The tenth Anniversary Edition of the Africa Women Conference (AWC) holding in Accra, Ghana is greater than a milestone, is greater than the celebration of ten outstanding editions, it’s a tribute to a imaginative and prescient that has grown right into a revered Pan-African platform for dialogue, collaboration and motion.
The objective of the convention is to carry collectively girls leaders, policymakers, improvement companions, entrepreneurs, lecturers, civil society organisations, conventional establishments and younger folks to develop sensible options for the development of African girls and ladies.
AWC has constantly offered a platform for his or her voices to be heard, their experiences to form coverage conversations, their enterprises to achieve visibility and their management potential to be strengthened.
The institution of the AWC Leadership Development Centre for Women and Girls created a platform for coaching, mentorship and the event of rising feminine neighborhood leaders. AWC-Next has additionally expanded engagement with college students, younger professionals, youth leaders and ladies on the grassroots, guaranteeing that the following era is ready to maintain and advance this essential work.
Through partnership with DataCamp Donates USA, AWC secured 100 coaching licences for ladies and ladies throughout Africa, chosen from greater than 3,500 candidates. Participants obtained structured coaching in synthetic intelligence, knowledge science, knowledge evaluation, Python, SQL, Excel, Power BI, machine studying and entrepreneurship.
Following rigorous efficiency assessments, 37 excellent individuals progressed to superior specialisation {and professional} certification tracks. This initiative demonstrates how AWC is translating convention resolutions into sensible interventions that take away monetary boundaries, construct a sustainable pipeline of African feminine expertise professionals and put together girls and ladies to take part meaningfully in the way forward for work and the digital economic system.
Past AWC editions have additional demonstrated the worth of collective motion. The eighth version in Zambia superior essential conversations on digital inclusion, monetary entry, agritech, entrepreneurship and ladies’s participation within the digital economic system.
In direct response to the digital gender hole highlighted at that Conference, the AWC Women and Girls Digital Technology Hub—AI and Data Science Programme was established.
The ninth version in Ghana strengthened collaboration round management, innovation and sustainable improvement. Delegates adopted resolutions supporting affirmative motion, mentorship, STEM training, women-led enterprises, monetary inclusion, cultural reform and higher illustration for ladies in decision-making. The proposed Pan-African Women’s Film Initiative additionally emerged as a platform for documenting and amplifying the genuine tales of African girls.
These achievements remind us that conferences should produce greater than inspiring speeches and exquisite reminiscences. They should generate partnerships, affect establishments, strengthen communities and enhance the lives of ladies and ladies.
This conviction impressed the theme of the tenth Anniversary Edition: “A Decade of Impact: From Commitments to Action—Advancing Justice, Economic Power and Leadership for African Women and Girls.”
The theme challenges us to look at the space between the guarantees now we have made and the actions now we have taken. Africa has adopted a number of legal guidelines, insurance policies and worldwide commitments defending the rights of ladies and ladies.
Yet discriminatory practices, weak enforcement, gender-based violence and restricted entry to justice stay realities for a lot of. Our activity should now transfer past coverage declarations to efficient enforcement, accountability and measurable outcomes.
Economic empowerment should equally transcend small interventions that merely assist girls survive. African girls have to be positioned to personal productive property, entry finance and expertise, take part meaningfully in regional and worldwide commerce, construct aggressive enterprises and profit from the alternatives introduced by the African Continental Free Trade Area.
When girls have entry to capital, markets, digital instruments and supportive insurance policies, they create jobs, strengthen households and contribute considerably to nationwide improvement.
We should additionally rework the establishments and social norms that proceed to limit girls’s management. Women deserve equitable illustration in political, company, tutorial, conventional and neighborhood decision-making. Representation should not be handled as a favour granted to girls; it’s important to inclusive governance, social justice and sustainable improvement.
As girls collect in Ghana 4-6 November 2026, each participant ought to method this anniversary as a renewed name to service. Let us transfer from discussing inclusion to constructing inclusive establishments; from advocating financial empowerment to investing in women-led enterprises; and from calling for justice to demanding enforcement and accountability.
Our success is not going to be measured solely by the standard of our deliberations in Accra. It will probably be measured by what we do afterwards: the youthful girls we mentor, the ladies whose training we assist, the discriminatory practices we problem, the women-owned companies we patronise and put money into, and the insurance policies we assist translate into significant change.
Dr. Jumai Ahmadu, Convener, Africa Women Conference (AWC)
