Vital Voices Global Partnership

Global network and regional engagement (gnre) programs encompass regional fellowships and network initiatives that link thousands of pioneering women leaders and allies in local communities and across borders to catalyze Global change. Such programs include: Voices against violence (vav) which is the gender based violence Global initiative designed to ensure that survivors of gender-based violence (gbv) and harmful traditional practices around the world have better access to services, protection and the justice they deserve. The initiative implements comprehensive activities to address the following objectives: survivors of extreme forms of gbv have increased access to Global resources that allow them to address their urgent needs in the aftermath of violence or the threat of violence; survivors of gbv have improved protections and access to justice, and civil society organizations have access to resources to advocate on behalf of survivors; and an international network is established to serve as a focal point and coordinate efforts around gbv. Survivors may receive short-term assistance to support immediate, short-term needs in the aftermath of violence. The vav consortium also serves as a Global focal point for coordinating urgent responses to survivors by working with other leading organizations. Vital Voices provides urgent assistance to support survivors of gbv worldwide and supports individuals through additional programming. 2023 included 8 separate vav programs spanning multiple countries including afghanistan, cuba, sri lanka, ukraine, etc. Disbursed more than $2.5 million in urgent assistance funds to 811 survivors of gender based violence the justice institutes are interactive training programs that promote a holistic response to addressing violence against women, focusing on victim safety and offender accountability. Each institute brings together 50 to 60 diverse and often siloed participants from across the criminal justice system, including judges, prosecutors, law enforcement officials, and service providers. These actors build their capacity to identify, investigate, and prosecute gbv crimes in their communities; they receive training on how and why to collaborate across disciplines; and they learn the importance and benefit of relying on women leaders during gbv response. In 2023, the justice institute was held in bucharest, romania. The central theme was strengthening the coordinated response to gender-based violence in romania and ukraine. Afghan women's fund: Vital Voices with their partner coalition worked together to meet the critical needs of the most at-risk women leaders, human rights defenders, journalists, politicians, and other leaders evacuating them and their families; providing for their mid-term support to address urgent basic needs; and continued helping for their long-term resettlement. As of december 2023, we have helped to resettle 854 afghans in canada, 81 in the u.s., 34 in germany, 11 in the u.k., 8 in sweden, 6 in france, and 1 in turkey. All but 16 people were permanently resettled by the end of 2023, with many of the remainder set to be resettled in early 2024. Global leadership awards honoree program: each year, Vital Voices hosts the Global leadership awards, honoring unsung heroes and courageous leaders working to strengthen democracy, increase economic opportunity and protect human rights in communities around the world. The Global leadership awards honoree program provides customized and tailored support that includes networking opportunities, capacity building and high profile thought-leadership events to give greater credibility and visibility to the honorees for the eight days they are in Washington, dc.in 2023, Vital Voices honored 5 women leaders who had bold visions to make lasting changes in their communities. The work of each honoree was featured using film, photography, live interviews with celebrities and thought leaders as well as social media platforms to raise their respective public profiles and build awareness and visibility for them and their work.

"issue advocacy programs include fellowships and initiatives that bridge challenges across key issue areas through innovative solutions grounded in collaborative partnerships. Through these programs, Vital Voices partners with leaders committed to strategic policy and collaborative advocacy aligned to leading Global standards and benchmarks accepted and embraced across sectors, borders, and other lines that often divide foremost among them at present, the united nation's sustainable development goals (sdgs). Vv engage: vv engage is a fellowship that provides technical skills and leadership development to outstanding women political leaders making and influencing policy across the globe. Vital Voices launched its fifth cohort of vvengage fellows in 2023 in Partnership with the freeport mcmoran foundation. Twenty-six political leaders from 23 countries were selected for this competitive program. The fellows attended training sessions led by expert trainers from around the world and developed their skills in topics such as negotiations, digital communications, online safety, political fundraising, and building coalitions. The fellows also spent a week connecting in-person in nairobi, kenya where they built lasting connections, honed their public narratives, and were mentored by former female heads of state, in Partnership with the council of women world leaders. Voices against violence (vav) peace: supports women leaders working to address gender-based violence in bosnia and herzegovina, croatia, kosovo, and serbia. The intergenerational fellowship on women, peace, and security in south central europe, or vvpeace, made possible by Voices against violence: the gender-based violence Global initiative (vav), is a year-long program that supports emerging and established women leaders working to address gender-based violence (gbv) in four balkan states. As part of the vvpeace program, fellows are invited to apply for 6-10 month subawards focused on cross-regional strategies for addressing women, peace, and security and gbvwomen lead india: women's leadership in india is pivotal to drive social and economic progress. From grassroots to governance, women are catalysts for change. The women lead india fellowship invests in extraordinary social sector women leaders and social entrepreneurs to drive an ambitious, urgent agenda for women's leadership in india.wli supports 50 indian women leaders addressing urgent economic and social issues. Scale & develop a social-impact project aligned with the un sustainable development goals (sdgs) over the course of the fellowshipwomen in climate: piloted our women and climate program with a delegation of 15 women at the 2023 united nations climate change conference with the goal of catalyzing a Global movement to highlight women's Voices in international climate actionthe Voices of solidarity awards highlights the importance of male allies to the fight for women's rights. Gender equity benefits everyone, and it cannot be achieved by women alone. This work must be undertaken by all who seek to live in a world marked by equality, opportunity, and justice. Each year, the Voices of solidarity awards recognizes remarkable men who have shown courage and compassion in advocating on behalf of women and girls globally. On december 11, Vital Voices held the 10th annual Voices of solidarity awards at the iac building in new york city with 4 honorees."

