Reversing Negative Trend in “women and leadership in Africa”, Focus of Rome Conference

Olga Kouassi, an agricultural engineer and General Director of an Ivory Coast-based auditing firm will present a paper titled “leadership of African women.”

Based on her studies of various African situations, Ms. Kouassi will be arguing that a woman has her specific natural qualities to exercise leadership that is necessary in society.

While a woman’s exercise of leadership has always been known to exist at the level of the family, Ms. Kouassi will be telling participants, the reality of women empowerment has seen some women serve at higher decision-making levels, sometimes demonstrating more success than their male counterparts.

She will guide the participants to deliberate on the challenge such successful women have, that is, the ability to reconcile their family and professional life within the African context.

Set to present a paper titled “The African woman in leadership and management: The role of education,” Cameroonian-born Ms. Tallah will lead participants in a reflection on the impact of education on women in Africa within the context of leadership and management.

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While some women have risen to high positions of recognition in Africa, for instance “President Sirleaf, the former president of Liberia … the African women are still in the minority when it comes to leadership and management roles,” Ms. Tallah will argue supported by examples from Africa.

In her findings, she will demonstrate, “even when educated at the same level women and men do not have the same opportunities,” among other challenges of the African woman.

She will be seeking to underline, as a possible solution to the challenges she will outline, education that begins at the family.

“The husband and wife shall fully play the role of the first educators of their children supporting each other and working in unison for the good of each member of the family,” Ms. Tallah will submit.

Karine Kouassi who is a senior consultant at the Abidjan-based Technopolis Group is set to take stock of the place of women in leadership globally but especially in Africa and based on this, present the value of making women’s leadership a priority in an effort to overcome the challenge of inequalities in Africa. Her paper is titled “Let’s make women’s leadership a priority for tomorrow’s Africa.”

Established in 2002 on the occasion of the canonization of the founder of Opus Dei, Josemaria Escrivá and headquartered in Rome, Harambee Africa International is an international association that seeks, in a twofold plan of action, “to contribute to enhancing the potential of the different realities of Sub-Saharan Africa.”  

The Rome-based organization has the action plan of strengthening “the capacity of local human resources, supporting African entities in the implementation of projects in the field of basic education, vocational training, academia and business.”

The entity also takes initiatives that “deepen knowledge about Africa in order to overcome stereotypes and contribute to a culture of coexistence and complementarity.”

Coined from the Swahili word “Harambee” with the meaning of “working together to achieve something else,” the association has realized projects in various African countries, among them, Kenya, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Uganda, DR Congo, Cameroon and South Africa.

In these African countries, the association conducts private fundraising and supports institutions at the grassroots in view of imparting skills as well as offering “people the tools to take responsibility for themselves, the ability to make decisions and plan their future.”

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In Europe, the Rome-based entity has committees in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Poland and the United States; and disseminates information depicting “the most authentic African reality” especially in Italy.

The aim of Harambee Africa International, reads a statement the association’s Vice president, Manuel Sanchez shared with ACI Africa, “is to promote in-depth discussions on development in Africa, contributing to the spread of correct information on the continent and with the ambition to try new ways of expressing the culture of human development, the ambition to go beyond the current models.”

Fr. Don Bosco Onyalla is ACI Africa’s founding Editor-in-Chief. He was formed in the Congregation of the Holy Ghost Fathers (Spiritans), and later incardinated in Rumbek Diocese, South Sudan. He has a PhD in Media Studies from Daystar University in Kenya, and a Master’s degree in Organizational Communication from Marist College, New York, USA.