To: The Wellesley Community
From: President Paula A. Johnson
Re: The African Women’s Leadership Conference
Date: February 9, 2018
I am pleased to welcome our students back to campus and to share with our community some exciting news about a first-of-its-kind conference that the College is convening next month.
On March 8 and 9, some of the most influential and inspiring voices in African women’s leadership will gather on campus for the African Women’s Leadership Conference. Organized in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, the conference gives us the opportunity to host some of Africa’s most prominent women leaders—from education and politics, health and technology, entertainment and the law.
Distinguished guests will include three remarkable keynote speakers: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, president of Liberia (2006–2018) and Nobel Peace Prize laureate; Kakenya Ntaiya, Kenyan educator, feminist, and social activist; and, on a lighter note, Kansiime Anne, the Ugandan comedian and actor known as “Africa’s Queen of Comedy.” I hope everyone will join me and will attend one or more of these extraordinary keynote events. Please register in advance.
Several other truly outstanding speakers will be appearing at the conference as well, and their talks will be available to all via the College’s livestream. They include: Agnes Binagwaho, global health leader and former minister of health, Rwanda; playwright Mfoniso Udofia ’06, a first-generation Nigerian-American storyteller and educator; Farida Bedwei, Ghanaian software engineer and disability rights advocate; and Hauwa Ibrahim, Nigerian international human rights and Shariah law attorney. I encourage you to view their powerful presentations.
We are extremely honored to bring these exceptional leaders together and to support the next generation of African women leaders—women who are dedicated to making the world a better place.