"leadership and social impact programs provide capacity-building programming to inspire social impact through women's leadership and entrepreneurship. These holistic leadership building programs meet women leaders where they are, providing leadership development, mentoring and capacity building that is tailored to each leader's needs. Programs include: vv grow fellowship fosters growth and skills advancement to support the creation of a holistic and sustainable foundation for women-owned businesses. The ninth cohort of the vv grow fellowship graduated 91 women from 40 countries who are leading purpose-driven businesses. During the 10 months of vv grow a Partnership between Vital Voices, visa, Inc., and fedex fellows received customized training on strategic planning, financial management, human resources, sales and marketing, communications, networking, and leadership. Vv grow participants leave the program with a strategic plan for growth and a new network of peers.the we empower un sdg challenge was launched in 2018 and is the first of its kind Global business competition for women entrepreneurs who are advancing the un sustainable development goals and inspiring entire communities to act to create the world we want by 2030. In 2023, the we empower challenge awardees virtually participated in events surrounding the un general assembly as well as connected with renowned business experts from around the world. Awardees also participated in a dynamic pitch competition, hosted by fashion designer, activist and Vital Voices board member diane von furstenberg, to present their business where the winner received a $20,000 grant.voices that inspire: supports young women who are making a positive impact in latin america. The Vital Voices team launched the fourth cohort of the Voices that inspire (voces que inspiran) program in Partnership with procter & gamble. This year, the program expanded into three new countries, welcoming participants from chile, colombia, and peru in addition to argentina, brazil, costa rica, guatemala, mexico, and panama. Through the Voices that inspire program, young women leaders increase their opportunities, leadership capacity, network, and resources to create sustainable change and transform the meaning of leadership in latin america and beyond.grassroots Voices supports young women leaders in the u.s. who are implementing community-focused projects. In october 2023, the 10 grassroots Voices participants completed their seven-week program. Grassroots Voices is made possible through a Partnership between Vital Voices, sarva rajendra, and sarah johnson. The program is designed to develop the leadership capacity of american women aged 1825 who are already engaged in grassroots justice work on some of the biggest obstacles that american society faceglobal ambassadors program: now in its 22nd cohort, the Global ambassadors program, a Partnership between Vital Voices and bank of america, took place online for the first time this year. The mentees included 52 women from 29 countries who are in the handcraft and handmade industries. These emerging women leaders received targeted training, access to a network of support, and technical assistance from a team of expert Global trainers, and built relationships with their peers and mentorsfortune: the fortuneu.s. Department of state Global women's mentoring Partnership is a public-private Partnership between fortune's most powerful women, the u.s. department of state, and Vital Voices Global Partnership. In 2023, Vital Voices welcomed 14 mentees from 11 countries to the program. Over three weeks, mentees engaged in leadership and communications trainings, community-building activities, and a mentorship program with top women executives and their teams. The 2023 mentors came from some of america's most well-known companies, including cvs health, morgan stanley, aig, and morgan lewis & bockiusvv visionaries invests in trailblazing women by increasing their access to leadership training and the networks that sustain them. The vv visionaries program in Partnership with the este lauder emerging leaders fund (elelf), the charitable fund of este lauder, was created to support the next generation of emerging leaders who are redefining leadership in their everyday lives. In 2023, the vv visionaries program ran three cohorts with a total of 150 participants from 40 countries. Participants completed a seven-week curriculum based on the Vital Voices leadership journeya set of proven practices that Vital Voices has distilled over 25 years from the successful leaders in our Global network.next movers supports emerging women in leadership positions at organizations paving the way for equity and empowerment. This year, the inaugural cohort of the next movers program, in Partnership with bumble, Inc., brought together eight women leaders from eight different countries for training on community building, communications, courage, and diversity. Between june and september, the next movers received tailored training customized to their cohort based on a needs-assessment survey that captured key areas of needed support."

"the crisis response program was created to respond to two realities. First, women who speak truth to power are targeted with violence, threats, and intimidation at alarming rates. Second, when emergencies strikefrom armed conflict to natural disasterswomen are on the front lines of response, organizing their communities and countries to save lives. Vital Voices sees its role as that of an active ally, walking hand in hand with women leaders in times of crisis. Taking a proactive approach, we also help women leaders to protect themselves before emergency strikes, working with them to prepare for threats and reduce the severity or occurrence of crises in the first place. The Vital Voices crisis response program, which launched in 2022, approaches crisis management through three pillars: readiness, response, and recovery. In 2023, we dramatically increased our direct individual assistance caseload and jumpstarted our readiness initiatives, bringing direct assistance to hundreds of women and preparing to exponentially scale our model. We also responded, both urgently and systematically, to crises affecting women around the world.we designed, developed, tested, and piloted the readiness training and toolkit with 10 women leaders from the middle east and north africa, ensuring they're better prepared to respond to war, climate crisis, and government targeting. The training launched a multi-year effort to distribute our model of effective crisis response and take it to scale.in israel and gaza, we engaged in every aspect of crisis response: emergency aid, defense of women leaders, and support for forward-looking advocacy. We supported five women leaders in the region to enable their peacebuilding efforts, helped gazan doctors procure supplies, and protected 40 palestinian women journalists and doctors.we expanded our crisis response referral network to over two dozen women leaders and organizations from the around the world. This has furthered our ability to identify and support women leaders in areas that are difficult to reach due to barriers such as language, geography, and visibility.in uganda, we supported 38 individuals in the lgbtqi+ community to safely relocate to kenya after the government passed anti-lgbtqi+ legislation.we disbursed $237,941 to 172 individual women leaders in 26 different countries and $96,777 in grants to women-led ngos in lebanon, sudan, uganda, and ukraine."