African women leaders convene at Yale University

President Peter Salovey is shown above with participants in the Leadership Forum for Strategic Impact, a keystone program of the Yale Africa Initiative, an ongoing effort by Yale to prioritize and expand upon its collaborations on the continent. 

This year’s program participants, who were on campus May 10-17, included 11 women leaders from eight African countries: Angola, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Benin, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Libya, and Tunisia. 

The forum — supported by La Fundación Mujeres por África (the Women for Africa Foundation) and Banco Santander — aims to enhance the knowledge and skills of senior African women leaders who already have attained important positions within their nations’ governments, and to grow a network across Africa to further amplify women’s effectiveness and influence.

The program features seminar-style discussion sessions, presentations, and meetings, all part of an intensive, interactive program concluding with a trip to New York City to meet with leading figures in the United Nations, technology industry, and other organizations.  

Following are participants in this year’s program:

1. María Teresa Fernández de la Vega Sanz
   President, Women for Africa Foundation; president, State Council of Spain; former Vice President of Spain
2. Caddy Adzuba — Democratic Republic of the Congo
   Journalist, lawyer, women’s rights advocate
3. Maisoun Badawi — Sudan
   Development economist
4. Vicentia Boco — Benin
   Former Minister of Higher Education; President, Institute for the Promotion of Women
5. Priscilla Chigumba — Zimbabwe
   Chairperson, Zimbabwe Electoral Commission; judge, High Court of Zimbabwe
6. Sonia Doutel Vaz — Angola
   Former National Director of Women's Rights, Gender Equality and Equity
7. Jolly Kamuntu — Democratic Republic of the Congo
   President, Women’s Media Association, South Kivu; president, Karité Jeunesse Nouvelles
8. Samia Melki Fessi — Tunisia
   President, KADIRAT
9. Ayat Mneina — Libya/Canada
   Co-Founder, Libyan Youth Movement (ShababLibya)
10. Jestina Mukoko — Zimbabwe
    Director, Zimbabwe Peace Project
11. Dora Siliya — Zambia
    Minister of Information
12. Edith Zewelani Nawakwi — Zambia
    President, Forum for Democracy and Development; former Minister of Finance; former Minister of Energy and Water Development; former Minister of Agriculture; former Minister of Labor