How MCW Global Enhanced my Qualities on Effective Leadership: The Inspirational Story of Nevila Muka

2022 marks the fifth year since MCW Global’s Alumni Nevila Muka, from Albania, has been engaged with MCW Global.

This experience proved to be, in her words, the most beneficial as one gets to experience the magic of being part of a group of young people who all want to help their communities. For Nevila, MCW Global supported her and provided with an opportunity for her to empower other young people through mentorship support.

She has been engaged with MCW since 2017, when she took part in the Young Leaders Conference held in Kosovo and was part of MCW as a mentee of the Young Leaders Fellowship (2018) and a mentor for the subsequent three years.

Nevila values this experience as unforgettable, and this piece illustrates how the positive impact of MCW Global lies in communities around the world, this time being rural parts of Albania, where Nevila taught youngsters, especially girls, about being economically independent.

MCW Global Enhancing a Variety of Skills in Young Leaders

Initially, Nevila recalls; that she has taken so much from her involvement with MCW Global.

“MCW Global has helped me to better understand how to translate my ideas into real-life projects. I have met wonderful people from around the world. I really hope I have impacted their lives as much as they have affected mine.”

The last three years of mentoring, she adds, have been very interesting.

“I have transmitted as much knowledge as possible to all my mentees. Frankly, I have probably learned as much from them as they have learned from me. Mentorship is the spark that keeps the MCW fire ablaze. It is wonderful to give something back to young leaders who, in turn, benefit their respective communities.”

Acknowledging her as a young, inspiring activist who helps present and future entrepreneurs, we further spoke about how much she has grasped and learned in a lot of different ways.

“Being a mentee differs greatly from being a mentor and in both instances, I think I have enhanced a variety of skills. Mentoring online was certainly a challenge at first, but I learned a lot about how to handle unexpected situations when working online with people I have never met in person.”

This is her second year of being a mentor online and she is still learning; she draws our attention.

“I would say that attending the program (either a mentor or a mentee) was the most beneficial as one gets to experience the magic of being part of a group of young people who all want to help their communities.”

“It is not only the leadership skills that we learn from each other, but it is also each other’s cultures and traditions. As we say in MCW, a good leader is also a global citizen.”

Local Change Through Global Exchange: More than a Motto

While hearing the inspirational story of Nevila, MCW Global’s motto came to me naturally; local change through global exchange.

As we will see below, her engagement with MCW Global shared her idea and turned it into a project, in this form supporting her in being a better activist for her own community.

When she first joined MCW as a mentor, she was a gender equality activist in Albania and wanted to continue doing that.

“That is why when I applied, my project was about delivering training and a workshop in my hometown, Berat, focused on gender equality. I saw what I then realized was not very detailed.”

However, during the Young Leaders Fellowship, her vision changed and improved.

“It changed as we were learning how to implement a project. I got a lot of support from the MCW team and their guest speakers. Talking with bright people from around the world and hearing their ideas and perspective made me reflect a lot on my own project.”

In the end, she focused on teaching youngsters (and especially girls in rural areas in Albania) the importance of being economically independent.

“Hearing all those people and their stories helped me to better implement my project in my community. That is the beauty of MCW, you meet so many bright people from everywhere and they help you unconditionally.”

This impactful initiative could not be possible without Nevila’s traits of an effective young leader, which, according to her, are: the ability to inspire others, good communication, and passion. On this note, we took a brief look at how MCW Global enhanced these three traits on her.

“I think MCW has enhanced these traits while I have been a mentor. They have given me the chance to inspire others (and hopefully I succeeded to at least some extent!). I have understood that effective communication is important, especially when the program takes place online.”

When feeling inspired and empowered by the MCW Global family, Nevila is not alone. So feel John Cornwill and Shrouk Gamal, whose stories you can read in the following links:

Enriching a Journey: How MCW Global Advanced John’s Leadership Skills

Shrouk Gamal: MCW Global Paved my Journey Toward Being a Better Young Leader