Community leaders representing the districts of Vaimauga 4 and Aiga i le Tai participated in the Village Leadership Development Initiative program last week.

The training participants totaled 24 and comprised both titled and untitled men and women who attended the training from September 8-11 at the Hotel Elisa conference room.

According to a media release, the “Village Leadership Development Initiative” methodology further strengthens the leadership of current leaders and enables new leaders to emerge. 

Most importantly, the participants remain committed to transforming themselves first before transforming society.

The approach is based on key distinctions, skills, and tools to develop individuals, produce new insights and generate a new understanding of the world. It also facilitates shifting of perspectives, stimulates deep reflection and facilitates conversations that lead to changes in attitudes and behaviour, in order to support gender equality and promote women in leadership in Samoa.

The participants were also expected to formulate ‘breakthrough initiatives’ as part of their take away from the training with the support of the Women in Leadership in Samoa [W.I.L.S.] Project and Trainer.

This enabled the participants to take action to solve immediate, visible problems and generate measurable results; which then enables them to shift immediate systems that perpetuate the problems – thereby making the results sustainable.

These breakthrough initiatives were based on the challenges they have within their villages or districts and the training facilitated a transformational approach for the villages to resolve their issues in an open and transformative way.

The training was facilitated by Maulolo Leaula Tavita Amosa, a consultant from Fatuaiupu Consults and was organised by the W.I.L.S. It is a three-year project implemented by the United Nations Development Programme and UN Women with funding from the Australian government in partnership with the Government of Samoa.

The 6th Training of Trainers was also convened and attended by representatives from the villages of Apia, Aai o Fiti, Alamagoto, Tufuiopa and Lalovi Mulifanua. 

The training exposed them to various leadership tools to enable transformative changes led by community leaders for the benefit of their communities.