Why the Soroptimist Leadership Academy?
Soroptimist International strongly believes that education empowers women and girls to realise their potential and to be able to support themselves. One of our missions is ‘Educate to Lead’ – to give young women the best opportunities to develop and take on leadership roles in society, politics, at work and in many other aspects of modern life.
Goals of the Leadership Academy
To bring together young women from different cultures and backgrounds, to encourage their personal growth through learning from our teachers and from each other, to develop leadership skills and come to know and understand themselves as individuals. We aim to achieve Sisterhood (Sororidad), create a network between students and teachers and achieve a greater reach of Soroptimists in Spain.
Date and location
The Soroptimist Leadership Academy for Women will be held in English, from 5-11 November 2025 in Mijas, Spain. Our venue Cortijo Alegria is located just outside of Mijas village and features a meeting room, common kitchen, outdoor terrace and kitchen, a small chapel, 10 apartments with one or two double bedrooms, and a garden with a pool. Beautiful views of the sea and the Sierra de Mijas, a wonderful location to connect with each other and yourself.
Pre-registration
Those invited to attend the Academy are young women living in Europe, age 21-30, who are interested in gaining leadership skills, getting to know themselves better and keen to make a positive contribution to society. There are 24 places available. The cost of 100€ include accommodation, meals, excursions, and the classes. The travel costs to the Academy are excluded.
Program
From the welcome on the Wednesday, the time will be filled with exciting speakers, workshops, work-out sessions and excursions. Of course, you will have time to relax, speak with your new friends and reflect on all you have experienced. We are getting together an international team of teachers and coaches and more information will be on-line shortly, so keep watching this space.
To give you a better idea, here are a few of the subjects
- Dialogue (active listening)
- Networking
- Public Speaking
- Dealing with Power
- Challenges of the future
Mentorship
We aim to meet each other online before the Academy starts, for a first introduction. We have invited experienced professionals to join and get to know the participants, because we want to link up each participant with a mentor, who will stay in touch for another 9 months after the Academy.
Organisers
The members of SI Costa del Sol are organising this event, we are a diverse group of women, who are very excited about our first Soroptimist Leadership Academy, we use our personal experience and our contacts from all over the (Soroptimist) world. We have the back-up of the German Union of Soroptimist, who are there with more experience, advice, and contacts. We are open to sponsorship offers, even though our Federation, Soroptimist International of Europe is covering the main costs of the Academy.
Many greetings from Mijas, Spain, and we hope to meet you soon!
