In a guest column by Vivian Lowery Derryck of the Bridges Institute, AllAfrica reported on the recent launch of the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development and its flagship Amujae Initiative.

Dr. Derryck emphatically supported the Center’s goals, noting:

“Former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf offered a bright, glittering antidote to the fear and uncertainty of Covid-19 with the International Women’s Day (IWD) launch of the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development. The Monrovia-based center aims to advance women’s public leadership in Africa with an emphasis on political participation.”

The column also focused on the critical work undertaken by the Amujae Initiative, which convened its first cohort of inspiring women leaders across the continent during the inaugural forum:

“The Center’s first project, Amujae (a Kru word meaning moving up together), brings together 15…women leaders from across the continent–Anglophone, Francophone and Lusaphone– for a long weekend three times a year to meet with senior leaders and veteran women politicians to give the younger women new skills and deeper insights into the complex role of a female leader.

To underscore the gravity and urgency of the Center’s mission Ellen invited former Malawi President Joyce Banda and former Central African Republic President Catherine Samba-Panza to join her for the workshop and launch.”

Read the full article here.