Objective
The New Voices Initiative celebrates the contributions made by women as Lions Clubs International welcomes its first female International President. This initiative promotes gender parity by focusing on increasing the number of women in Lions clubs, as well as closing the gap between men and women in leadership positions.

Program
New Voices will feature Lions who demonstrate exceptional influence of women in one of four areas: Service, Membership, Leadership, and Marketing.

New Voices will be discovered through two channels: District Governor nominations and our new digital platform.  Utilizing both traditional and modern methods to recognize outstanding Lions in the areas mentioned will increase reach, allowing New Voices to share their stories and best practices locally as well as globally.
The initiative will also highlight the existing programs Lions Clubs International offers, most notably, the Women’s Workshop and Women’s Symposium. The New Voices Initiative will be successful due to three key components: (1) the New Voices Global Chairperson and Constitutional Area Teams, (2) District Governor involvement, (3) marketing support and event participation.

1. New Voices Global Chairperson and Constitutional Area Teams
   Leading the initiative will be the Global Chairperson and eight Constitutional Area Teams (including Africa). Each team will consist of a Constitutional Area Chairperson and three Constitutional Area Speakers. These leaders will be appointed by the International President

– These teams of speakers will

– be the initial speakers for the program, amplifying its message

– help create content, tailoring messages to ensure cultural relevance in different parts of the world

– provide feedback from the field and create action plans to further empower our volunteers

– Help to identify New Voices from District Governor nominations. Verify and support New Voices found through digital channels.

2. District Governors
Each District Governor will receive certificates of recognition to distribute to four stellar Lions in their district – one in each New Voices category (Service, Membership, Leadership, and Marketing).  The selected Lions will become New Voices, sharing their stories of inspiration as a model for other Lions.  District Governors will be encouraged to recognize these Lions at local events and recommend them to their Constitutional Area teams.

3. Marketing Support and Event Participation
Marketing will develop a full campaign that will support the initiative as well as identify New Voices. LCI will amplify and feature select New Voices and their story.

Highlights of this campaign include:

– A prominent presence on the new Lions International website

– Update of existing resources and development of new program materials

– Targeted messaging based on user feedback

– Strategic roll-out of highly engaging material to maintain interest and participation

– Utilization of current global campaigns to attract new participants

– track feedback from Women’s Workshops and Women’s Symposiums

– Area Forums will be encouraged to support the program by offering seminars and events to showcase the initiative.

Event support will also be provided culminating at an event during the 2018-2019 convention featuring a top new voice in each category.