The Savannah Women Integrated Development Agency (SWIDA) Ghana has held its first-ever Female Leadership and Networking Conference with the aim to empower young girls nationwide. It was designed to mentor participants to step into leadership roles and enable them to become change leaders in their respective fields. The four-day event, held in Tamale, was funded by Plan International Ghana and Global Affairs Canada. It was on the theme: 'Growing into a Bigger and a Better You'. Participants were young girls from Junior High, Senior High and tertiary institutions across the country, who are products of SWIDA's Females Leadership and Mentorship Academy and the Plan International Ghana's She Leads project. Various resource persons presented on topics, including leadership, public speaking and advocacy, digital literacy and self-management. Hajia Alima Sagito-Saeed, Executive Director of SWIDA Ghana, speaking at the conference, said it sought to provide a platform for girls to connect, share knowledge and bu ild relationships that would foster their leadership skills and passion for achieving their goals. She said at the end of the conference participants were expected to develop a growth mindset, adding they would learn that effective leadership involved not only progressing but also supporting and guiding others along the way. She said, 'We want them to return with the understanding that they have supporters, who believe in their potential and the organisations' commitment to listening, supporting and encouraging them to succeed.' Mrs Janet Sunkwa-Mills, Chairperson, Executive Committee of Executive Women Network, who was the guest speaker at the event, said young girls must add value to themselves as brands so that they could become power brands. She said women birthed and nurtured leaders, hence it was an obligation for them to grow themselves. She said, 'We have to be salient, on top of mind, because without growing ourselves, we cannot grow the generations to come.' Mrs Sunkwa-Mills urged participants to love themselves and appreciate that they were worthy of investments in growing into a bigger and better version of themselves. Madam Abena Anim-Adjei, Youth Engagement Facilitator at Plan International Ghana, said as a humanitarian organisation that advanced children's rights and promoted gender equality, Plan International Ghana partnered with SWIDA to organise the conference through the Women's Voice and Leadership Project. She noted that while females frequently encountered socio-cultural barriers to leadership, proper mentoring and guidance could help them aspire to become more effective leaders. She called on other civil society organisations working towards the leadership of females and young women to continue to push for the passage of the Affirmative Action Bill to enable more female representation in the decision-making scheme in the country. Source: Ghana News Agency