Ozheni AVETISYAN, Armenia
PROJECT: Women Leadership Club

Driven by the power of feminism, civic engagement, and solidarity, Ozheni is working towards empowering young women in Armenia! She is a founder of the Women Leadership Club – a network established during the fellowship action. In her capacity as the regional project manager for the local non-governmental organization Girls of Armenia Leadership Soccer (GOALS), she supported and empowered young women to become leaders through sports. Previously, she worked as a project manager at the civil society organization Society Without Violence and covered the peacebuilding projects, more precisely, the women’s role in the peacebuilding process.

Ozheni holds a Bachelor’s degree in Linguistics and Cross-Cultural Communication from Yerevan State University (Armenia). She also attended a 4-week course on Business Administration and Management at the Wake Forest University (USA).

“I believe in making the world a better place by educating young women to love themselves, respect their rights, and believe in their power! This fellowship was a unique chance to discover my leadership potential and apply it to the work. Thus, the action boosted my confidence and self-esteem. It helped me to become a young woman with leadership aspirations and tangible results on the local level. Given that, I was one of the first women who dared to establish women leadership clubs and opposed the destructive stereotypes about female roles in society.” – Ozheni AVETISYAN

Women Leadership Club

The project aimed to identify and empower young women in the Armavir Region (Armenia) and establish a network of young female leaders – Women Leadership Club. To build the capacity of the young women, and change the social stereotypes in the local community, Ozheni held a number of activities. First of all, she mobilized 24 young women from the local community and organized team-building training. Then, she conducted master-classes on human rights and leadership to raise awareness of the attendees in the above issues. Finally, she hosted a movie screening event followed by a public discussion on the role of the strong and independent women, their stories, impact and reflection. To make the voice of the young Armavir women heard throughout Armenia, she participated in the panel discussion in Yerevan attended by the representatives of more than 12 leading non-governmental organizations. In addition, she published a guideline on how to run women’s leadership clubs and distributed among the interested parties.

The action established the Women Leadership Club –  an open and sustainable network of young women leaders who are ambitious and endeavor to enhance their skills.  The club is active up to date and contributes to fostering young women’s empowerment across the country.  Through the six interactive training, movie screening events and discussions, the project educated young women in human rights and increased their leadership skills.  As a result, Ozheni identified and empowered 24 young women leaders from the Armavir region. The guidelines published within the project served as an instrument to inform a broader public on the technical and strategic issues of the CSO management. Finally, the project positively affected the local clichés about female roles and built confidence in the young women to take ownership of their lives, goals, and aspirations.

Fellowship Programs 2018
Country Armenia
Areas of Interest Awareness raising
Capacity development
Topics Youth empowerment
Project duration June 2018 - October 2018