Ghana Hosts Int'nal Women's Leadership Summit

By G.D. Zaney, Esq.

The 2019 edition of the International Women's Summit on Leadership Training and Sustainable Funding for Women in Business has taken place in Accra.

The meeting, organized by the Association of Women in the Media (ASWIM) in partnership with Empowering Strategies for Health and Development (EMSTRAD)?an indigenous Ghanaian Non-Governmental Organization (NGO)?the Expat Professional and Business Women's Network (EPBWN) and the Ghana Technology University, was on the theme: Empowered Women, Empowered Communities.

The Summit provided the platform to develop and promote educational training programs geared towards advancing the professional and personal lives of women.

It also served as an opportunity for women to share their strengths, talents and experiences that advance the interest and welfare of women.

In an address delivered on her behalf at the opening of the meeting on Friday, August 23, 2019, Madam Freda Prempeh, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP), urged women of outstanding accomplishments to open their doors as well as take it upon themselves to mentor, inspire and motivate younger women or girls to attain their full potential in the corporate world and beyond.

Hon. Prempeh called for deliberate efforts to integrate gender perspectives in all national programmes, especially those that were women-focused, and called for the removal or elimination of gender stereotypes to unearth the hidden potentials of women through Affirmative Action, education and capacity building.

She, therefore, pledged the commitment of Government to working with NGOs, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), Faith-based Organizations (F-bOs), the Academia as well as all local and international partners to promote the empowerment of women in leadership positions.

She disclosed that MoGCSP had designed several training and advocacy programmes to encourage women to join the race for the up-coming District Assembly and Parliamentary Elections.

In a key note address, Dr Bilkisu Magoro Blimor, International Relations Consultant, politician and gender activist from Nigeria, urged young women not to consider themselves too young to run for political offices, adding that power was not freely given, but to be worked for and grabbed.

Welcoming participants to the meeting, Mad. Yvonne Prempeh, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Cambridge Consultancy Services, Ghana, explained that in view of the existing gender disparity, platforms such as the International Leadership Summit were necessary for networking and engaging experienced women leaders who would nurture young women through the sharing of experiences.

As part of the summit activities, the Ghana Chapter of the Expat Professional & Business Women's Network (EPBWN) International was inaugurated.

EPBWN International, founded by Princess Nwakego Ibrahim-Pam in Tunis on April 2013, with its headquarters in Songdo, South Korea, was founded to support educated expatriate spouses who, due to language barriers and other constraints related to expatriate residency and diplomatic status, were unable to work or start their own businesses.

It is a diverse group of expatriate professional and business women and men with the aim of enhancing the advancement of expatriate spouses through training, networking and the mentoring and placement programme.

EPBWN envisions to empower expatriate women and men achieve success, build confidence and enhance effectiveness by providing a supportive and nurturing environment, leadership opportunities and mentoring them in their professional development in their various countries as accompanying spouses.

Speaking at the inauguration, Ms Christiana Adom Oppong, Country Co-ordinator, Ghana Chapter, EPBWN, pledged o work together with all stakeholders to break down barriers, defy stereotypes and empower women to impact on their communities.

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