14 young women graduate from FWRM’s 8th Emerging Leaders Forum Programme
29/01/2022
Fourteen young women from the western division, members of the eighth (8) cohort of the Emerging Leaders Forum (ELF) Programme run by the Fiji Women’s Rights Movement (FWRM), graduated this evening in Lautoka.
The ELF 8 graduates had undergone a series of workshops facilitated by FWRM through a hybrid modality of virtual and face to face sessions using the Young Women in Leadership Toolkit. ELF 8 programme is supported by the Australian Government through the Women's Fund Fiji.
“This event is an exciting achievement for FWRM after diversifying the ELF Programme to the western division last year. These young women from Tavua, Ba and Lautoka were chosen with the aim of ensuring that FWRM’s flagship programmes reach out to as many young women across Fiji as we can manage. We are encouraged by the response we have received in this regard and we are glad to have created a space for young women’s voices and experiences from other parts of Fiji to be heard as well as to contribute to the next generation of feminist leaders,” FWRM Executive Director, Nalini Singh said.
Different thematic sessions from the Young Women in Leadership Toolkit were implemented between April 2021 and January 2022 where the graduates engaged with renowned feminists and women’s human rights defenders in Fiji to understand better first hand from their practice and experiences. With the current pandemic crisis, around 8 sessions were piloted online.
‘I am glad my friend introduced me to this programme as I have learnt a lot of things that have definitely changed my perspectives around women’s rights and abilities. I feel empowered as a young woman and I will definitely take what I’ve learnt to the vulnerable women of my community. I am a proud feminist and I have a voice and the capacity to challenge the patriarchal values that I grew up with – this is my biggest learning from the programme,” said ELF 8 graduate, Ritika Prasad.
Ms Singh said FWRM is very proud of the ELF Programme and the impact it has had in the lives of over 100 young women graduates who are equipped with the capacity to continue feminist-based advocacy locally and abroad.
The ELF programme, incepted in 2003, is designed for young women between the ages of 18-25 years with an intergenerational approach to strengthen young women's abilities to critically analyse socio-political-economic issues and enhance their advocacy skills with a feminist and gender lens.
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MEDIA RELEASE: FWRM Emerging Leaders Forum 7 programme begins
19/09/2020
FWRM launched the seventh cohort of its flagship young women’s leadership programme, the Emerging Leaders Forum, today in Suva.
ELF is a transformative leadership training targeted towards young women between the ages of 18 to 25 facilitated by FWRM's Intergenerational Women in Leadership Programme team. ELF 7 is supported by the Australian Government through the Fiji Women’s Fund.
“FWRM is very excited to welcome another cohort of diverse young women leaders to be part of ELF 7. It has always been a renowned programme for FWRM that creates an enabling space to empower young women and also the next generation of feminist leaders, ” said FWRM Executive Director Nalini Singh.
“Traditionally, the ELF programme is a year-long, however, we’re excited to pilot the new Young Women in Leadership toolkit with this cohort. For this reason, ELF 7 will span from September 2020 to March 2021.”
ELF 7 includes 16 diverse young women participants from the Central Division. The ELF programme will have a series of workshops on key topics such as identity, gender, feminism, human rights, leadership and power, ending violence against women and girls, sexual and reproductive health and rights, economic empowerment, gender and faith, ecological and climate justice and the media.
“Young women face enormous discrimination and violence and tend to have less support because of their age and their gender. ELF provides the tools, skills and knowledge to share and address issues that are important to them.”
Since its inception in 2002, there have been 6 successful cohorts from the ELF programme with over 90 young women graduates now working across Fiji, the Pacific and globally, some of who have continued within the feminist, human rights and civil society movements.
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27/03/2021
15 young women graduate from FWRM leadership programme
Fifteen members of the seventh (7) cohort of the Emerging Leaders Forum Programme (ELF), a flagship young women’s leadership training programme run by the Fiji Women’s Rights Movement (FWRM), graduated last night in Suva.
