ICLD Women’s Political Leadership Programme – Reworded Overview This is a year-long leadership training tailored for women in elected or appointed roles within local or regional governments of countries eligible for development aid (OECD-DAC).

Deadline: 4th August , 2025

Applications now open for /ICLD Women’s Political Leadership  Programme 2025

This year-long programme is designed to enhance leadership abilities in politics and is available exclusively to women currently serving in elected or appointed roles within local or regional governments of countries listed as eligible for development aid (OECD-DAC nations).

The entire course is guided by the principles of fairness, active participation, openness, and responsibility. Its main aim is to promote stronger democratic practices within participating institutions by:

• Empowering individual women politicians,
• Building leadership capacity,
• Encouraging women to be inspiring role models, and
• Increasing the involvement of marginalized groups in decision-making spaces.

Costs 

All expenses related to participation in the ICLD Women’s Political Leadership Programme will be fully covered by the organizers. This includes the cost of all training sessions, educational materials, accommodation, meals, and international travel such as round-trip flights to and from Sweden for the in-person training segment. Additionally, transportation within the host country during official programme activities will also be provided. The organizers will arrange and finance group insurance that covers participants during all official parts of the programme. This ensures that no financial burden is placed on the selected participants in order to benefit from the programme. However, participants are expected to cover any personal expenses, such as visa application fees, travel vaccinations, medical or dental checkups, and other incidental costs that are not directly related to the scheduled training activities.

Eligibility

Certainly! Here is a longer, cohesive paragraph version of the eligibility criteria, rewritten with the same meaning:

The ICLD Women’s Political Leadership Programme is open to applicants from all countries recognized by the OECD-DAC as eligible for official development assistance. However, countries that are scheduled to hold local elections during the year of the training, particularly between August and December, will be temporarily excluded from consideration for that cycle. This measure is intended to ensure continuity and stability in participation. Eligibility is strictly limited to women who currently occupy elected positions in local or regional government structures. For the upcoming cohorts, the programme specifically targets women serving in high-level leadership roles, such as Mayors, Deputy Mayors, Governors, and Deputy Governors. The goal is to cultivate a diverse and dynamic cohort composed of women from both majority and opposition political backgrounds, as well as those representing a wide range of ages and leadership experience. In line with its commitment to inclusivity and equal opportunity, the Swedish International Centre for Local Democracy (ICLD) welcomes all eligible applicants, regardless of physical ability, and encourages women from underrepresented groups to apply.

Let me know if you’d like this added to a brochure, flyer, or formatted for social media.
Candidates that previous practiced in this program  can’t  apply for this program unfortunately.

The program shall be conducted in English plus English shall be conducted on the application form too

Application

Link :https://apply.icld.se/sbs/itp/minsida/login/enkel

for more information contact.

https://icld.se/en/international-programmes/the-programmes/itp-local-political-leaders-capacitating-women-in-politics/