Join us to welcome four stellar young women’s rights activists to Ottawa for the 2017 Sister-to-Sister Mentorship Program! Alia Soliman (Egypt), Atong Amos Agook (South Sudan), Clara Natanine (Nunavut) and Yah Parwon (Liberia) will arrive in Ottawa on October 29 to kick off Sister-to-Sister 2017—a six-week advocacy and communications training program for young women activists.
Clara, Alia, Atong Amos and Yah are all actively engaged at the grassroots level to promote women’s rights and peace. Throughout the Sister-to-Sister Mentorship Program they will work alongside the Nobel Women team, and also in partnership the Coady International Institute this year, to bring their advocacy from the local and national level to the international level. Over the course of six weeks they will build their capacity as women activists by participating in a series of intensive trainings, learning from seasoned women’s rights activists and connecting with local young women leaders.
The Sister-to-Sister Mentorship Program began in 2012 in response to needs identified by partner organizations for increased advocacy training and hands-on skills building for young women’s rights activists within an international setting. Young women activists from Palestine, Syria, Sudan, South Sudan, Mexico, Liberia, Iran, Guatemala, Honduras, Colombia and Burma and have all participated in the program and returned to their countries as stronger activists.
Follow along with Yah, Clara, Atong and Alia on the 2017 Sister-to-Sister blog, and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @nobelwomen #S2S
Meet the 2017 Sister-to-Sister Participants
Alia Soliman, Egypt
Alia Soliman is the Head of Marketing and Communications for HarrassMap, an organization that is engaging Egyptian society to create an environment that does not tolerate sexual harassment. Alia is passionate about challenging misconceptions and stereotypes about culture and religion and their intersection with the status of women in Egypt — she is working to create space for women and girls in Egypt to make choices about their lives, bodies and futures. In her role with HarrassMap, Alia develops and delivers training for media professionals in a nuanced and fact-based manner. She has worked as a journalist and is currently a Masters student in Gender and Development at Cairo University.
Atong Amos Agook Juac, South Sudan
Atong Amos Agook is the Executive Director of the Aliab Rural Development Agency (ARUDA) based in Juba, South Sudan. In addition to providing leadership to the organization, Atong has designed various programs and workshops to provide training in trauma counseling, entrepreneurial skills, advocacy, awareness raising of the issues related to gender-based violence for women in communities and for those who have been internally displaced. Atong is motivated to share the story of South Sudan, and the reality that hundreds of thousands of South Sudanese who only four years ago were relatively unscathed by the conflict, are now forcibly displaced. She wants to be a voice for a generation of women who have been raised amid violence and fear and to provide support as they face the challenges that lie ahead.
Clara Natanine, Nunavut
Clara Natanine is joining us from Clyde River, Nunavut, located 450km north of the Arctic Circle with a population of 1000 people. Clara was part of Greenpeace’s campaign to support the legal fight to stop seismic blasting along the shores of her community. Abundant marine wildlife thrives in these waters and supports the community’s sustainable way of life including their ability to eat local, healthy, and affordable food. The campaign to ban seismic blasting was successful with a win on the Supreme Court ruling in July 2017. As a young Inuk woman, Clara is passionate about standing up for the rights of her people and keeping her traditions alive. She is a leader in her community and is motivated to make positive changes in the world.
Yah Parwon, Liberia
Yah Parwon is a feminist and a women’s rights advocate. She serves as the Advocacy Officer with medica Liberia (mL), a women’s rights organization that provides psychosocial, health and legal services for survivors of post conflict sexual gender-based violence. Yah focuses on advocacy as a tool to engage national and local leaders to influence the development and implementation of women’s rights laws and policies. Yah believes and commits to ensuring that women’s voices are no longer buried by patriarchy. She is passionate about giving adolescent girls the opportunity to live a healthy and self-determined life – she is the co-founder of a non-profit community based initiative (The Rising Youth Mentorship Initiative) that provides access to sexual reproductive health information to girls.
LEARN MORE
Head over to the Sister-to-Sister archives to meet participants from 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016