Eco-Sisters Leadership Academy (ESLA)
Women Rising Justice Centered Planet Defended
A Leadership & Movement-Building Program of Womens Environmental Forum Uganda (WEFUganda) aimed at advancing WEF-Ugandas agenda: WOMEN. JUSTICE. PLANET. and to produce visible, courageous, prepared women leaders for climate, land, and environmental justice.
ACADEMY VISION
A generation of bold, ethical, and justice-driven women leaders transforming environmental governance, climate action, and community power for a just and sustainable planet.
ACADEMY GOAL
To identify, train, mentor, and mobilize women and young women as transformative leaders, advocates, and movement builders advancing environmental justice, gender equality, and climate resilience in Uganda.
WHY THE ECO-SISTERS LEADERSHIP ACADEMY?
Women are:
- On the frontlines of climate and environmental harm
- Underrepresented in leadership and decision-making
- Targeted, silenced, and excluded from power
- Yet central to solutions, care, and resistance
ESLA exists to turn women from affected to agenda-setters.
WHO THE ACADEMY SERVES
Primary Fellows:
- Young women (1835) climate and environmental leaders
- Grassroots women activists and community organizers
- Women environmental defenders and advocates
Secondary:
- Emerging women leaders in CSOs and movements
- Women leaders in resource-affected communities
LEADERSHIP MODEL (ESLA DNA)
The Academy produces leaders who are:
- Feminist grounded in gender justice
- Justice-Centered rights-based and accountable
- Planet-Rooted ecological and climate-aware
- Movement-Oriented collective, not individualistic
- Ethical & Courageous principled under pressure
CORE OBJECTIVES
- Build strong feminist leadership and political consciousness
- Strengthen knowledge of climate, land, and environmental justice
- Develop advocacy, organizing, and policy influence skills
- Support womens wellbeing, safety, and resilience
- Grow a national Eco-Sisters movement and solidarity network
ACADEMY PILLARS (CURRICULUM STRUCTURE)
Pillar 1: Feminist Leadership & Power
- Feminist leadership theory and practice
- Power analysis and systems thinking
- Patriarchy, extractivism, and climate injustice
- Ethical leadership and accountability
Pillar 2: Climate Justice & Environmental Governance
- Climate science for activists
- Land, extractives, water, and forest governance
- National and global climate frameworks
- Community-centered climate solutions
Pillar 3: Advocacy, Policy & Movement Building
- Advocacy strategy and campaigning
- Policy analysis and engagement
- Community organizing and mobilization
- Media, storytelling, and narrative change
Pillar 4: Green Livelihoods & Just Transition
- Feminist economics and green jobs
- Community enterprises and cooperatives
- Climate-resilient livelihoods
- Linking justice to economic empowerment
Pillar 5: Safety, Wellbeing & Defender Protection
- Personal and collective safety planning
- Digital and physical security
- Trauma-informed leadership
- Care, healing, and burnout prevention
Pillar 6: Mentorship, Practice & Action
- Mentorship with senior women leaders
- Field placements and community action labs
- Capstone justice projects
- Peer learning and solidarity circles
ACADEMY STRUCTURE & FORMAT
- Duration: 69 months
- Cohort size: 2030 Eco-Sisters per cycle
- Format:
- Residential bootcamps
- Monthly learning labs (hybrid)
- Community action projects
- Mentorship & coaching
- Selection: Competitive, values-based
ECO-SISTERS FELLOWSHIP JOURNEY
- Call for Applications & Selection
- Leadership Bootcamp (Foundation)
- Thematic Learning Modules
- Community Justice Action Project
- Mentorship & Leadership Practice
- Graduation & Movement Induction
KEY ACTIVITIES
- Leadership bootcamps
- Policy dialogues and simulations
- Community organizing labs
- Storytelling and media training
- Justice action projects
- Eco-Sisters forums and assemblies
OUTPUTS
- Trained Eco-Sisters leaders
- Community-led justice projects
- Strong women leadership networks
- Advocacy campaigns led by fellows
- Policy engagement initiatives
OUTCOMES
- Women confidently occupying leadership spaces
- Stronger grassroots environmental justice movements
- Increased women participation in climate governance
- Safer, more resilient women leaders
- Sustainable women-led community solutions
LONG-TERM IMPACT
- A national movement of Eco-Sisters leaders
- Women shaping climate, land, and environmental policy
- Just, inclusive, and sustainable development
- A living embodiment of WOMEN. JUSTICE. PLANET.
GOVERNANCE & SAFEGUARDS
- Feminist code of conduct
- Safeguarding & protection policy
- Mentorship ethics framework
- Alumni accountability charter