GAMBIA TO PLAY HOST ‘2012 AFRICAN WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE’

The small West African country of The Gambia with its 1.8 population is on its foot to host an historic event dubbed ‘African Women in Leadership Conference (AWLC) 2012’ from June 13 to the mid of June this year. At a press discourse in Statehouse recently, Mrs Edith Uyovbukerhi, Executive Director, African Women in Leadership Organisation says “The 2012 AWLC will be the 4th annual conference. Its maiden event was held in 2009 in Accra, Ghana; the second annual event was held in Abuja Nigeria in 2010; and the most recent 2011 edition [was held] in Accra, Ghana.” The team from AWLO, which organises the African Women Leadership Conference (AWLC), was in Statehouse to brief the vice president about the event.

Her excellence flanged by Mrs Edith Uyovbukerhi, Executive Director AWLO and Elisha Attai, Founder of AWLO The objectives of AWLC include among other issues, fostering an alliance among African women in leadership position for proper conduct in office; to create a platform for unity, solidarity, cohesion, dialogue and networking amongst members for self-development; and to influence the improvement to access to legal, political, economic in the spirit of advancing the status of women in poor Africa. The Gambia’s vice president Dr Isatou Njie-Saidy, who is a continental exemplar and Hon Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, the deputy governor of Lagos State, Nigeria, are the two influential and strong African women shortlisted to deliver papers at the event, which will be held at the Sheraton Hotel. “The African Women in Leadership Conference 2012 will be the largest gathering of African women on the continent. It is a three-day event that brings together women leaders from diverse backgrounds across the region to interact, dialogue and discuss relevant issues aimed at empowering women to develop their leadership capability towards greater self and national development,” she adds. “There is a need for African women to achieve gender parity, access finance, insurance, education, healthcare and housing to help them spiral upwards. There has to be a focus on finding a good approach to solving the incapacitation of poor women in rural and disadvantaged areas of Africa to move out of poverty.

Her excellence, the team from AWLO and the deputy speaker of parliament, Hon Fatou Mbye For this to materialise, women must develop the capacity to generate and maintain their means of livelihood and produce excess that will eventually lead to savings,” she says, adding these are some of the issues that will be discussed in the conference, hence are the primary priorities of the AWLO. Cognizant of the Gambia government’s effort in empowering women, the organisers deemed it fitting to have the programme conducted in the country. “The choice of The Gambia is borne out of the fact that The Gambia has unique qualities over many other destinations in Africa and high among them is its government’s active inclusion of women in key leadership and decision making positions,” Elisha Attai, Founder of AWLO was quoted as saying. Currently the country boasts of 38% of women in cabinet, a percentage many hailed as good move to empowering women. Pertinent issues will be on the table for discussion, among which are ‘how does the role of the African woman in politics contribute to securing reformation for Africa and protect its political future’; ‘what strategies do African women in politics apply for impacts’?; is the notion of increased gender participation for the African woman in government and society merely a political tool’? The event will x-ray sessions that address the woman’s spiritual, mental, physical and emotional wellbeing. “Other sessions will explore the woman in the African context, where the challenge can be two-pronged: cultural environment and conditioning of the girl-child imposed on the characteristics and expectations of a strong Africa woman leader,” Mrs Uyovbukerhi notes. The meeting at Statehouse was attended by national women leaders, the permanent secretary at the office of the vice president, deputy speaker of the National Assembly, and the vice president.