July 6-12th, the Stepanavan Youth Center NGOin cooperation with Peace Corps Volunteers organized GLOW (Girls Leading OurWorld Leadership) Summer School for young Armenian girls. Stepanavan Youth Center was established in 2001 and has been conducting youth programs on local, national and international levels. 44 girls and 4 junior counselors (selected from GLOW 2010 and 2009 alumnae) from grades 8 through 11 were selected out of over 350 applications received, representing 9 Marzes and Yerevan. The summer school took place in Stepanavan at Lori Rest House with the curriculum consisting of 7 days of interactive training on leadership, health, career planning, gender, human rights, environment and personal discovery.
The main goals of the summer school included:
Educate girls about positive options for their future in order to provide them with a well-rounded view of different women’s roles in society
Enable camp participants to build their leadership skills and self-esteem through group activities
Discuss key women’s health issues that are not typically covered in the Armenian school systems and providing a safe environment to ask health related questions
Introduce engaging learning methods to encourage creative thinking and expression
Create a network between the camp participants, counselors, and guest speakers
Sessions were taught by 4 Armenian counselors and 5 American Peace Corps Volunteers. The whole camp is run in “home groups”, giving the camp participants a chance to develop close relationships within their group, learn vital skills in teambuilding, and create a support network that will hopefully extend beyond the camp into the rest of their lives.
Sponsors include American Councils through FLEX Alumni grant, Caritas Salzburg, OSCE and individual donations through US Peace Corps through Partnership Program and Global Giving.
