How We Work

Faithful to our mission of development and wellbeing, we make it a point of honor to place young women and girls at the heart of all our actions. Young women and girls being an integral part of the various interventions of Initiative Pananetugri pour le Bien-être de la Femme, our approach is centered on participation, collaboration and support.

Bottom-Up Approach

The Bottom-Up approach is one of the pillars of our work in the region. It consists of working from the grassroots and centering the voices of young women and girls in our interventions. We strongly believe that young women and girls understand, better than anyone else, the issues and challenges they face, and that with the right support, they can come up with innovative and sustainable solutions for transformational change in their communities. In this sense, our approach is to work with them to determine together the appropriate solutions for their needs and support them in this process.

Participatory approach

"Nothing for us, without us" is a perfect illustration of the participatory approach of Initiative Pananetugri pour le Bien-être de la Femme. Indeed, it is paramount for us to include young women and girls in all our actions. We are committed to ensuring that they are the actors of their own development and, as such, we include them at all levels of our work. Whether they are participants, beneficiaries or executors of the various initiatives we carry out, young women and girls are at the center of our actions. Through this approach, IPBF aims at instigating an approach to development that places young women and girls at the heart of the transformation of societies and change in mentalities. By integrating them in the implementation of our various projects, we also aim at being a space for learning and capacity building for young women and girls.

Mentoring

“You can’t be what you can’t see”

These words attributed to Marian Wright Edelman illustrate the very foundation of IPBF's mentoring program. Given the discouraging contexts in which young women and girls evolve, representation is of central importance in our work. Indeed, it is essential for us to make visible women success stories that exist in our different countries in order to inspire and motivate young women and girls to reach their full potential.

Therefore, the objective of the mentoring program is to foster exchange between young women and girls and women leaders in francophone West Africa so as to promote a system of intergenerational sharing between women and girls at different levels. This networking would also facilitate the integration of young women and girls into the professional field. We are aware of the impact that being able to identify with women leaders has on the development of girls’ self-confidence and leadership. Our hope is that this will help them project themselves into the future and participate fully in their own development and in the development of society.

Research

Our aspiration is that young women and girls in francophone West Africa are able to use research as a key tool in their advocacy for the advancement of their rights. Thus, building their capacities in research is a way for us to promote the implementation of relevant programs and targeted interventions for young women and girls for their holistic development.