Mentoring Walk

When alumnae of our programs return to their home communities, they often create mentoring programs inspired by their experiences abroad. Mentoring Walks are one example of alumnae-driven initiatives to promote women’s leadership by forming networks of support.

The Mentoring Walk concept originated with founder and former CEO of Oxygen Media, Geraldine Laybourne. A featured speaker for our annual mentoring program, the FORTUNE/U.S. State Department Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership, she introduced the idea of women sharing experiences and advice while on a morning walk — a habit she had taken up while living in New York City.

Nigerian non-profit leader and Vital Voices alumna, Lucy Kanu, highlighted this idea among participants in our programs, who have gone on to organize Mentoring Walks around the world since 2008. Organized as a series of localized community events, the Mentoring Walk takes place annually in the fall — convening established women leaders and rising women professionals to walk together in their communities. Each walk seeks to initiate mentoring partnerships and foster the leadership potential of aspiring women professionals.

To date, Mentoring Walks have reached thousands of women across four continents.

In 2010, Mentoring Walks took place in 11 communities across 9 countries, including Argentina, Ecuador, Egypt, Ghana, Indonesia, Nigeria, Serbia, Swaziland and Uganda.

View a slideshow of the 2010 Mentoring Walks.

Read a firsthand account of this year's Mentoring Walk in Uganda and the inaugural walk in Swaziland on our blog.

Fan Mentoring Walk on Facebook.

Read the 2010 Mentoring Walk press release PDF.

Download the 2010 Mentoring Walk overview PDF.

Download the the Mentoring Walks Fact Sheet PDF.

To learn more, e-mail mentoringwalk@vitalvoices.org.