The program started in 1999 as an in-house internship program for two young women from Shan State. The Internship Program aims to provide young Shan women with the skills and practical workplace experience necessary to take on positions at SWAN and in civil society organizations, and to advocate for change in their communities. In 2003, SWAN extended the Internship Program training to six young women from the Shan community for one year in Chiang Mai, and it was run continuously until 2009.  The program was resumed in 2014, and run until 2020.  Over 60 young Shan women successfully completed their internships in Chiang Mai or Taunggyi. After finishing their internship training, some alumnae became SWAN staff and others found employment with a range of other organizations.

Additionally, SWAN runs a variety of workshops and trainings under the Women’s Empowerment Program based on our routine needs assessments and at the request of Shan communities.

In 2007, SWAN began conducting its Women’s Exchanges in IDP camps along the Thai-Shan State border. In 2011, SWAN began organising Women’s Exchanges inside Burma.  These exchanges provide a space and time for women in the community to build confidence, by joining together to share their experiences and stories regarding violence and other gender issues. Women’s Exchanges are held over one day and facilitated by SWAN focal points.

In 2012, SWAN started the Young Women’s Leadership Training Program, which was conducted as a residential program over an 8-month period. The program aims to strengthen the voice of young Shan women in Burma and train them for positions of leadership. The intention is to reach out and empower marginalized women and open up a space for dialogue about women’s rights and gender equality in remote Shan communities. This training is mainly for young, marginalized women who have fewer opportunities to pursue higher education, and to enable them to access political and social training to step into leadership roles. From 2012 to 2014, 18 trainees from different parts of Shan State and Kachin State completed the training in SWAN’s Chiang Mai Office. The training was paused in 2015 while setting up the system running program activities inside Burma through the Taunggyi Centre in Shan State. In 2016, SWAN was able to run the training for over a period of 6 months. During 2017-2018, the Young Women Leadership Training paused again, and was restructured, then resumed in 2019 at SWAN’s Taunggyi Center. However, it was forced to discontinue from mid- 2020 due to the COVID 19 pandemic and the military coup in 2021.

From 2012 to 2020, 64 young women completed this intensive leadership training. Most of the alumnae became SWAN’s focal points and implemented Women’s Exchanges and Youth Capacity Building in their communities. Some work with local and international organizations for human rights and women’s rights, and political and social development

In 2013, SWAN conducted the first Emerging Women’s Leadership Training, conducting a three-week training program for 16 Shan women. The participants were all actively working in civil society organizations, political parties, and/or as teachers, health workers, and other community roles. The Emerging Women’s Leadership Training aims to increase women’s confidence, skills and knowledge in becoming influential leaders in their chosen leadership positions. The Emerging Women’s Leadership Training provides participants with a foundation in feminist principles, so that when they enter into leadership positions they can operate from a feminist perspective, and better understand and represent women in their communities. This training was conducted annually until 2019: 103 women total completed the training.

From 2014 to 2019, the Alumnae Exchange meeting was organized annually over a five-day period to bring together 30- 35 alumnae from SWAN’s various training programs. The Alumnae Exchange aims to unify and strengthen SWAN’s community volunteer team and provide a platform for SWAN alumnae who completed the Young Women’s Leadership Training, the Emerging Women’s Leadership Training, the Internship Program, and trainings for health workers to exchange strategies and ideas with one another and build and maintain supportive networks. Because of the COVID 19 pandemic and the military coup in 2021, SWAN was not able to organize the annual exchange from 2020 to 2022. In November 2023, however, we were able to organize the Alumnae Exchange with 60 alumnae. 

In 2018, SWAN began the Youth Capacity Building Workshops, including young men. Its aim is to prevent violence against women by providing an attitude and behavioural change intervention targeting young men and women in Shan communities. The activity is facilitated by SWAN’s Women’s Empowerment Program team and focal points over a three-day period. Each year, 15 – 20 workshops were conducted with 30 – 40 youth attending each workshop until the COVID pandemic hit in 2020.  SWAN resumed the workshops in border areas from 2021.