The young women graduates had undergone a series of workshops facilitated by FWRM that piloted the newly developed Young Women in Leadership toolkit, which is significant to the Movement as it was produced by a graduate of the programme. ELF 7 is supported by the Australian Government through the Fiji Women’s Fund.
“Young women in Fiji face various layers of discrimination and violence, often lacking support and platforms to raise their voices and unique perspectives due to their age and gender. The ELF programme since its inception in 2003, provides the space and tools for these young women to share and address their issues and equips them with leadership and advocacy skills,” FWRM Executive Director, Nalini Singh said.
A total of 12 modules covering different thematic areas from the toolkit were implemented between September 2020 and February 2021.
In this time, graduates were given the opportunity to engage with and better understand the first-hand experiences of a number of renowned feminists and women’s rights activists in Fiji.
“I have gained so much knowledge from the ELF programme. My biggest learnings is that I am not too young to question issues that affect me as a young woman and that I have the potential to be a leader and bring positive change to my family and community. A personal impact of the programme is that I have found the confidence to speak out and challenge the daily patriarchal ideologies of my own community,” graduate, Taraivini Naitini said.
Ms Singh said FWRM was proud of the flagship program that has over the years, produced over 90 young women graduates equipped with the capacity to continue feminist based advocacy in various spaces here at home in Fiji and abroad.
The ELF programme is designed for young women between the ages of 18-25 years with an intergenerational approach to highlight the realities faced by young women. The programme aims to develop their abilities to critically analyse socio-political-economic issues issues and advocacy skills with a feminist and gender lens.
FWRM is currently finalising plans for the next ELF cohort which is recruiting young women from the western division and those mainly residing in rural and informal settlements.
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17/04/2021
Young women from western division focus of FWRM leadership programme
Twenty young women representatives from Lautoka, Ba and Tavua have now joined the eighth cohort (8) of the Fiji Women's Rights Movement’s Emerging Leaders Forum (ELF) programme.
FWRM today conducted the orientation workshop for the ELF 8 group whose members are for the first time since the inception of the ELF Programme in 2003, all recruited from the western division with most residing in rural and informal communities. The ELF 8 programme is supported by the Australian Government through the Fiji Women’s Fund.
FWRM Executive Director Nalini Singh said that FWRM was excited with the new direction of the programme and shifting the focus this year to young women from informal and rural communities in the west, particularly as they have been the most heavily impacted by the COVID 19 pandemic.
Ms Singh said the new strategy also ensures that young women from the division are able to access feminist leadership training and FWRM continues to contribute towards developing and strengthening young women’s leadership and advocacy skills and their capacity in decision making spaces.
"On top of other societal prejudices, young women face multiple discrimination due to their age, gender and abilities and are often deprived of support to raise their opinions and adrress issues that affect them. These challenges are exacerbated further by socio economic factors such as loss of income and threats to safety and security post-disasters. FWRM is privileged to be able to provide the platform that will equip these young women with leadership skills and help them to critically analyse socio-political-economic issues through a feminist and gender approach," she said.
A Rapid Assessment conducted by FWRM in 2020 on the Impact of the Pandemic (COVID-19) on Young Women and Girls, found that 65 percent of 329 young women respondents studying in universities highlighted economic challenges, the lack of access to Internet and laptops, increase in unpaid care work and difficulties in managing time between household, academic and professional responsibilities. 71 percent of the respondents indicated an increase of household responsibilities compared to the males in their families.
The ELF 8 programme runs from April to October, 2021 and consists of 12 modules with a series of workshops on different thematic areas including women’s human rights, leadership, violence against women, economic empowerment, sexual and reproductive health and rights, climate justice and more.
The workshops will be facilitated by FWRM staff and other renowned feminist and human rights defenders in the country.
