Page 5 - WePower ANNUAL REPORT 2020
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WePower’s SENIOR MANAGEMENT PROGRAM strengthens practical management tools and skills for senior
women managers. In November we opened a 16-session program for women in mid and upper management in
the business and public sectors in southern Israel. Programming includes meetings with members of parliament,
discussions with senior managers, excursions, networking and more and is held together with the Ben Gurion
University and with the Gev Yam Industrial park.
WOMEN'S FORUMS IN LOCAL AUTHORITY COUNCILS offer existing
Women’s Forums in local authorities a practical work format to impart
knowledge on gender, feminism and a gender-equal authority. Now in its
second year, the Women’s Forum program opened in Pardes Hanna-Karkur
and Binyamina. As part of its investment in promoting women’s participation
in the political sphere, we oversaw these forums in order to instill a gender-
sensitive perspective in the work of the local council and to promote the
development of a gender-sensitive workplan. Our facilitator, Ms Nirit Afek-
Koptsh, conveyed relevant knowledge and motivated the groups to action.
The forum mapped the needs of women in the area and established action
groups responsible for implementing the program and will ultimately operate
independently.
An additional new and exciting initiative that began in 2020 is our work with the Community Administrations in
Jerusalem - quasi-urban municipal corporations that are a complementary municipal tool for the management
of the city and for jointly tackling its challenges. In five of the Administrations, democratic elections for senior
management positions - not unlike those in the regional councils - will be held in December, and the Jerusalem
municipality is interested in seeing more women run. As a result, WePower was invited to mentor thirty
candidates prior to the election and to provide them with strategic planning and with the skills and knowhow to
run and to win.
To see just some of the events held we invite you to go to: https://youtu.be/U2SV2vjCrCw (Sept. 24th) and
https://youtu.be/NF9_Z3PnxF0 (Oct. 22nd).
ACTIONS IN RESPONSE TO COVID-19 RELATED SHUTDOWNS
During March and April, Israel was on lockdown and no in-person activities took place. Nevertheless, during this
period and in spite of the unforeseen circumstances, we made every effort to fulfill our goals in innovative ways
so that we could support groups and individuals, convey knowledge and know-how about municipal systems,
provide tools, support elected women, promote civic activism and raise gender awareness. In response to needs
identified among our target groups, we created a range of alternative activities that were offered online
including:
WePower’s new Digital Magazine brought together issues that concern women in the public sphere and
highlighted WePower’s activities and initiatives. The magazine includes articles discussing crisis management,
initiatives for at-risk populations, municipalities in time of emergency, challenges for small businesses and
many more topics.
To access April’s Digital Magazine (Hebrew) please go to https://online.flipbuilder.com/tbfg/wcnh/
Online Lecture Series: our seven online Zoom lectures – on a range of topics - had a substantial number of
viewers during March and April. To listen to some of our interviews with women leaders online (in Hebrew):
Dr. Galit Shaul - Head of the Emek Hefer Regional Council - https://youtu.be/Gl1ilHOGDgI
Hamutal Gouri - Feminist Activist, The Cyberstein System, Social Change Storyteller -
https://youtu.be/OdYkjI3Dxxw