THE WELLBEING FOUNDATION WELCOMES WIE SYMPOSIUM TO NIGERIA

L-R Mo Abudu, Founder and Chairman, Ebony Life TV, Salamatu Fatima, Toyin Saraki, Founder, The Wellbeing Foundation, Aisha (3 Girl Ambassador), Olukemi Williams, Country Director, Girl Hub at WIE Africa 2014 Our Future: This is the Moment to Invest in Girls (Nike Foundation) Panel

On Saturday, 3rd May 2014, women leaders from across the globe came together to empower and inspire the next generation at the second annual Women: Inspiration & Enterprise (WIE) Africa Symposium. Taking place at the Intercontinental Hotel, in Lagos, Nigeria, WIE Africa was co-hosted by Founder-President of The Wellbeing Foundation Africa, and Symposium sponsor, H.E. Mrs. Toyin Saraki, alongside influential business leader Bola Adesola; trailblazing media chief and CEO of Ebony Life TV, Mo Abudu; eclectic design icon and couturier, Folake Folarin-Coker; and national TV icon, Julie Gichuru. Also, headlining WIE Africa in Nigeria was foremost businesswoman and Nigeria’s first female billionaire, Folorunsho Alakija, who gave shared her inspirational life experience the captive international audience. 

Co-founded by Dee Poku, WIE is a global annual conference and community designed to empower the next generation of women leaders. WIE Africa, in particular, serves to showcase the women taking a central role in shaping the Africa of tomorrow, with the aim of contributing to changing any negative perceptions of Africa as a whole, by presenting successful African women and innovation. Packed full of panels featuring speakers from the worlds of politics, business, philanthropy, media, fashion, entertainment and the arts, WIE Africa presents a platform for African women leaders to instigate the much-needed progress ahead of the fast approaching Millennium Development Goals’ 2015 deadline.

Moderating the Nike Foundation ‘Girl Effect’ panel, titled ‘Our Future: This is the Moment to Invest in Girls,’ the Founder-President of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa recently reiterated the critical call to action to put girls at the top of the post-2015 development agenda, especially in light of recent national events. Expressing delight as she welcomed the WIE Africa Symposium to Nigeria, H.E Mrs. Toyin Saraki stated that women and girls “play a great role in today’s global economy; and in order to make an impact in [their] spheres of influence, professions, vocations and passions, all women should be fulfilled, empowered and achievement-driven.” To address the marginalization of

adolescent girls, who are key change agents in society, the Nike Foundation’s ‘Girl Effect’ initiative continues to promote the Girl Declaration, which is fully supported by the Wellbeing Foundation Africa. The Foundation has long challenged practices that hinder the prosperity of the girl child, such as child marriage and domestic violence, while promoting behaviours that ensure their progress, such as girl education.

Stimulating a loud applause from delegates, Miss Salamatu aged 17 said “A real woman is a woman who seeks to empower others and is a role model to other women” while Miss Aisha, aged 19, articulated the best of the Symposium’s goal; she said "I am here to be the voice of the girls who cannot be here."

Aptly themed ‘The Global Leader,’ WIE Africa immediately precedes the World Economic Forum (WEF) Africa, which will also be taking place in Nigeria from the 7th of May 2014. Attendees and speakers this year included Hadeel Ibrahim, of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation; CNN’s Isha Sesay; renowned media magnate, Patricia Amira; Director of Africa Philanthropy Forum, Pearl Darko; and many other women of inspiration and industry. Following the immense success of the inaugural WIE Africa Symposium 2013 which took place in Cape Town, South Africa, WIE Africa 2014 continues to fulfill the potential of the African continent and empowering women in leadership all over the world. Since launching in New York in 2010, the WIE Symposium has attracted high profile speakers such as Iman, Donna Karan, Queen Rania, Alek Wek, Christy Turlington, Melinda Gates, Cherie Blair, Dian von Furstenberg and Dambisa Moyo.