Young Midwife Leaders Programme

The Young Midwife Leaders (YML) Programme was a part-time, two-year learning and professional development experience for early-career midwives and executive midwives from ICM’s Member Associations (MAs). The programme was designed to empower young midwives to become politically conscious and involved in strengthening the midwifery profession.

The programme aimed to:

• nurture the next generation of midwives by building their skills, knowledge and confidence in leadership and advocacy

• strengthen Midwives’ Associations globally

• build a global community among young midwives to foster support and learning, and to create opportunities for research, innovation, and advocacy

• position and equip Young Midwife Leaders as advocates for the midwifery profession, as well as for sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender equality, and human rights more broadly

• empower young midwives to address some of the biggest global health challenges of their time

An added feature of the YML Programme was the Executive Midwife Leaders (EML) training, aimed at MA executives and fostering intergenerational collaboration. As part of this pilot, EMLs familiarised themselves with the YML Programme by participating in training, mentoring, and other activities alongside the YML participants.

Through the programme, YMLs had the opportunity to learn about ICM as the global leader for the midwifery community through ICM’s online learning platform and facilitated online discussions with ICM leaders. The knowledge they acquired helped them build their capacity to advocate and communicate about the benefits of continuity of midwife care and the importance of ICM’s professional framework with stakeholders in a range of settings.

YMLs and EMLs also participated in storytelling activities, including the five-day Girls’ Globe Digital Storytelling Programme, which proved to be a valuable forum for teaching midwives how to tell their stories in an impactful and engaging way. In addition, participants benefited from ICM’s advocacy workshops, including those on SMART Advocacy.

As part of the programme, each YML carried out a solo project initiative in their own country, supported by a small amount of seed funding. They were also encouraged to create a group project to harness the power of collective thinking and teamwork. This allowed them to demonstrate and develop their leadership skills within a group setting while building collaborative communication and negotiation skills.

The group dynamic in the YML/EML Programme helped establish a strong community of practice and a safe forum for discussion and support. Many former YMLs continued to engage with ICM as YML Alumni, offering support to new participants through mentoring, promotion of the programme, and efforts to help develop a sustainable alumni network. They contributed to shaping a formal purpose statement and process for ongoing communication.

Success stories

At completion of the programme, YMLs have developed a stronger sense of their own capabilities, and many have already begun engaging in regional projects with their midwives’ associations.  ICM now employs two YML graduate midwives whose specific skills and knowledge have been an asset to ICM.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic many of the YMLs were proactively discussing the impact of the pandemic in global forums highlighting and raising the voices of midwives wherever possible. Their candid accounts of what was occurring not only during the pandemic but during humanitarian crises such as floods, war and civil unrest have been harrowing.

YML status has provided some participants with credibility and a platform to attract resources to initiate much needed in country projects.