"I'm excited and am looking forward to learning more about gender equality and the issues surrounding human and women's rights. I want to learn about my rights as a young woman and how to use my voice to advocate, especially against the challenges that women face in the communities including the increasing prevalence of violence against women and rape," said ELF 8 member, Hetali Lata of Tavua.
More than 100 young women have graduated from the programme and now work across Fiji, the Pacific and globally, some continuing within the feminist, human rights and civil society movements.
"The growth of ELF graduates in leadership positions within their various organisations reflect the values and the success of the ELF programme and the need for such leadership training for young women. Many of these graduates continue to be advocates of gender equality and diverse women's rights," Ms Singh said.
The ELF programme is designed for young women between the ages of 18-25 years with an intergenerational leadership learning approach.
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MEDIA ALERT
Emerging Leader’s Forum 7
GRADUATION CERMONY
Members of the Emerging Leaders Forum 7 (ELF), a Young Women in Leadership Programme at the Fiji Women’s Rights Movement (FWRM) are graduating from the programme this Friday, March 26, 2021.
Details are as follows:
Date: Friday, March 26
Time: 6.00pm-8.30pm
Venue: Paradiso Ristorante, Suva
The ELF is a year-long leadership program that targets diverse Fijian young women aged 18-25 years. The program is designed to develop advocacy skills, critical thinking and to motivate young women to speak on issues that affect them. Themes are centred on human rights, gender & feminism, women and environment, mental health, sexual and reproductive health and rights, women in leadership and more.
This year marks the 7th cohort of young women graduates of the programme since its inception in 2003.
The media is kindly invited to cover the graduation ceremony.
The ELF 7 Programme is supported by the Australian Government through the Fiji Women’s Fund.
Young Women from Navua and Sigatoka join FWRM's Emerging Leaders Forum Programme
17/04/2023
FOURTEEN young women have now joined the ninth cohort of the Emerging Leaders Forum (ELF) programme run by the Fiji Women's Rights Movement (FWRM).
FWRM conducted the orientation programme last weekend (Saturday, April 15, 2023) for members of the ELF 9 cohort who have been recruited from within the Navua and Sigatoka corridor. The ELF 9 programme is supported by the Australian Government through the Women's Fund Fiji.
FWRM's Executive Director, Nalini Singh said the organisation was proud of how the programme has evolved in bringing young feminist leadership training to young women outside of the central division and from informal and rural communities, beginning with the previous cohort.
Ms Singh said the strategy ensures that FWRM continues to contribute towards developing and strengthening leadership and advocacy skills including capacity in decision making spaces of young women from diverse communities, who are often deprived of support.
"Our work towards achieving gender equality requires us to have a comprehensive understanding of the issues that women face, and young women face multiple discrimination due to their age, gender and abilities. This is why we need our young women to learn about these issues and speak up against the inequalities they face. Programmes such as the ELF continue to provide the platform for these issues to be expressed and strategies to address them,” she said.
The ELF 9 programme runs from April to August this year, under 12 modules with a series of workshops on different thematic areas on women’s human rights, leadership, violence
against women, economic empowerment, sexual and reproductive health and rights, climate justice and more.
The workshops will be facilitated by FWRM staff and other renowned feminist and human rights defenders in the country.
ELF 9 Participant from Sigatoka, Rubayesha Khan acknowledged the orientation session and has high hopes of engaging in advocacy on issues faced by Fijian women through knowledge gained from the programme.
"I look forward to learning as much as I can from the programme and developing leadership skills so that I can become another voice for women facing discrimination in Fiji," she said.
Carlos Ragogo of Navua is excited about upcoming activities in the programme and looks forward to learning more about issues faced by women and minority groups such as the LGBTQIA+ community.
The ELF Programme is designed for young women between the ages of 18 and 25 years with more than 100 graduates who are now members of the alumnae and working across Fiji, the Pacific and globally, some continuing within the feminist, human rights and civil society movements.
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For media queries, please contact FWRM Communications Officer Serelisoni Moceica on 8677 330 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.