STEP 1: PERSONAL DETAILS AND CONTACT INFORMATION

1. Please provide your First Nameas it appears on your birth certificate, passport or national identification card.
2. Provide yourSurname or Family name as it appears on your birth certificate, passport or national identification card.
3. Provide any other given name(s).
4. Please provide an email address which you check regularly as this will be the primary mode of contacting you.
5. Please fill in your primary phone number. It will be a major means through which the team will contact you.
6. Provide an alternative phone number (if you have one) where we can reach you in case we cannot reach you on your primary phone number. This could be a parent, spouse, other family member, or work phone number.
7. If you use WhatsApp, please check yes and indicate the phone number to which your account is associated. This is optional.
8. If you have a Facebook and/or Twitter account, please check yes and indicate your handles. Note that this is optional.
9. Please fill in your Postal Address (P.O. Box number), if you have one.
10. Please provide yourDate of Birth by selecting the year, month, and day on the pop-up calendar or using the format (YYYY-MM-DD).
11. Please state your Nationality (E.g. Ghanaian)
12. Please state your current place and Country of Residence. (E.g. Accra – Ghana)
13. Please note that, all applicants non-resident in Ghana are required to have a passport in order to travel to Ghana. You will be required to fill in the number, country of issue, and date of expiration of your passport.
14. Ghanaian applicants resident in Ghana will be required to fill in the ID number or Passport number and date of Issue of their ID Cards or Passport. Non-Ghanaian Applicants resident in Ghana will be required to do same with their passports.

STEP 2: EDUCATION AND LANGUAGES

Education

Please tell us about your educational background. Indicate your highest level of education completed, and your Course of Study, Name of Institution, Year of Completion. Please also indicate if you are currently enrolled in school/college/university. While the YAWC programme values a person’s education, there is no minimum level of education or minimum grade required for participation in the programme.

Languages

English/French language proficiency is required for participation in the YAWC 2022 East Africa Sub-regional congress. All activities will be conducted in English, including Keynote Addresses, Plenary Sessions, Presentation Sessions, Discussions, Meetings, Cultural Activities, and Social Interactions. Please fill in how you will evaluate your English language skills (Basic, Intermediate or Advanced) as accurately as possible and also tell us what other international languages you comprehend.

For delegates who are proficient in French, there would be a French translation for all the sessions at the congress.

STEP 3: WORK EXPERIENCE

Please tell us about your current or most recent work. This may include formal or informal employment, self-employment, or other forms of engagement with organisations. It is not mandatory that you are or have ever been employed, but we want to know as much about you as possible.

1. What is/was the name of the organization/company you work(ed) for?
2. What is/was your position or job title?

GROUP ONE (1) – Network of Women in Leadership

Leadership is very is critical to every society’s development. Unfortunately, in Africa, and many parts of the world, women are faced with a lot of challenges in their quest to climb the leadership ladder for diverse reasons. Thankfully, the world has awakened to the reality that women’s participation in leadership is not only critical to their individual development, but more crucial to building prosperous nations, healthy families and inclusive growth.

This group will discuss the ways in which women can be encouraged to take leadership as a development tool to change the course of women in Africa.

The discussion will be guided by the following terms of reference:

1. How important are quota systems to women’s participation in leadership?
2. What are the challenges women? How can networking and grassroots mobilisation help to change the narrative?
3. Do successful women in leadership have a role to play in reaching out to nurture inexperienced women into leadership?

GROUP TWO (2) – Network of Women Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is a key element to prosperous nations. Entrepreneurs are bearers and implementers of great and workable ideas which help to solve peculiar problems and yield profits. Prosperous nations boast of daring entrepreneurs and they thrive with access to essential economic resources. In most parts of Africa, women’s path to entrepreneurship is stifled right from the fundamentals with entrenched cultural beliefs and legislations that seem to limit their access to, ownership and management of economic resources as much as they possess life transforming ideas which need implementation. As a result, more women are caught up in ‘own account’ businesses which do not seem to grow in any form, except for purposes of survival.

Group TWO will discuss the various ways women could be empowered to look beyond setting up businesses for survival, to making global impact leveraging reliable networks.

The discussion will be guided by the following terms of reference:

1. What are the best business opportunities in Africa at the moment? How can women position themselves to take advantage of the opportunities?
2. How powerful is networking as a tool for business development?
3. What are the ways through which women can influence change in culture and legislations that limit women’s access to economic resources?
4. Identifying successful women entrepreneurs in Africa as role models; what must young women do to connect?

GROUP THREE (3) – Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development

The environment is a crucial aspect of the development of Africa. Yet, we live in a period of rapid depletion of our environment which could lead to unsustainable development. Women play critical roles in either sustaining or depleting the environment. Without the knowledge of climate change, women could be the highest contributors to the depletion of the environment. This is because decision-making processes usually begin at home where in Africa, women usually hold the fore. They are therefore mostly involved in the common practices that either influence the environment positively or negatively.

This group will ascertain the awareness of women towards environmental sustainability and how they can help improve the environment for the present and future generations.

1. How can we break down the issues of Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability for the average woman to understand its importance?
2. What roles can women play to improve the environment in their own little ways while finding other ways to educate other women?
3. How relevant are population issues to the sustainability of the environment and how can women help to control their effects?

GROUP FOUR (4) – Women’s Mental Health

Mental health is very crucial in the development of women. As the saying goes, “A sound mind lies in a healthy body”. It means that without a good mental health, it will be difficult for one to live up to her full potential. It is therefore prudent for us to pay a critical attention to women’s mental health in our quest to push the women empowerment agenda.

