I attended a Women, Peace and Security symposium in early February of this year. I was there to outline what is missing in how people (civil society, academics, and the armed forces) implement WPS initiatives. I’ll share what I said in the weeks to come.
Today, I wanted to share one of the other subjects discussed:
How do we deal with a crisis?
Remembering What We’ve Forgotten
At the event, a colleague of mine reminded me that what happened to USAID (its shutdown by the American government) happened to the Canadian equivalent (sort of) with its dissolution and reassignment of some staff to a combo department of aid and foreign affairs.
All those years ago, Canadian women’s civil society had been planning for it.
They were also expecting Federal funding to be drastically reduced for development and humanitarian aid programs.
But they had a plan! A physical document! I remember being at some of these meetings over 10 to 15 years ago!
It made me wonder.
- What did we implement?
- What worked?
- What didn’t?
- What didn’t we implement?
- Why?
- What mistakes do we keep making?
- What did we learn?
- How can we leverage what we’ve learned?
Pausing and Reflecting Before Acting
We have reasons to hope.
We’ve faced crises like this before.
There are lessons women have learned that we don’t have to learn again.
We can be more strategic in how we apply our valuable energy by taking the time to pause and practice curiosity.
By asking and then responding to these questions, we can use the answers to develop a clear strategic plan to make an impactful difference.
How do you develop a strategy for action?
Use these posts to help you:
How to Use Anger Constructively
A nod of respect from me to you.
You are taking the time and investing your energy in something worthwhile:
To be empowered to make a difference.
Clarity-in-Crisis – Coaching Session
This session is intended to help you develop clarity in crisis. Sign up for my 50% off career coaching session. This session is only for people who have not paid for my services before. Register here.