CALD Celebrates the First Cohort of the AWE Mentorship Program in Thailand

“We stand together in commitment to our growth, our purpose, and our shared responsibility as women leaders.”

This pledge, made during the launch of the CALD Asian Women Education (AWE) Mentorship Program in Taipei, Taiwan on 8-10 August 2025, carried through until the program’s culmination in Bangkok, Thailand on 27-31 October 2025. Supported by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation Southeast and East Asia (FNF SEEA), the inaugural mentorship program successfully combined in-person events that nurtured sisterhood and strengthened regional networks with online regional sessions that equipped participants with practical tools and technical skills, particularly in an era increasingly shaped by emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI). Honoring the growth and journeys of these women, its culmination in Bangkok reflects on their strengthened personal and political capacities and continued fight for more inclusive, accountable, and responsive systems.

The culminating event opened on 27 October with a welcome dinner for mentees, leadership coaches, mentors, and partners who had traveled from across the globe. The program officially began the following day, 28 October, with opening remarks from the CALD Women Caucus Chairperson, Jaslyn Go, who also served as one of the mentors of the program. She emphasized the program’s commitment to building a support network among women leaders echoing the group pledge of creating a space to recognize that leadership is not a solo journey but one built on community and trust. “This mentorship is far more than just training,” she said. “It is a network of women lifting each other up… a living, breathing promise that you will always have someone to turn to for advice, a listening ear, and an honest answer.” A mental health session led by California-based licensed clinical psychologist followed, guiding participants through meditation and discussions on self-awareness and acknowledging personal struggles. Leadership coaches Anna Wangen, Trinity Pham, and Ingrid Yeh then facilitated in-depth interactive sessions designed to translate lessons from the online regional sessions into practical applications. After lunch, leadership coach Jacque Manabat delivered her session, which was then followed by a structured consultation hour where mentees engaged in one-on-one conversations with the mentor and the leadership coaches, seeking advice on their individual projects and professional paths beyond the program. These conversations fueled the Power Hour session where mentees refined their individual projects as they aligned themselves with their own leadership journeys.

The second day, 29 October, featured the culmination program’s highlight – individual project presentations from all the mentees before their peers, mentors, leadership coaches, and the invited reactors, Thekla Ebbert of FNF SEEA and Egan Hwan of Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), who shares an extensive work in humanitarian and international development sector. Each participant outlined a vision close to her heart, detailing strategies and support needed to bring her goals to life. The mentees presented initiatives aimed at amplifying women’s voices, ranging from elevating young women, young indigenous women, senior citizens, and mothers to advancing gender diversity and development, women’s rights, and political participation. One of the mentees and an incumbent Councilor from the Philippines, Lucille “Pangga” Bacay, encapsulated the spirit of the program when she shared: “That’s why I want to pass on the torch. Because I believe that leadership is not owned. It is entrusted. I wish to pass on this trust to the next generation of women who we lead with heart. To serve with humility and continue what we began and build where every woman shines with her own light and yet brighter together.” 

The inspiring presentations were followed by a brief appreciation activity where leadership coaches and Program Lead Chelse Caballero of the CALD Secretariat offered heartfelt messages honoring the people, the program, and the three-month mentorship journey. To remember the pivotal relationships built, every person in the room wrote letters to themselves on postcards, serving as personal reminders of their values, visions, and commitments as leaders. Afterward, the group gathered for a batch photo, capturing the culmination of months of learning, collaboration, and the community they had built across borders and backgrounds, which they will carry beyond the program. As the culmination program started with a mental health talk recognizing that leadership begins with self-awareness, the closing of an exclusive program happened through a wellness activity emphasizing self-care and well-being as essential pillars of sustainable leadership. That evening, the mentees joined the CALD delegation at the welcome dinner for its 15th General Assembly and 51st Executive Committee Meeting, closing the day on a celebratory note befitting the milestone they had reached together.

On 30 October, the group attended keynote addresses and panel discussions on AI, democracy, and inequality, exploring how these issues intersect and shape political participation. The program concluded later that day with a formal AWE Mentorship Program recognition ceremony, where mentees were honored with certificates and tokens of appreciation, celebrating their growth, leadership, and sisterhood throughout the inaugural mentorship cycle.

The successful completion of the first batch of CALD AWE Mentorship Program reaffirms the initiative’s vision of fostering a strong and supportive sisterhood among emerging women leaders. Reflecting on the experience, leadership coach and ALDE Party Digital Communications Manager, Anna Wangen, highlighted the universal challenges and hopes shared by women in political spaces. “Although the culture and the context are different, there’s so much that we all have in common as women in politics and in political life,” she said. “There are many of the same fears, the same challenges, but also the same hope in wanting to participate, wanting to get more pro-democratic women around the table.”

The culmination of the program’s inaugural batch marks a significant step toward expanding women’s political participation across Asia and beyond with efficiency, accountability, and purpose, serving as a firm proof that when women lead together, they do more than break barriers; they build pathways for others to follow.

Categorised in: News, News Article, Uncategorized

This post was written by CALD