Burkina Faso/Female leadership: The Burkinabe Coalition for Women's Rights trains some thirty girls in public speaking

The Coalition burkinabè pour les droits de la femme (CBDF), with the financial support of its partner INMD, has decided to equip some thirty young girls in personal development, public speaking and communication techniques. The training was held in Bobo-Dioulasso, following stages in Koudougou and Manga.

The Coalition burkinabè pour les droits de la femme (CBDF) is a group of 18 associations with a wide range of skills, all committed to gender equality. It is dedicated to the defense and promotion of women's rights, and implements several projects and programs in collaboration with member organizations and partners.

One of CBDF's current objectives is to strengthen, support and promote the leadership of young girl leaders, enabling them to acquire the necessary political rudiments to achieve their common goal of being part of decision-making bodies to improve their participation.

It is to meet this objective that the CBDF has set up nurseries for young female leaders to enhance their participation in politics. The main aim of this training workshop is to develop their communication and public speaking skills, in order to improve the ability of young female leaders to express themselves clearly and effectively in front of an audience.

According to CBDF project manager Hawa Adja Usse/Sobgo, public speaking is the art of convincing and moving a crowd. She believes that this training will enable these young female leaders to express themselves easily in public, either to defend the cause of a moral entity or their own causes. Once trained, they will be serene and confident in front of a crowd. "These young women leaders are a nursery; the CDBF intends to prepare the next generation and the women leaders to come", she said.

A definite impact on young girls' lives

For Moussa Zerbo, a university lecturer and trainer, citizens need to be equipped with communication skills, as we live in a world of communication. "This training will focus on self-confidence, cultivating personal leadership, mastering the spoken word when it comes to expressing oneself in front of an audience without stage fright or fear of one's opinions", he explained. He reassured us that the training will have a definite impact on the lives of these young girls, whether in associations or in the workplace.

According to Yacouba Bayala, representative of INMD, the gender issue has always been very important to his organization, hence the support for this initiative to train young female leaders. "At INMD, we see young girls as nurseries or as future leaders. So it's very important for us to support this initiative", he stressed.

For him, this training enables young girls to find strategies and ways of communicating about all the activities they undertake. Tomorrow, the coalition hopes to see these young girls put into practice what they have learned during the training.

On behalf of the participants, Djamila Ouédraogo, President of the Association pour l'épanouissement de la jeune fille, expressed her appreciation for the training session. For her, to be a good leader, you need to know how to speak in public, speak easily and know how to convince your audience.
In all, the CDBF has trained 90 young female leaders in Burkina Faso.

Source: lefaso.net/