Female empowerment through mentoring. This is what +Elas, a volunteer program launched yesterday (6) by the Norberto Odebrecht Foundation (FNO) in partnership with OR, a real estate development company of the Novonor Group, proposes to accomplish. The kickoff of the initiative took place during a two-day immersion in Baixo Sul da
Bahia, which was attended by female leaders and members of the Foundation, OR, and the institutions that are part of the PDCIS, the Social Program coordinated by FNO.
From the launch, the volunteerism will continue for the next 3 months by promoting face-to-face and online mentoring meetings between the pairs. The expectation is that, from the debate on themes such as self-knowledge, empathy, vulnerability, sorority, and equality, the participants will develop their sense of confidence to boost their careers and personal goals.
“+Elas calls on women from different environments to recognize and exercise the role they already have, to inspire women and girls in their work and personal lives.”
“This is the beginning of an initiative that represents a very great strength of the Novonor Group, which is to promote diversity and equity actions,” said Cristiane Giansante, responsible for People, Communication and Planning at OR and member of the Norberto Odebrecht Foundation Board of Curators. “+Elas calls on women from different environments to recognize and exercise the role they already have, of inspiring women and girls at work and in their personal lives. More than mentoring relationships, we are creating a great support network here,” she said.
For Beatriz Lepikson, People, Finance and Compliance Manager at the Foundation, the program will strengthen not only the participants, but also the women and girls who are supported by them. “Our purpose is to connect strong women with other strong women, supporting those who act to transform lives,” Beatriz explains. “Each of us knows what it’s like to deal with our various roles – mothers, professionals, wives, daughters. That is why I know we will be able to help build together, throughout the face-to-face and online meetings, a better reality for everyone,” she said.
During the launch, the participants visited the Papuã Mountains, an environmental preservation area where the headquarters of the Earth Conservation Organization (OCT) is located, one of the NGOs executing the PDCIS. There, they got to know each other better, planted trees, and did, together, practices that lead to reflection and self-knowledge, such as yoga and active listening dynamics. Before,
they also visited the Presidente Tancredo Neves Rural Family House (CFR-PTN), another institution that is part of the PDCIS, and dialogued with young students from the school.
Female Partnership
Ivanete Santos is a teacher at CFR-PTN and will be one of the women mentored in +Elas program. For her, the launch event allowed her to recognize, in other women, similar challenges that she faces. “I was able to find myself again in other stories. We are a universe of different women, with different experiences, but our daily struggle is the same. And that was very empowering – knowing that other people have been through the same thing makes you believe that you can win too,” she said.
For Andressa Sales, coordinator of Engenharia Montante at OR who will act as a mentor, this is an opportunity to learn, even more than to teach: “I know that we will leave this program more united in favor of our personal and professional purposes, whether they are making the company achieve better results or transforming the lives of more people”, she said.
Besides sharing their own life stories during the event, the participants also got to know the stories of other inspiring women, such as Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani activist for the right to education for girls; Maria Bonita, a bandit and historical figure from Bahia; Djamila Ribeiro, a Brazilian writer and philosopher; and Viola Davis, American actress. Literary works that recount the lives of these figures were exchanged by members of OR, FNO, and partner institutions – and the reading of these books will be part of the actions promoted by +Elas in the coming months.
The entire mentoring process will be disclosed by OR and the Norberto Odebrecht Foundation until the end of the program. Follow us on social networks and official channels!
