Our work is rooted in a shared history of investing in leadership development, guided by a belief that strong women leaders are vital to healthy, vibrant communities and core to creating economic growth.
We take an innovative, immersive approach to mentoring in regions around the world; offering in-person exchanges, business acumen and skills training, networking and personal development workshops.
See Global Ambassadors >> and Mentees >>
See How We Work >>
See Participant Selection Criteria >>
We have implemented programs on six continents across the globe, expanding our network and deepening our impact as we go. Click on a city on the map to learn more.
The Global Ambassadors Program launch in Haiti coincided with a working session of 100 Haitian women activists, policymakers, healthcare workers and educators, convened to finalize the first ever National Women’s Platform for Haiti. Our five Global Ambassadors shared expertise on communications, outreach and advocacy — critical skills for enlisting the support of the community for a Platform that calls for greater representation of women in Haiti’s reconstruction and development efforts.
View the gallery and video playlist.
Read the blog.
The Global Ambassadors Program in Charlotte, North Carolina, May 8-12 addressed the ongoing needs and challenges facing women leaders in the private sector from specific counties in North and South Carolina in the United States, as well from countries around the world. It underscored the critical function that women can and must play in moving local economies forward and highlighted the role of women as drivers of innovation and socio-economic growth. In conjunction with the Global Ambassadors Program in Charlotte, we convened a thought leadership event to advance dialogue around the challenges and opportunities of women’s leadership, as well as economic and societal change.
Read the blogs.
View the gallery.
We shared an incredible week in New York City, March 19-23, with 10 Global Ambassadors (mentors) from the United States, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates. They were paired with mentees from the larger New York area, Miami, San Francisco, Argentina, Swaziland, Hungary, Nigeria and Ukraine, representing fashion, food manufacture, biotechnology, media, renewable energies, technology, insurance and risk management sectors, and more. Read the blogs and view the gallery.
The Global Ambassadors Program held in Chicago, Illinois (September 11-15, 2017) addressed the ongoing needs and challenges facing women leaders engaged in the private sector, social enterprise and non-profits from the Chicago area in the United States, as well from countries around the world. Read the Chicago blogs.
The program headed to Mexico City for a five-day mentoring forum focused on furthering the economic empowerment of women business leaders in Latin America and the Caribbean. To advance women’s roles in the region’s continued economic development, our Global Ambassadors Program mentees worked with mentors (Global Ambassadors) during the week to improve leadership skills, overcome obstacles and map out achievable strategic goals.
The Global Ambassadors Program held in Los Angeles, California (November 6-10, 2017) addressed the ongoing needs and challenges facing women leaders engaged in the private sector, social enterprise and non-profits from the Los Angeles, California area in the United States, as well from countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Read the blog.
The five-day program gathered thought leaders in the public, private and NGO sectors in São Paulo to discuss the opportunities and barriers facing women in Brazil, and paired emerging women leaders from across the country with established mentors. Throughout the program, Global Ambassadors and mentees exchanged ideas and developed skills and tools to enable mentees to more effectively contribute to their communities and economies.
View the gallery and video playlist.
Read the blog.
The Global Ambassadors Program returned to South Africa in 2015, this time to Johannesburg March 9-13. Our focus was addressing the ongoing needs and challenges facing women leaders involved in HIV/AIDS support activity through the business, NGO and social enterprise sectors. The program underscored the critical function that women can and must play in moving their nation forward and highlighting the role of women as drivers of innovation and socio-economic growth.
The Sydney, Australia mentoring initiative marked our fourth trip to the Asia Pacific region, and our 13th overall, convening women leaders from the U.S., Fiji, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Samoa, Vietnam, Myanmar, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand, for a week of one-on-one mentoring sessions and strategic workshops focused on building organizational management, financial acumen and leadership skills. The trip coincided with the one year anniversary of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, a series of ambitious targets to end extreme poverty and tackle climate change by 2030. The week’s theme was “Empowering Women Leaders to Advance Sustainable Development,” underscoring the critical role that women can play in moving their nations forward.
View the gallery and video playlist.
Read the blog.
