African Training and Research Centre in Administration for Development Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) Original: French Pan-African Capacity Building Seminar for Women in Leading Positions Topic: Enhancing Management, Governance and Leadership Skills of Leading Women REPORT 17 19 March 2014 TANGIER (Morocco)
From 17 to 19 March 2014, a conference was held in the conference hall of Intercontinental Hotel in Tangier on the topic Enhancing Management, Governance and Leadership Skills of Leading Women, jointly organized by the African Training and Research Centre in Administration for Development (CAFRAD) and the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), in collaboration with the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF). Delegates from Gambia, Ghana, the Comoros Islands, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, and Morocco took part in this conference. The various activities carried out over these three days revolved around three main phases, namely: the formal phase, the actual proceedings and the conclusion of proceedings. I. FORMAL PHASE It was marked by the opening ceremony of the seminar by the Director General of CAFRAD, Dr. Simon MAMOSI LELO, the representative of ISESCO as well as the resident representative of the African Development Bank in Morocco. Speaking first, the Director General of CAFRAD recalled, after some customary words of welcome, the statutory tasks of the structure which he is responsible for. Then, he insisted on the motivations of this meeting, which is the second of its kind, after that of 2012. He ceased the opportunity to remind participants of the significance of the topic chosen, because leadership is everyone s business and shall at no moment be limited to Presidents and Ministers. It is, therefore, he said, a position that involves all those who exercise responsibility. This reminder also allowed him to outline a few principles necessary to the exercise of leadership,
namely: a vision, a strategy or approaches, mobilization capacities and evaluation of results and impact, courage, perseverance and the capacity to turn challenges into opportunities. The Director General of CAFRAD ended his remarks by highlighting the fact that hope, confidence and determination are essential qualities of a good leader. Ms. Saouda MAOULAININE, representative of ISESCO, succeeded the Director General of CAFRAD and said, in her introductory remarks, that she wished to inform the audience about the gratitude of the Director General of ISESCO as well as his best wishes for a successful conference. She wished that experts and participants make this meeting into a strong moment of training and fruitful exchanges. She also recalled that the purpose of this meeting is to strengthen the role and function of women in society, as well as to adopt policies commensurate with the importance of this role in the current development of African countries, in particular, and in the construction of the future. She further recalled the importance of such meeting in the dynamics of women participation and mobilization for the enhancement of their potentials, so far insufficiently used, in the perspective of sustainable development and for the preparation of leading women to be active stakeholders in their societies, and thereby of African society as a whole. The ISESCO representative thus recalled that the organization she represents is convinced of the essential character of the empowerment of women. Indeed, through such empowerment women may participate actively in the sustainable development of their countries by providing them with the best chances of social and professional success.
Finally, the ISESCO representative wished that this meeting might lead to the establishment of a women network whose jurisdiction will be recognized and likely to influence major decisions affecting Africa at various levels. She said to be convinced that the time has come for all to initiate a new dialogue worldwide on the eve of 2015, the date set by the United Nations for the achievement of the MDGs. The speaker concluded her remarks by the hope that this Pan-African meeting will allow for the establishment of new constructive and innovative partnerships in order to take up the many social challenges that prevent women from being fully involved in the development of their countries. Speaking at the end of this session, the representative of the African Development Bank recalled the important place given by ADB to the assistance and advancement of women. In this perspective, she highlighted the fact that the Bank has committed new actions aimed at enabling African institutions, including financial and micro finance institutions, to invest in women through a special micro finance capacity building fund in the amount of Eur 145 million intended for women entrepreneurs. This includes: the reinforcement of women s economic capacity through the development of entrepreneurial skills, access to microcredits, as well as the development of socio-economic infrastructures. The ADB representative recalled, however, that this motivation stems from the fact that women entrepreneurs and leaders are often the pillars of inclusive growth induced by the private sector. According to the ADB representative, the Bank deems it necessary to help leading women in Africa to acquire skills, resources and self-confidence, which constitute necessary variables for effective leadership. In the specific case of the Kingdom of Morocco, the ADB representative said that the Bank has prepared a Training Pack to develop the capacity of women in
elected bodies. This Pack is designed to reinforce their positioning in the communal and regional electoral process. This initiative also aims to enable effective and efficient participation in the management of public affairs, and local ones in particular. The speaker ended her remarks by recalling the Bank s determination to raise population s awareness of the importance of women participation in decision-making involving public life. II. PROCEEDINGS The proceedings took place in three main phases, divided into five sessions, namely: keynotes by resource persons, to which were added a few testimonials in plenary sessions, group work, and the debriefing or panel session. Keynotes by Resource Persons: This phase was an opportunity to listen respectively to the following topics: Session 1: Principles and Strategies, chaired by HE Ms. Kassim S. SITI, from the Union of the Comoros. This session was marked by one presentation, namely: The Principles of Management and Leadership by Ms. ALAOUI, from the Moroccan Ministry of Public Service and Administrative Modernization. Session 2: Principles and Tools Necessary to Women Leadership, chaired by Ms. BINTA J. SIDIBE from Gambia. This session was marked by two presentations, respectively by Dr. Olga MBANG WERIWO from Cameroon on Strategy and Policy Planning, followed by Miss Zineb HASSANI CHERKAOUI from TIZI Association.
