Our goal is to serve the community better by strengthening inclusive governance, democratic practices, and active participation of women and special interest groups in the leadership and governance space. We strive to achieve this goal through capacity-building programs, research-to-action programs, and facilitating election monitoring and public audit initiatives. We do this to facilitate an environment for tangible change, and sustainable development and to present awareness of situations that affect the special interest groups’ most fundamental rights (human, social, cultural, civil, and political).
WIMAGE PROGRAMS
WIMAGE University Network
WHAT WE DO
I. Democracy and Good Governance (DODGE)
The Democracy and Good Governance (DODGE) program seeks to promote transparent and accountable practices in governance, strengthening independent institutions and democratic processes, and ensuring active participation of women and special interest groups in the decision-making process.
This is achieved through targeted training and capacity-building programs for women and youths, with the aim to strengthen their participation in the decision-making arena. The DODGE program advocates for the adoption and implementation of policies that promote good governance, transparency, and accountability.
This includes initiatives working towards the elimination of discriminatory policies and practices that impede equitable representation and uphold gender inequalities. Furthermore, the DODGE program also includes election monitoring and public audit initiatives.
It is through these activities we strive to guarantee that elections are conducted in a free, fair, and transparent manner and that the democratic rights of all citizens, particularly women and youths, are heard, respected, protected, and acted upon.
The DODGE program also conducts research and provides evidence-based solutions to address systemic issues in governance to promote good practices.
II. Girl Development Program (GDP)
The girl development program seeks to empower young girls through the provision of education, training, resources, and mentorship products that deliver all the resources they need to become leaders and lead a life of purpose in their communities.
This program aims to equip girls with the necessary skills, knowledge, and hands-on experience to become strong and confident leaders in their communities. These products include workshops on leadership, communication skills, self-confidence, entrepreneurship, health, and personal finance.
To facilitate exposure to the most deserving, the program provides scholarships, exchange programs, and internships to ensure they hone their education/experience and pursue their aspirations with conviction and enough motivation.
III. WIMAGE University Network (WUN)
WIMAGE University Network (WUN) is a transformative programme that connects universities worldwide to share, explore and exchange ideas and experiences on good governance, entrepreneurship, gender equality, women’s rights, and youth political participation.
Through this network, we convene online and in-person conferences, webinars, debates, and training retreat programs to equip students with the necessary knowledge, skills, and exposure to become agents of change within their communities.
WUN also organizes research paper contests for university students to help them evaluate the grassroots issues affecting their respective communities, and publish the winning research papers.
IV. National Agenda on Women (NAOW) Action Plan
The National Agenda on Women (NAOW) Action Plan is a comprehensive framework that outlines grassroots issues, reviews the previous programs and strategies, and proposes workable actions to address the challenges faced by women in leadership and their participation in governance.
The main goal of NAOW is to ensure women’s voices are heard, respected, and acted upon, and that their rights are protected across all aspects of life.
We work with CSOs, Research Institutions, Women Parliamentarians, and other stakeholders to create and implement this action plan as well as monitor progress, evaluation, and lessons learned towards achieving gender equality. We do this out of conviction that to realize the SDGs, it is crucial to address the gender gap in leadership.
Open Data Use cases
WIMAGE aims to create an open data portal that will statistically showcase women’s representation in governance across the world. The data portal uses governance metrics to rate our pilot countries based on the number of women actively involved in governance. The open data portal is useful to civil society agencies as it gives a clear picture of gender representation.
Other Uses Cases
- Monitoring gender equality compliance; using a scorecard
- African Union GEWE & Maputo protocol scorecard
- United Nations SDGS on gender equality action plans review card
- European Union women empowerment scorecard review.
- Global state’s scorecard ranking on women in governance, leadership & politics
WIMAGE Award
Annually, WIMAGE will hold an annual Award Giving Summit to award and recognize the most improved countries on gender parity in leadership and governance. WIMAGE Seal of Approval is an award of recognition for all the civil society organizations and other stakeholders involved in realizing the change of trajectory of women leadership and governance across WIMAGE pilot countries.
Award Merit Criteria: Every International Women’s Day, March 8th, WIMAGE will facilitate an annual award-giving summit. The Wimage seal of Approval will be awarded to the country that proves to “break the bias” on women’s plight in leadership and governance.
Award Significance: The Wimage Seal of Approval will serve as a recognition award in the efforts to capacitate women in politics, governance, and leadership. The Award will also come with a monetary value to recognize the efforts and facilitate more resources for the full realization of Gender Equality.