Our final 2015 trip matched 11 Global Ambassadors from the U.S., China, Japan and the Philippines representing a range of industries, including banking and finance, technology and social enterprise with 11 Japanese mentees — women at a pivotal point in their professional, business and leaderships paths. The mentees’ companies and non-governmental organizations spanned social investment, fair trade and flexible employment services for working families. Over the week-long mentoring initiative in Tokyo, they immersed themselves in our innovative mentoring model and practical trainings to develop the skills they need to help transform Japan’s economy and become powerful role models for the next generation.
View the gallery and watch the video:
The Global Ambassadors Program mentoring forum in India explored the role of women’s leadership in advancing economic opportunity and strengthening civic participation at all levels. A highlight was a community-wide mentoring walk in Mumbai with local businesswomen and entrepreneurs.
View the gallery and video playlist. Read the blog.A week-long forum focused on promoting economic empowerment for women leaders across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Mentees and Global Ambassadors (mentors) were matched for one-on-one mentoring sessions throughout the week, and took part in a mentoring walk in Aspire Park — joined by more than 200 local women entrepreneurs and professionals. The mentoring forum coincided with the Qatar International Businesswomen’s Forum (QIBWF), an annual high-level gathering to identify and create opportunities for Arab businesswomen.
View the gallery and video playlist.
Read the blog.
In 2007, Vital Voices Global Partnership and the women of the Polish Professional Women’s Network (PWNet) formed the Vital Voices Poland Chapter. Over the past seven years, Vital Voices Poland has developed mentoring and leadership programs for women leaders from the business, academia and NGO sectors across Poland and into Eastern European countries including Georgia, Moldova, Belarus and Ukraine.
The Global Ambassadors Program in Warsaw, Poland took place September 8-12, 2014 and focused on addressing the ongoing needs and challenges facing women business leaders in the Central and Eastern Europe region, including Poland, Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, as they navigate through the current political instability in this region.
View the gallery and video playlist.
Read the blog.
The Global Ambassadors Program traveled to London in 2016 from February 22-26. Women entrepreneurs and NGO leaders from countries in the Middle East & North Africa and Eastern Europe came together to focus on social change and economic opportunity. Some of these countries have faced a number of challenges, including humanitarian crises, ongoing conflict or the rebuilding of economies post-conflict. Their business and organizational challenges are compounded by obstacles such as insecurity, restricted mobility and fractured communities.
View the gallery and video playlist.
Read the blog.
The Global Ambassadors Program in Dublin, Ireland, was held October 8-12, 2018 and addressed the ongoing needs and challenges facing women leaders engaged in the private sector and social enterprise from Ireland and around the world. It underscored the critical function that women play in moving economies forward and highlighted the role of women as drivers of innovation and socio-economic growth. Read the blog.
This trip focused on women’s leadership and economic advancement in countries classified as ‘post-conflict,’ ‘in-conflict’ or ‘ongoing peacebuilding,’ and we’ve selected eight incredible women leading organizations and businesses ranging from tourism, healthcare, youth empowerment and the arts in Rwanda, Lebanon, Libya, Indonesia, Somalia, Palestine, Northern Ireland, and Croatia.
View the gallery and video playlist.
Read the blog.
The Global Ambassadors Program in Puerto Rico was held March 18-22, 2019, and addressed the ongoing needs and challenges facing women leaders who are engaged in business, social enterprise and the nonprofit community. Read the blog by Zoë Dean-Smith.
The Singapore mentoring forum featured one-on-one mentoring sessions and group discussions, as well as a public forum — a lively exchange on the business case for empowering women to develop as business professionals and leaders in the region. We also traveled to Bintan Island in Indonesia, for an up-close look at income generation initiatives and community development programs in fishing villages along the south coast.
View the gallery and video playlist.
Read the blog.
Read about our Paris Global Ambassadors Program week, November 11-15, 2019, where 22 mentors and mentees gathered for signature mentoring, skills training and leadership development designed to build capacity around business and organizational management.
“Mentoring costs nothing, apart from time. It is one of the most powerful gifts that one person can give to another and there is a place for mentorship in every society, at every level.”
-Read Zoë Dean-Smith’s blog Perspectives on Mentoring
“This program has revolutionized my life and business. Armed with one-on-one mentoring and advanced training, I went from overworked chief beekeeper to successful CEO and have seen significant improvement in every aspect of my triple bottom line (people, planet and profit).”
–Grace Foster-Reid, CEO, EcoFarms, Jamaica