IVY Girls Lead (IGL) Sri Lanka Edition was a 10-day online program designed to inspire young girls to become leaders of positive impact. The program ran from the 8th to 18th December 2020  virtually. The project was designed to give young leaders insight into themselves, their interpersonal relationships, and their skill dynamics so they can become accomplished in any field they choose. The program featured some of Sri Lanka’s most successful women leaders and innovators who have excelled in their fields and comprised of group discussions and self-evaluation activities. As an individual who holds a strong passion for women’s empowerment, I was extremely glad to be a part of the fabulous opportunity.

The IVY Girls’ Lead program was conducted virtually via zoom.

This research-based program optimized to create a safe space that helps us with critical thinking, communication, self-awareness, confidence and relationship building. Apart from these, I was able to meet some strong, independent young girls from all over Sri Lanka with the same passion as mine.

Over the course of 10 days, we participated in different sessions ranging from positive affirmation, emotional wellness, active citizenship to career discovery. Through these, I was able to identify myself as an individual and polish my leadership skills and confidence. The latter part of the program consisted of an Action Project, which was an action plan with a particular aim that was led by a group of girls. My group focused on women’s entrepreneurship and social justice. We started off by creating an Instagram page where we could share inspiring stories of female entrepreneurs. We will conduct interviews with the owners of small scale businesses and share their inspiring stories through our Instagram account. Thereby we hope to bring inspiration to other females out there to start their own business. We think this would provide the businesses a suitable platform to promote their businesses as well. As the second part of our project, we will partner with a couple of Interact clubs and have interactive sessions for girls in the form of courses and workshops with experienced female influencers and leaders. This will also be directed with the aim of inspiring young girls and showcasing the entrepreneurs hidden within them.

Learning outcomes

• Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth.

Through this program, I was exposed to self-evaluation where I was able to truly identify myself, my weaknesses, and my strengths. I reflected on my self by understanding the area to be developed.

• Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process.

In my opinion, participating in the program itself was a challenge, as you had to familiarize yourself in an entirely foreign environment and at the same time express yourself. As an introvert, I sometimes found it difficult to reach up to people and communicate or make friends, but through this, I could bring those boundaries a little lower and expose myself.

• Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively.

None of the work done in the program would have been possible if not for the collaborative work of all the girls. From discussions to the action project, everyone was really helpful in sharing ideas, pointing out mistakes, and positive affirmation.

• Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance.

We tackled global issues like women’s empowerment, gender rights, social injustice, security, and our action project mainly focuses on entrepreneurship and inspiring young women.