On 22 February 2023, our signature programme, the WIN Leadership Accelerator, opened a new chapter in the Africa region.
Since 2010, the intensive nine-month career and leadership programme for journalists and editors working in Africa, the Arab Region and Southeast Asia has impacted more than 1,800 women. And it has recorded impressive results.
Two in three women who have gone through it have been promoted within six months of completing the programme. On average, 95% of participants have experienced phenomenal change at a personal and career level.
In looking to scale up this impact, we have launched the Advanced Leadership Accelerator. The programme falls in line with our efforts to increase gender balance in news content, boost the stability of media organisations, and ensure women media professionals stay in the industry and excel in their careers.
“We are excited to welcome the pioneer cohort to the intensive six-month Advanced Leadership Accelerator programme. We will be working with 72 women from our 48 WIN Africa Advisory partners,” said Jane Godia, the WIN Deputy Executive Director and Director for Africa, during the launch held online.
The programme rolls out in eight countries: Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The Advanced Leadership Accelerator will combine media management capacity building and executive coaching to help women media leaders develop a detailed career roadmap, professional network and gain the benefits of peer mentoring.
“The programme will create a cohort of media leaders with the skills, strategies and support networks to advance their professional careers, as well as lead and transform their media organisations,” said Caroline Phiri-Lubwika, the WIN Accelerator Manager.
Speaking during the online launch, our Africa Advisory partners made it clear that they are going into this new phase with as much confidence in the transformational impact of the programme as we are.
Pamella Sittoni, the Executive Editor of the Daily Nation in Kenya and a member of the WIN Steering Committee, said: “I am very sure that in creating this course, WIN took cognisance of the inadequacies and struggles of those of us who have come before you. (The programme) will give you the competencies you require for senior management roles. Please take this course seriously because it is what will set you apart from your colleagues.”
Pikirayi Deketeke, the Group CEO at Zimpapers in Zimbabwe, underscored these sentiments, saying: “The WIN Leadership Accelerator has lived up to its name – it has accelerated the career growth of the women journalists who have gone through the programme. We are proud of their achievements and will continue to support WIN’s efforts to give women journalists the courage to excel in all areas of management.”
The Advanced Leadership Accelerator programme includes the following modules:
1. Finance for Non-Finance Managers and Leaders
2. Emotional Intelligence and Personal Leadership
3. Strategic Management in the News Media Organisation
5. Digital A, B, C & D
6. Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity (GEDI)
7. How to Manage and Prevent Sexual Harassment in the Newsroom as a Manager
Meet the coaches and trainers:
Tamala Chirwa
Tamala is the WIN Director for People & Performance and the Lead Coach. She is an expert in coach training, mentoring, leadership and emotional intelligence training. She has a solid track record in designing and delivering leadership development programmes.
Mona Magdy
Mona is the WIN Senior Manager for Gender Balance & Research, Arab Region. She leads WIN’s Gender Balance training and tracking, and is also the Arab Region lead for research initiatives. She is an associate professor at the Faculty of Mass Communication, Cairo University, where she teaches public opinion, digital media production, mass media, research methodology and media literacy.
Vincent Kahiya
Vincent is a member of the WIN Steering Committee and the WIN Advisory Lead Trainer. He is a communications expert with more than 25 years of practice managing newsrooms and covering reporting, editing, public relations and public information management. He is also the chief operations officer at the corporate communications firm, VPCG.
Myra Abdallah
Myra is the WIN Senior Manager, Communications, GEDI and Digital Safety. She is a trainer, consultant and expert in gender and media with more than 15 years of experience. She is on the boards of the Arab Foundation for Freedoms and Equality, Online Harassment Advisory and International Women’s Media Foundation.
Dr. Joyce Bazira
Joyce is an accredited coach and communications expert, media trainer and mentor with more than 20 years of experience. She is also a lecturer on media ethics, conflict communication, corporate communication and news writing.
Sandra Agyemang
Sandra is an accredited coach. She is the Executive Director at the Institute of Strategy Execution and Leadership. She has years of experience as a senior trader, and head of consultancy for investment and asset management. She is a certified investment advisor.
Kwamboka Oyaro
Kwamboka is an accredited coach, journalist, editor, lecturer and trainer. She has more than 20 years of professional experience in communication and sits on the committees of various media agencies in Kenya.
Solange Ayanone
Solange is an accredited coach and seasoned journalist with 28 years of experience. She is a trainer with the International Women’s Media Foundation and the owner of Afri-Media Ltd, a media, communications and events management company.
Marie Ange Mukaneza
Marie Ange is an accredited coach, journalist and communicator. She has worked with WIN programmes and conducted several media trainings.
Joan Mugenzi
Joan is an accredited coach and the founding president of the International Coaching Federation Uganda Chapter. She has been a motivational coaching expert for eight years and runs Imagine Me Africa, a company that provides coaching and motivational training. She has worked with executive leaders across nearly 30 countries.
