They are small informal virtual group meetings of 4-6 women working in nutrition and food systems.  They provide a safe space to share experiences and lessons learned and allow for reflection. More broadly, they help create a sense of collective agency and connect women in nutrition and food systems. Women within the pods provide each other with peer-to-peer mentorship through in-depth discussions of ongoing leadership challenges. The pods also provide a skill building opportunity on the 8 courageous leadership practices outlined in  Achieving A Well-Nourished World: A Manifesto for Leadership.

The purpose of the pods is to provide peer support for women to navigate leadership challenges and  incorporate the 8 courageous leadership practices in their spaces of influence, to make changes  in nutrition and food systems.

During the ChangeMakers Connect Forums, women had an opportunity to engage in small break-out room conversations about topics being addressed in the forum on leadership challenges, how they experience them in various contexts, and share advice and solutions to navigating these challenges. The breakout sessions last for about 15 - 20 minutes at most.  Feedback from the past 9 forums attended by over 300 women showed that women enjoyed the breakout sessions, wanted to engage in these sessions for longer periods, and expressed interest to continue meeting in-between forums, hence the emergence of peer-to-peer mentoring pods.   

In December 2022, a survey to seek volunteer participants for a 3 - month pilot phase was sent out to all women that had participated in the ChangeMakers Connect Forums. Participants were asked to select 3 challenges and opportunities that they wished to address in the pods. Responses were received from over 80 participants from across the globe and women were grouped into 17 pods. The pilot was launched on January 31st, 2023 to run until April 30th, 2023. To support smooth pod engagements, guidance materials were developed and shared with each pod. The purpose of the pilot is to help us identify the best approaches to running these pods and to adapt the pods accordingly in future iterations.

Women from all over the world who are navigating leadership at any career level in the nutrition and food system space and believe in the principles behind the 8 Courageous Leadership Practices detailed in the Manifesto for Leadership. If you want to connect with other women leaders in nutrition and food systems, share experiences in exercising leadership, and learn from others, this is a place for you.  

Please email Rebecca Namara at: comms@nextgenderationleaders.org. Rebecca will either answer your inquiry or connect you with other members of the Next Gen(D)eration Leadership Collective Strategy Group for assistance.