This group will do a critically assessment on the status of women’s mental health in Africa. Below are the terms of reference to work with:

1. What is the state of mental health in Africa?
2. How critical have we paid attention to women’s mental health?
3. What affects women’s mental health?
4. How has unstable mental state of women affected their development?
5. How can we improve women’s mental health?

GROUP FIVE (5) – Sexual Harassment at Workplace

Sexual Harassment at the workplace is a real dilemma for women to deal with. It appears afar off, yet very near to us, with a lot of women suffering in silence. The condescending factor that seem to make sexual harassment at the workplace to thrive, is the way and manner in which victims are made to feel responsible for their predicaments whenever they manage to speak out. Yet the more damning revelations of findings of sexual harassment issues at is that, most of such crimes are perpetrated by Superiors.

This group will describe ways through which women could be encouraged to speak out and have offenders apprehended and dealt with by the law.

The discussion will be guided by the following terms of reference:

1. How important is sexual harassment policy in empowering women against sexual harassment at the workplace?
2. What are the best platforms women could share their experiences of harassment to encourage others?
3. Are sanctions for sexual harassment at the workplace stern enough to deter others? How can they be made stiffer?
4. How can women defend themselves in unlikely events of sexual harassment before seeking help?

GROUP SIX (6) – CONFLICT MANAGEMENT, PEACE AND CONSENSUS BUILDING

Conflict management can be quite trickish considering that violence is possible. However, women have not shied away from participating in conflict management although the conditions have not been favourable. Their efforts usually go unnoticed mainly due to perceived gender roles which relegate women to the background. This group will discuss women’s involvement in conflict management and the practical ways in which more women could be introduced since they are the largest victims of escalated conflict.

Guiding questions:

• What does conflict management entail?
• How does the patriarchal nature of African societies hinder women’s participation in conflict management?
• Are there peculiar benefits to women’s involvement in consensus building?
• Protecting women and children’s rights in conflict management: how does it work?

GROUP SEVEN (7)- MATERNAL HEALTH

GROUP EIGHT (8)- FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION

STEP 5: PARALLEL/CAREER WORKSHOP SESSIONS SELECTION TRACK 

In this section, a list of tracks representing the various topics that would be discussed in the form of a career workshop during sessions is outlined and each applicant is expected to select at most, two tracks that they would want to join in.

The tracks include the following;

Track 1:        Politics/Leadership /Governance

Track 2:       Business and Commerce

Track 3:       Social Inclusion/Intervention Projects

Track 4:       Sexual Harassment and Teenage Pregnancy

Track 5:        Education and Training

Track 6:        Communication/Media

NB: It must be noted that, delegate may be assigned to a session track other than what she selects if deemed necessary by organisers. Delegate will however be notified ahead of time to prepare towards discussions/workshop.

STEP 6: SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONS

 This information is used to better understand delegates in order to make provisions for special needs. The aggregate information collected through this form will be kept private and confidential.

1. Marital Status– Please indicate your marital status i.e. whether you are married or single or divorced. The YAWC Network does not discriminate on the basis of marital status.
2. Religious Affiliation–Please indicate your religious affiliation, if any. You may choose from one of the major religions in the world on the list, or write in any other religion that you adhere to. YAWC Network does not discriminate on the basis of religious affiliation or any other affiliations.
3. Disability– If you have a disability, please indicate here. If you select “Yes”, you will be asked additional information that may be helpful for EGGP Team to accommodate any special needs you may have. YAWC Network does not discriminate on the basis of disability.
4. Other Leadership Courses– Please indicate if you previously participated in a leadership or women empowerment course or training or conference.
5. YAWC Network– Are you a member of the YAWC Network, If not, would you be interested in joining our network?
6. How did you learn about the Young African Women Congress?– Please indicate all the channels of communication from which you learned about us and this Congress.
7. Kindly provide the name and contact information (her email address and/or telephone number) of a person you would like to recommend the congress to.

STEP 7: SUBMIT

This is the final step of your registration. Before you can submit, you must read and accept the following two statements:

Consent

In order to participate in the Young African Women Congress, I understand that I must meet the minimum eligibility requirements for admission to the programme, that I must pay the required registration fees, that I must meet the qualifications standards for the specific group that I have chosen, that I must be a young woman within age 18 – 45, and that my admission to the programme is subject to the determination by the organisers. I have read, understood, and will comply with the terms and conditions of the congress. I hereby certify that I have completed this registration fully and accurately to the best of my knowledge. I understand that any falsification, omission, or concealment of material fact may subject me to being prevented from participating in the congress.

Commitment

I hereby acknowledge that as a participant in the Young African Women Congress 2022, I confirm that I will abide by the time commitment as outlined in the full 4 Day programme.

Once you have read and checked both statements indicating your agreement, and have completed the other six (6) steps of the registration, you can click the “Submit” button.

If you have not answered any required questions, those questions will be indicated and you will have the opportunity to complete those questions. An email reminder may be sent to applicants who have started but not yet completed their registration before the deadline expires.

Please be sure to review your responses for comprehensiveness, accuracy, spelling, grammar and clarity. Once you have submitted your registration, you will not be able to make any additional changes to it.

Please note that registration that have been started but not officially submitted by the deadline will not be considered.

All applicants will receive an email acknowledging receipt of their registration and information about when/how candidates will be notified.

Good luck to you and thank you for your interest to participate in the Young African Women Congress (YAWC) 2022 Annual Continental Convocation.