Empowerment of Women in Africa

Featured Speakers: Ms. Roshini Thinakaran, filmmaker, National Geographic Emerging Explorer 2007; Ms. Ruth Mufute, Acting Regional Director Anglophone East/West Africa, Africare; Baroness Amos, UK candidate for EU Special Representative to the AU; Her Excellency Inonge Mbikusita-Lewanika, Ambassador, Republic of Zambia; Her Excellency Faida Mitifu, Ambassador, Democratic Republic of Congo

Women play a vital role in the development process, and often times, this fact is overlooked. National Geographic and the British Embassy of Washington, D.C. co-sponsored “Empowerment of Women in Africa” a panel to discuss how different development processes and events relate to women. At the session entitled “Women at the Forefront,” Ms. Roshini Thinakaran discussed how women are affected by war. Thinakaran discussed Women at the Forefront, her project aimed at raising awareness of the issues facing women living in war-torn countries. She also showed a short video clip highlighting the experiences of women in Liberia. The session entitled “Perspectives on Women’s Leadership” focused on governance, democratization, and social change. Baroness Amos and Ambassadors Mbikusita-Lewanika discussed their professional and personal experiences dealing with women’s leadership and fielded questions on topics ranging from Western democratization to education. Ambassador Mbikusita-Lewanika concluded the session by stating that Africa often has a negative perception because people associate the corrupt action of one government with the entire continent. She explained that in reality, Africa consists of many countries that are led by good, non-corrupt governments, and stressed that more people need to recognize that.

Sponsor: The British Embassy, Washington D.C. and National Geographic
Location: National Geographic Society, 1145 17th Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20036, Grosvenor Auditorium
Date: Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Time: 1:00pm
Approximate Number of Attendees: 150
Intern Attending: Keely Foutch