The Young Women’s Leadership Programme (YWLP) is a programme of GLUNN — the Grail Link to the United Nations Network — endorsed by The Grail International.

It creates a safe space where young women from across the Grail world come together to reflect on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and the five Grail Priorities, and to build a network capable of leading sustainable, transformative change in their own communities.

Leadership is in the name of the programme, but we do not begin by defining it. Understanding emerges from the participants themselves as they reflect on their own styles, their own questions, and what needs to change for them to lead well. Speakers, texts, activities and shared reflection shape what leadership comes to mean.

Alongside it runs a second lens: sacred activism. Whatever our religion or spiritual path, through our connection with Mother Earth and the Divine we are called to work for the transformation of the world. It asks each participant a direct question — where am I being called to put my body in the face of injustice?

The Grail proudly celebrated the fifth edition of its transformative summer program, International Grail: Communities with a Heart, held at Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. Over two inspiring weeks, women from across the globe gathered to deepen their leadership, strengthen their communities, and explore new pathways for creating a more compassionate, just, and sustainable world.  Now in its fifth year, the program continues to bring together an international and intergenerational community of women united by a shared commitment to personal transformation and collective action. Through meaningful dialogue, experiential learning, and reflective practice, participants explored how authentic leadership begins with self-awareness and expands outward to create lasting change within families, organizations, and communities.

Inspired by the groundbreaking work of Grail member and Radboud University Professor Christa Anbeek, the curriculum is grounded in the Eight Cornerstones, a framework for cultivating communities rooted in compassion, courage, resilience, and hope.  Participants engaged with themes on mindfulness, diversity, storytelling, critical consciousness, embodied wisdom, ecological awareness, spirituality, and collaborative leadership.  A hallmark of the program is its emphasis on creating a courageous learning community where participants share their lived experiences across cultures, generations, and professions. These conversations foster meaningful relationships that continue long after the summer program concludes, creating a global network of women dedicated to serving their communities with empathy and purpose.

The faculty reflected the international spirit of The Grail, with educators from the Netherlands, South Africa, Brazil, Ecuador, and the United States facilitating a 

With great joy delegates from 18 countries gathered in person for the first time since 2017 for the Grail International General Assembly (IGA) 2026 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.  Our numbers included the Grail International Leadership Team (ILT), country delegates, international network coordinators and administrative team members.  In addition, many Brazilian Grail members served as the host committee and back stage team.  To them we owe immense gratitude! It was a great disappointment that our delegates from Angola were not with us as they were unable to secure visas.  We also missed our Grail sisters from Canada and Germany this year who were unable to make the journey.  

Over two weeks participants heard reports from project coordinators and teams.  We received inspiring and challenging input from speakers on migration and trafficking, the global situation facing women, feminist theology, and a solidarity economy.