participants highly appreciated those valuable exchanges and several of them have formed tandems in order to continue their cooperation and help each other to implement the next steps of their leadership journey.
 
In addition to the hard work and concentration needed in an online program, we also had a lot of fun and got to know each other really well.
 
Detailed information for the trainers and this project is available here.

What our participants say about the training: 
 
Great Training Initiative, clearly defined elements, excellent content - very well presented and facilitated. 

I found it very valuable to reflect on my leadership experience and to exchange with other BPW members from all over Europe. A very positive experience with a lot of learnings. 

I really enjoyed the program, the mix of trainer styles and the cultural aspect. Really great to meet all the other participants too 

I felt very comfortable in sharing my experience and thoughts in the group. I found that everyone in the group was accepted and given room to express. Also the trainer team was well balanced and worked in a structured, pleasant manner. I have taken many interesting impulses and practical tips on how to implement these in my daily life, which I already did for some of them.

In this course, five professionals from different fields will guide you to a good start in leading your way. And thank you all for your work that made this course possible!
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Our task-force colleagues Conny Montague and Ann Wood have been invited to run a webinar on Leadership within the BPW webinar series.
A full record of the event can be found on YouTube here: 
The 6 Elements of Leadership 
Enjoy your new learning opportunity and let us know what do you think!

The photos included in this blog are made by N. Koolitus, Estonia. 

Organized by BPW Malta President Stephanie Falzon with the help of Tania Mercieca and Marcella Camilleri an engaged group of PEP trainers (Conny Montague, Sabine Schmelzer, Sabine Küsters, Gudrun Weber, Ester Eomois, Rodica Fridez, Elisabeth Liberda, Ingrid Asche and Diana Manneh) met in Malta to have a Task Force Meeting and do a PEP as well as a PEP TTT training.  Catherine Bosshart, 2nd Vice President BPW International, also joined and supported the event.

Taskforce Meeting with new information from BPW International
Before the actual seminar we had a Task Force Meeting where Catherine explained to us some changes in BPW and how they affect the Task Force. She also presented the concept of the new webpage proposed by Antoinette Ruegg.
A new goal of BPW International to be followed up is “Sustainable Development of BPW” as an additional and the 18th Sustainable Development Goal until 2030.

​The Task Force decided on some guidelines and communication rules for future projects and there was general agreement that the work within the team is enriching and interesting for all of us and without BPW as an organization we would not work together in that way. This opinion was also shared by Ann Wood, Petya Barraud and Anna Cargnello who shared their opinion via mail before the meeting, since they could not be here personally.
 
PEP Training was opened by the President of Malta
For the seminar the location was Vendala Palace, the summer residence of HE The President of Malta. The training courses ran under her patronage. She opened the event personally and gave a welcoming address where she focussed on the importance of equal pay and the implementation of  the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal number 5 which is “Achieve Gender Equality and empower women and girls”.
Her speech and our event got a lot of media coverage, was on Facebook immediately and got full-page cover on the Times of Malta the following day.
While the efforts of every active BPW member are of vital importance it is also very important that we get visibility through support by public figures.

How to encourage women to take over leadership and responsibility was the subject of the workshop Leadership & Lifelong Learning at the BPW International Congress in Cairo on 25th October 2017 lead by Sabine Schmelzer, member of the Taskforce. She presented to a large group of interested participants the Taskforce’s most successful training projects. And through those projects indeed the leadership skills for women have been fruitfully transferred to several European countries.

The Personal Empowerment Program, PEP, is the basic training for empowering BPW and non-BPW members all over the globe; whereas the PEP Train-the-Trainer-Program - for BPW members only -qualifies trainers to hold the PEP trainings, each trainer receives after the successful examinee the PEP Training Certification.

Another training is created to deepen leadership skills for women on a more personal and corporate structure level. Eight members of the Taskforce developed an intensive “BPW Leadership Training for Women”, which has been already conducted in some European countries e.g. Switzerland, Germany, Estonia.

Johanna Marius originally from Germany living in Egypt and Dahlia Salem living in Cairo presented their project “Culture Smart” to facilitate communication across cultures through self-awareness, knowledge and practice. They took the group to an astonishing practical example, which showed the importance of intercultural skills in a globalized world.
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Ingrid Asche, member of the BPW International Taskforce Leadership & Lifelong Learning 

The Business & Professional Women (BPW) Task Force on Leadership & Lifelong Learning organized their 5th Annual Workshop in Rome, Italy, on April 20th-23rd, 2017. The purpose of the workshop was to communicate information on leadership projects and best practices of the clubs on local, national and international levels and develop the next steps to undertake.
 
Organized by Conny Montague, Chair European Task Force, Leadership & Lifelong Learning, and hosted by Pia Petrucci, National President FIDAPA/BPW Italy and Bettina Giordani, National Communications Chairperson BPW Italy, the workshop allowed the participants to share knowledge as well as reflect on how to move forward with the projects under way.
 
Updates on the newly developed Leadership Training for Women and the Online Academy were provided as well as what training is being offered in Estonia and Malta. A workshop that included presentations on “Lateral Leadership” and “Motivation of Team Members” was also given for the Italian National Team.
 
Dr. Antoinette Ruegg, Past International BPW President, offered a workshop on important issues for the future of BPW that emerged from the Leaders’ Summit in New York City in March.
 
Educational sessions were held on “How leaders deal with insecurity, manipulation and power games,” “Verbal Aikido or How to deal with verbal attacks,” “Leadership through Personal Branding” and “Trello: an effective communication tool for teams.”
 
This workshop was held concurrently with the Young BPW Symposium where several Task Force members also participated. As usual with BPW conferences, we were treated to several lovely social activities to get to know each other better, eat wonderful Italian food and see some of the beautiful sites of Rome.

Photos and texts /titles of the workshops to be added

The Business & Professional Women (BPW) Task Force on Leadership & Lifelong Learning organized a workshop in Trieste, Italy on April 1st-3rd, 2016. The purpose of the workshop was to communicate information on projects and best practices of the clubs on local, national and international levels.
 
Organized by Conny Montague, Chair European Task Force, Leadership & Lifelong Learning, and hosted by Elisabetta Gregoric and Anna Cargnello, BPW Tergeste Venezia Giulia Club, the workshop allowed the 18 participants to share knowledge as well as reflect on how to move forward with the projects under way.
 
PEP (Personal Empowerment Program) trainers from Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Finland presented what is being offered in their countries.
Dr. Antoinette Ruegg, Past International BPW President, explained what was happening at the international level, including a newly restructured website and “Member-initiated task forces and projects.”
 
Educational sessions were held on “Lateral Leadership,” “Managing Unconscious Bias in Leadership” and “Key to Gender Behavior.”
 
The result of the workshops have been publish with the generous support of Mr Giuseppe Pisani of Master Ltd publishing house and is available as bilingual (Italian-English) manual.
 
Conny R Montague