I am Radwa Zayan, a young woman participating in Egypt’s Young Women Reference Group for the YW4A Initiative.
In 2022, my journey with the programme began as a trainee in the “RiseUp!” Leadership Training, that was being conducted through the Ibrahimia Media Center (IMC). I learned much about safe spaces and their application during the training and discovered myself. My leadership skills also developed, making me a better person. The programme helped me achieve selfempowerment. In 2023, I joined the training team for the second track, RiseUp! I participated in leadership training and reformulated and developed the methodology to suit the modifications and developments we faced during the training based on the recommendations and visions of the girls.
In 2023, I joined the advocacy team, which was a qualitative leap in my field of work, as I work as a lecturer at the university and a lawyer. This was during the “50/50 Pathway for Tomorrow” Political Participation Camp, which immensely helped me learn some laws that I was not aware of, especially those related to harassment, blackmail, violence in general, and violence against women in particular. As young women, we discussed and critiqued these laws and worked to develop recommendations and amendments that reflect our opinions.
In the same year, I was nominated to attend the 2023 Inter-religious Convention in Johannesburg, South Africa, which immensely helped me to open up to different cultures and discuss our situations as young women in various countries, in addition to attending many online seminars and training sessions that work to enhance my leadership skills significantly.
In 2024, I was chosen to be part of the Young Women Reference Group for the Initiative, which enhanced my skills and helped me raise my moral and professional capabilities and constantly work on self-development, in addition to attending a training Camp (Training for Trainer on Political Participation), through which my colleagues and I participated in reviewing the guide “Promoting the Political Participation of Young Women in Egypt,” which was later published.
This also helped me discover a new experience and apply what I learned by conducting training on political participation. I took two workshops entitled “Political Participation of Young Women at the National Level” and a 3-day camp to promote youth political participation in cooperation with a training company. This training helped me transfer knowledge to many young people and improve their leadership skills to become future leaders.
I have taken a big step in my career by becoming a university lecturer in Law at The Canadian International College in Cairo. With each new role, I hope to continue inspiring and empowering others on their own journeys.
