Community Engagement and Mentor Quality

When:
Thursday, September 12, 2019
10:00 am – 11:00 am ET

Click here to register.

This webinar will introduce two forthcoming resources to help implementers address community engagement and mentor management within group based programming for girls. As community-based group programs (often known as “safe spaces”) expand for adolescent girls and—increasingly—boys, the growing evidence base indicates that these aspects rarely get the attention they merit, threatening the success of some programs.

When community-based group programs address sensitive issues like sexuality and gender inequality, community members’ roles, and girls’ access to key resources, taking steps to understand community features may increase the likelihood of program impact.  The Population Council’s Understanding the Role of Communities in Programming for Adolescent Girls: More Than a Backdrop provides guidance on how and why to gather and use information about girls and their communities.

Within communities, many girls’ group programs use young women as mentors to facilitate learning and skills-building sessions. Mentors are effectively the face of the program in communities, and program success relies on their performance. Making the Most of Mentors: A Practical Toolkit for Adolescent Programmingcompiles tools for mentor recruitment, training, and supervision from a range of Population Council programs.