Graca Machel Trust boosts women’s agenda

Sat, 29 Jul 2017 12:22:01 +0000

By SANDRA MACHIMA

ZAMBIAN women like any other will also benefit from Graca Machel Trust economic advanced empowerment programme that is aimed at uplifting the livelihood of women in Africa.

The Graça Machel Trust inaugurated Women Advancing Africa Forum, which is set to bring some of the continent’s best and brightest minds together to shape a common agenda to accelerate the economic advancement of women in Africa.

Ms Machel said Africa had experienced tremendous development in the last few decades, however a significant gap in the economic advancement of women had remained a huge challenge.

She said the Trust was establishing a platform for women to claim their right to sit at the table where decisions were made and to shape the policies, plans and strategies for the futures and those of the generations to come.

“Africa is in a second liberation era –  the economic liberation. Women can no longer be secondary or marginal, and through Women Advancing Africa the Trust wants to enable women to take centre stage in the economic advancement of Africa.”

The inaugural Women Advancing Africa (WAA) Forum is a new Pan-African flagship initiative launched by the Graça Machel Trust to acknowledge and celebrate the central role women play in shaping Africa’s development agenda and by driving social and economic transformation.  The Women Advancing Africa Forum would next month also celebrate the diversity of African culture and creativity in all its forms, from language, to design and fashion, to movie making and dance.

This year’s Forum will celebrate African female writers and storytellers who were challenging the status quo, reshaping narratives and developing a deeper understanding and appreciation of the creative industries and their role in driving social progress.

Mrs Machel said with an estimated attendance of 200 participants from across the continent, the Forum would play host to a diverse mix of women and youth representing thought leaders and influencers from the private sector, philanthropy, academia, civil society, government, development agencies and the media, who would bring their voices, experiences and ideas to strategize, set priorities and craft a common agenda to drive Africa’s social and economic transformation.

And another highlight of this year’s inaugural Forum will be the launch of a coffee table book entitled, “Women Creating Wealth: A Collection of Stories of Female Entrepreneurs from Across Africa”.

The collection celebrates women trailblazers in business with a collection of inspirational stories from Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe among other African countries. Mrs Machel explained that what made her forum unique was that Women Advancing Africa provided a space to bring together the energy, innovation and creativity of women from all parts of the continent to share solutions to make them stronger, united and unstoppable. The Graca Machel Trust is an organisation that works across the continent to drive positive change across women’s and children’s rights, as well as governance and leadership, through its support of local initiatives and connecting key stakeholders at a regional, national and sub-national level.