International award promotes women in leadership

The Swiss Reformed church minister, Sylvia Michel, was a pioneer. In 1964, Michel became the first woman in Switzerland to be ordained and head a ministry in her own parish in a cantonal (regional) church. In 1980, she was elected president of the Reformed Church of Argovia, thus becoming the first woman in Switzerland to have reached this level of church leadership.

In gratitude for her pioneering work and in recognition of the competence and commitment with which women support and lead churches, the Sylvia Michel Prize was created by Reformierte Landeskirche Aargau in collaboration with the Swiss Women Presidents of the Federation of Swiss Protesant Churches. A prize of U.S. $5,000 will be awarded every two years to an organization or individual working to promote women as leaders, encourage women to assume leadership positions or investigate inequality between men and women in leadership positions in Reformed churches around the world.

The prize was awarded for the first time on 8 March 20098 in Aarau, Switzerland. The winners, Esther Mombo and Dorcas Wamalwa from Kenya, were honoured for their work in promoting women in leadership in the Reformed Church of East Africa and addressing the barriers to women’s ordination.

The prize will next be awarded in 2010. Applications opened in August 2009 with a submission deadline of 31 July 2010. The prize includes an award of USD $5000.

Individual projects and initiatives, as well as studies by women and men that enhance women’s leadership competencies, are eligible for the award. These projects should already be underway and be designed to meet at least one of the following aims:

- To promote education and awareness within and among churches on women’s equal rights and women’s capacity for leadership positions in the church.
- Encouragement and training of women to prepare them to apply for leadership positions;
- To work for women’s equality leadership positions in Reformed churches worldwide.
- To build capacity of women through training and mentorship.
- To be engaged in action-oriented research on women and leadership in the church with the aim of advancing the situation of women in leadership.
- To build partnership of women and men in church leadership.

Men and women, groups and individuals, as well as church employees are eligible to nominate individuals and projects for the award.

Nominations should include a detailed description of the project or research question (maximum 5 pages) and indicate:
· a contact person, the coordinator of the project and any other persons involved
· aims, objectives and project outcomes
· description of those who will benefit from the project
· confirmation of support of the project by the relevant leadership of the church.

Members of the jury who will decide the winner(s) are the Women Presidents of Swiss Reformed Churches and the Executive Secretary of the Office for Church Renewal, Justice and Partnership of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches.
For further information, contact the Reformed Church of Argovia at gender@ref-aargau.ch or WARC at crjp@warc.ch and go to www.warc.ch for complete prize details and the entry form.