First FIELD Expedition Underway!
This week, Sandy and I (Karen) are taking the FIELD Collaborative to Cambodia! Ancient, exotic, youthful, welcoming – this is a nation full of promise. There are many NGO and UN agencies working here, and several have come together to collaborate under the umbrella of Chab Dai, Cambodia (http://chabdai.org/cambodiaprojects.html). Chab Dai means joining hands in Khmer, and in the 10 years since its inception, has grown to 53 organizations focused on a common goal: end human trafficking and exploitation. Each organization is focused on a different but complementary aspect of helping girls, boys and women who have been caught in this web of injustice and evil.
A mix of men and women are providing leadership to these organizations. Traditionally, Cambodian women were not encouraged to work outside the home. This has been changing over the past few decades, but women still struggle against the bias of ingrained cultural norms that favor male leadership styles. In the bustling, often chaotic capital of Phnom Penh, we are visiting several NGO’s to gain insight into the work they are doing and meet with those who are bringing change to the gender imbalance here. We have met wonderful, courageous women leaders who work in project management, operations, finance, education, legal advocacy, social work and research. Some have even started their own agencies to fill in gaps that existed in reaching and helping women and children in Cambodia.
Based on our previous interactions with a small core of women from various agencies and our Learning Needs Resource Assessment (based on Jane Vella’s excellent process ), we have designed a unique, interactive leadership development workshop exclusively for women. From February 9-11, we will gather with 15 women leaders to explore what it looks like to be a woman in a position of leadership in Cambodia today. Stay tuned for our update and report-back in the next blog post!
Note: The post was written by Karen Petersen, Vice President – Global Learning and posted from Cambodia. A link to the Jane Vella process is available if you are interested request it in the comment section. Thanks!
The FIELD Collaborative 