The Sisters Leadership Development Initiative (SLDI) was developed in collaboration with the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation in 2005. ASEC and the Hilton Foundation recognized their joint vision to provide leadership development and competency building for Catholic sisters in Africa. After much assessment and planning, SLDI Phase I was piloted in 2007 to serve an initial 304 sisters in 5 countries, becoming ASEC’s first major program. Today, SLDI provides sisters the opportunity to enhance their leadership competencies and professional skills in the areas of administration, finance, and technology.
Since the program’s inception in 2007, SLDI has grown to serve 4,238 sisters in 10 countries, empowering them to become more effective in their congregations and apostolates. An additional 1,687 beneficiaries have been served through other program activities, such as Superior and Partner Workshops, totaling 5,925 individuals served by SLDI.
SLDI Phase VI, Year 1 began in April 2022 and concluded in March 2023. In SLDI Phase VI, Year 1, 700 sisters participated in 36 Technology Workshops—618 in Basic Technology and 82 in Introduction to Web Design. SLDI Year 1 workshops focus exclusively on building participants' technology capacities, as many participants view technology skills as a vital component of leadership.
SLDI alumnae have shown incredible levels of success once given the gift of education. Graduates of the program go on to demonstrate positive impact on their communities in tangible and effective ways.
- 94% of SLDI alumnae report effectively using the skills they learned to benefit their ministries.
- SLDI alumnae have served over 2.4 million people, mostly in rural areas where help is needed the most.
- SLDI alumnae have secured $28.6+ million for human development projects, like building hospitals & improving schools.
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SLDI Finance Track participants in Malawi.
New Phase VI Program Components
April 2022 marked the start of a new three-year phase of SLDI, Phase VI. The beginning of each phase of SLDI provides an opportunity to improve programming and enhance the SLDI curriculum to meet the current needs of Catholic sisters in Africa. Several SLDI program improvements were implemented in Phase VI.
French-Speaking Cohort
One programming enhancement enacted in Phase VI was the pilot of a French-speaking SLDI cohort in Cameroon. ASEC has continuously received requests to offer SLDI Workshops in French due to the high number of French-speaking sisters in Cameroon. To meet this need, ASEC piloted the first French Basic Technology Workshop in Year 1. Sisters who participated in the pilot French speaking cohort will continue on to complete the Finance Track in Years 2-3.
Web Design Leadership Track
Another programmatic change in Phase VI was the introduction of Web Design as a two-year leadership track offered in Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, and Tanzania. The new Web Design Track gives sisters the opportunity to learn web design software, website building, and website management in tandem with other traditional SLDI subject areas of project management, social entrepreneurship, and leadership.
Social Entrepreneurship
Also notable in Phase VI is the integration of social entrepreneurship into the SLDI curriculum. The intention of social entrepreneurship incorporation is to equip sisters with skills and knowledge that will enable them to set up viable social ventures that embody their congregations’ charisms.
Institutional Capacity Building
Initiated in 2019, ASEC's Institutional Capacity Building (ICB) project supports both the internal strength and external service of national conferences/associations and congregations of women religious as they strive to positively impact human development. ICB is a subset of programming housed within SLDI.
In the ICB project, ASEC recognizes the existing capacity of institutions of women religious in Africa and collaborates to strengthen their internal systems and improve their vitality and vibrancy. The second phase of the ICB project began in 2023 under SLDI Phase VI. In the last year, much progress has been achieved including:
- The intensive national conference/ association and congregation capacity building process continued in Uganda and was initiated in Malawi.
- ICB National Conference Training Workshops focused on project cycle management and leadership development were held in Malawi and Uganda in June 2023.
- In 2023, 8 ICB Congregational Leaders Workshops, also known as Superior Workshops, will be completed.
ASEC alumnae learn the entrepreneurial skill of making flower pots at the 2023 Alumnae Workshop in Tanzania.
ASEC Alumnae Network
Upon completion of the SLDI and/or HESA programs, sisters enter into the ASEC alumnae network. ASEC organizes annual Alumnae Workshops in each of its 10 countries of operation, which provide sisters with continued professional development and networking opportunities.
In 2023, over 1,200 SLDI and HESA alumnae attended an ASEC Alumnae Workshop. While SLDI Alumnae Workshop attendance saw a slight decrease in 2023 in comparison to 2022 (-4%), HESA alumnae attendance greatly improved (+30%). Overall, 35% of all SLDI and/or HESA alumnae attended an ASEC Alumnae Workshop in 2023.
A total of 15 Alumnae Workshops were held from November 2022 to February 2023. The majority of workshops were held online and several countries offered more than one workshop given the large number of alumnae they serve. Workshops varied in length depending on the content and method of delivery. Topics covered in 2023 included, amongst others, sustaining identity and charisms in institutions, dealing with youth gangs in community schools, entrepreneurship, synodality and Earth care, and mission in a technology driven society.
Overall, the Alumnae Workshops were highly rated in satisfaction. ASEC alumnae most commonly provided the feedback that the Alumnae Workshops were enriching and practical.
ASEC Alumnae Impact
Annual ASEC Alumnae Workshops present an opportunity to assess the impact program graduates are having on their communities. The ASEC Alumnae Survey is administered each year at the workshops, collecting data on the tremendous ways in which the SLDI and/or HESA graduates are using the knowledge and skills they gained to make positive and measurable impact within the communities and among the people they serve.
- 96% of ASEC alumnae report effectively using the skills they learned to benefit their congregation.
- 83% of ASEC alumnae have taken on a leadership role within their ministry.
- 83% of ASEC alumnae are mentoring others in the skills they learned.
