BY BEN BILUA
Gizo
GIZO Market Vendors Association has successfully completed a two-day leadership training facilitated by the UN-Women Market for Change (M4C) Programme.
More than 40 women participants walked away smiling after receiving their certificates at the end of the training, marking another milestone in efforts to empower women market vendors in Western Province.
In an interview with Island Sun, Principal Officer of the Women Development Division of Western Province, Lisi Wong acknowledged the continued support of the UNW-M4C project towards women in the province.
She thanked the UNW-M4C Peacebuilding Project for delivering the leadership training in Gizo, Munda and Seghe.
Mrs Wong said the M4C programme has made a significant impact in Western Province through;
-support for the establishment of Market Vendors Associations in Gizo, Munda and Seghe
-development of constitutions for the associations
-various trainings in economic empowerment, disaster management, food safety and first aid
She said the recent leadership training adds to the growing list of achievements of the M4C project in the province.
According to Wong, the training will equip participants with the skills and knowledge needed to effectively address issues among market vendors.
“I’m encouraged to see active participation in this training. I hope the participants are walking away with the necessary knowledge and skills that will help them in the future,” she said.
M4C Programme Coordinator, Alice Iwebu Kale, said the training aims to bring out the leadership potential within each participant to better manage and mitigate issues that arise in their workplaces.
She explained that participants were introduced to four profiles of transformational leadership.
“We discussed the personal profile, which focuses on individual personalities. The social profile looks at how individuals are brought up in society, their environment and culture. Another is the professional profile, which considers individual professions, and finally the wisdom and inner capacity that individuals inherit,” Mrs Kale said.
She added that emotional intelligence was also a key component of the training.
“We also dived into emotional intelligence, understanding that these market vendors are dealing with people or other vendors. Emotional intelligence plays an important role in mediating issues and finding practical solutions,” she said.
Kale said in simple terms, transformational leadership and emotional intelligence are about knowing oneself and understanding one’s inner capabilities to effectively tackle challenges.
She acknowledges the Gizo Market Vendors Association and the Western Provincial Government for their strong support towards the M4C programmes and activities.
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