Little Women’s Workshop – Public Engagement Event - Vancouver Oct 2009
During the fall of 2009, two consultants from SIFE (Students In Free Enterprise) from Okanagan College, Kelowna conducted a series of workshops for the Little Women who wanted to be part of the LW Speakers’ Bureau. This project involved training Little Women in public speaking and then allowing them to reach out from our local community to our national and global community. The Little Women involved in the speakers’ bureau are now able participate more effectively at school and community events and host workshops across the country to engage and educate youth.
In October 2009 at the CIDA-Funded public engagement workshops in Vancouver, three of the LW, Alaina Podmorow, Cassandra Hinchliffe and Amelia Leonard presented a keynote and 3 workshops to the delegates on Saturday.
Alaina opened and closed the session with information about the work of Little Women, and then each girl conducted a workshop with 1/3 of the audience. This was the first time these workshops were presented and the delegates had a good time working with each other and the LW workshop leaders. The workshops were:
1. Anything Can Be a Fundraiser – In this workshop, the delegates chose simple items such as bottle tops and paper clips and in groups were designated to plan a fundraiser around their object.
2. Our Mission – In this workshop, the delegates learned about the LW mission statement and then had to reformulate the statement from a cut up, puzzle version.
3. Community in Crafts – In this workshop, the delegates learned about the arts and crafts that the women of Afghanistan create and how they work together to do this. Then the delegates made a twisted string bracelet of their own with the help of a partner.
Alaina closed with this challenge:
“We must raise awareness all across our country so we can teach youth and adults about the absolute need for education in Afghanistan. It’s the only way to create peace.”