Session 3: Skills Necessary for the Exercise of Women Leadership, chaired by the Honourable Mrs. Micheline KULUMBA BWITI, with two presentations, namely: a. The Priority Role of Women Leadership in the Preparation of Youth Future by Mr. Ali AUDU ASSEKOME from CAFRAD, in lieu of Mrs. Augustina BISI IYOHA; b. The Story of an Activist by Ms. Naïma THAY THAY, former Minister of Literacy, Kingdom of Morocco. Session 4: Women Leadership and the Future, chaired by Mrs. Saouda MAOULAININE from ISESCO, with two presentations entitled: a. Information and Communication Technologies: A Revolutionary Tool in Management by Mrs. Effie SIMPSON EKUBAN; b. The Skills Necessary for the Management of Complex Issues by H.E. Mrs. Apolline MUSENGESHI MUSAU. Session 5: Chaired by Benita OKYTI DUAH from Ghana; this session was an opportunity for a debriefing of proceedings, as well as a closing ceremony. The set of presentations gave rise to rich debates. III. DEBATES The presentations made by various persons gave rise to equally enriching debates. It was noted throughout these proceedings that participants very often wondered how to enable a better recognition of the role and place of women in decision making affecting society.
Thus, several points of view were evoked, namely: male resistance, social and cultural structures which are sometimes defiant to any form of emancipation, and a sometimes ambiguous role of women themselves, whose traditional burdens often eventually inhibit their development initiatives. Another point of controversy relates to the question how women who are largely responsible in Africa for children education fail, so far, to limit or better channel the will, power or even tendency to male domination? While for some women there is a necessary appeal to be made about this point of view with respect to mothers, for others the issue remains however much more complex, because unfortunately education and the surrounding culture do not always allow mothers to always and necessarily play their full role, particularly in rural areas. Even more so as the conventional spaces of decision-making such as parliaments and governments still have in Africa a very low women representation. The third element of controversy focused on reconciling women s career and domestic responsibilities. To this issue, several points of view were evoked, ranging from sharing domestic responsibilities between spouses to a more rational and balanced support of women by the public authorities, namely through the adoption of new legal and regulatory frameworks that are more sensitive to the cause of gender equality. The fourth element of major debate focused on women relation to the new information and communication technologies with a view to strengthening their leadership. Here, the debate focused on the question how to make these new technologies into additional assets for the strengthening of this female leadership. Several opinions have emerged, ranging from the usefulness of these tools to the fear that these new technologies may represent in certain circles, given the real
risks that they may involve. From these debates, some recommendations emerged. IV. RECOMMENDATIONS The delegates present in these proceedings made a number of recommendations which were presented and which will be incorporated in this report. a. Introducing legal and institutional mechanisms for a better recognition of women s role in society; b. Gradual adoption by African legislations of men/women equity, if not parity, within African public services; c. Introducing a dose of flexibility for women holding positions both in the public and the private sector, so as to enable them to reconcile family and professional life, especially for those with children 0-12 years old; d. Allocating a minimum income to housewives to enable them to improve their daily lives, including that of their young children; e. Assigning assistance or support to women engaged in a commercial activity through special funds or microfinance systems for this type of activity; f. Systematic establishment and set-up of day nurseries in the workplace to enable women to be closer to their children during the first years of life; g. Institutionalizing an annual Pan-African women conference to discuss issues specific to African women to change the legislations and practices regarding women.
V. THANKS The delegates present in these proceedings thanked the Moroccan Government for its warm hospitality. They also thanked CAFRAD, the African Capacity Building Foundation, ISESCO and the African Development Bank for the quality of organization of the proceedings and the exchanges that followed. They extended their thanks to all persons who, directly or indirectly, contributed to the success of this event, namely: resource persons, translators and interpreters, as well as Intercontinental Hotel staff for their professionalism and availability. Drawn up at Tangier on 24 March 2014 * * * * *