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​At the BPW 17th European Conference in Reykjavik we were given the chance to present our team with our projects, goals, members and 93 years of common BPW membership experience. We are very happy to report that the presentation was received very well and we were accepted as the BPW Europe Working Group Learning for Leadership. 
Our new status, as one of the BPW Europe Working Groups , opens new opportunities for our team to further improve our training and elaborate and provide new workshops to accompany the growth of future leaders.  
 

​A third successful digital BPW Leadership Training for Women was held by the BPW Europe Working Group. 
 
“Be a Better Leader” was held on three consecutive Friday afternoons (11th, 18th & 25th March, 2022). Trainers Anu Viks, Estonia, Ann Wood, Petya Barraud and Sheerah Kim, Switzerland, and Conny Montague and Sabine Grosser, Germany, led participants through the interactive format and exchange of ideas.

An enthusiastic group of 15 future and present leaders from five different countries participated in the intensive learning and sharing during the three half-day sessions. BPW Europe offered scholarships to four Young BPWs to further their leadership development.
 
The digital training program is aimed at creating a personal and professional learning opportunity for BPW members and any other women interested in their leadership development.
 
The next digital BPW Leadership Training for Women will be held on:
23rd, 30th September, & 7th October, 2022.

« This training is a must at every stage of one's leadership journey. It is brought to life by the trainers and the participants. It wins especially through networking during and after the three weeks of training. »

« For me it was a retake of my leadership training of 10 years back. I realized that my values and leadership style have changed over the years. I did enjoy myself in this interesting group and with our fabulous facilitators, sadly the course is already over ... »

« Great organisation and good Idea to do it on three days! »

« As I found out about this program I immediately wanted to register and make the most of my parental leave. The BPW team supported me in my wish to participate even with a 7 weeks old baby. This has strengthened my view that everything is possible and that inequality shrinks every day. Furthermore the training gave me the chance to meet brilliant women from around the globe and learn together to become a better leader.
The training as such was interesting as well as intense and equipped with a well resourced workbook. Thank you for this opportunity!»
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The BPW Task Force Leadership and Lifelong Learning has done it again with a second successful digital version of the BPW Leadership Training for Women! 
 
“Be a Better Leader” was held on three consecutive Friday afternoons (28th May, 4th June and 11th June, 2021). Trainers Ann Wood, Switzerland, Anu Viks, Estonia, Conny Montague, Germany and Petya Barraud, Switzerland, led participants through the interactive format and exchange of ideas.

An amazing group of future and present leaders from five different countries participated in the intensive learning and sharing during the three half-day sessions. A new initiative from BPW Europe offered scholarships to six Young BPWs to further their leadership development.
 
Developed by international women for international women, the digital training program is aimed at creating a personal and professional learning opportunity for BPW members any other women interested in their leadership development.

The next digital BPW Leadership Training for Women will be offered on
November 5th, 12th & 19th, 2021.

Here’s what the participants had to say about their experience:
 
“I felt very included and motivated and very happy that I had the opportunity to learn and experience from this program.”
 
“It was excellent!!!“
 
“Very proud being part of this great journey.“
 
“Good material and very great combination of trainers! Thank you :)“
 
“The leadership training was very interesting to me and now I have got a suitcase filled with theoretical and practical knowledge. I really appreciated to meet so many different and international women I have never met without the BPW. Let's empowering each other!“
 
“A great training to reflect on and challenge what you think you already know.“
 
“Ann, Anu, Conny and Petya are wonderful leaders and it was brilliant to learn from their experience. Feeling very grateful :)“
 
““What a great group of people that shared openly their experiences, struggles and leadership goals - it was a safe environment and atmosphere was very relaxed which I appreciated.”
 
“Eye-opening and encouraging training!”

Marvelous!

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