The Report covers key activities and events that happened in the last six months.
1. AUGUST EVENTS:
1.1 VISIT OF GLOBAL PRESIDENT of IWF Ms Allyson Maynard Gibson and key representatives from the IWF.
A key highlight of the August events was the visit of our global international Women’s Forum led by the President, former President and other representatives from the IWF.
2. HOSTED DINNER:
1.2 IWFSA hosted a dinner in their honor at the West Cliff Hotel. The President of IWF Ms Allyson Maynard Gibson expressed appreciation for the role of IWFSA in partnering with IWF in promoting development of women leaders, particularly within the context of the dynamic challenges and changes we all face in the world. They noted that they felt it was timely to come to South Africa during the year of the world cup, to share with us the spirit of unity that was reflected by the world cup event world wide. It was an inspiration for them that through the way it was experienced by many, South Africa showed that it had become a significant player in the global environment.
3. HONORED IWFSA LEADERS:
The dinner event also created an opportunity for us to honor our leaders who have pioneered the establishment of the IWFSA and shaped its focus and development. The key leaders honored were the following:
Our main Sponsor and champion –
Mrs Zanele Mbeki
Mmemogolo Semane Mamolotlegi
Ms Frene Ginwala
Ms Pam Golding
Minister Naledi Pandor
Dr Patricia Gorvalla
We thank Ms Precious Motsepe for having sponsored the gifts for the event. Don Mattera read poetry as part of the celebration of the event.
4. EXECUTIVE DEVELOPMENT ROUNDTABLE:
An Executive Development Roundtable was held involving IWFSA fellows and other young leaders in the country. The event was well attended, (60). The event was facilitated by IWF global with presentations which included the President of IWF Allyson Maynard Gibson and members of the IWFSA. The executives who attended the event expressed their appreciation for the event as it extended their visions and understanding of executive leadership, above all they noted the importance of being part of a network of other executives with whom they could share ideas and learn from. At the end of the two days workshop, the IWF President proposed that we establish a platform to link the young executives with their counterparts in the USA and Bahamas. IWFSA member Ms Vuyo Mahlati was asked to coordinate the platform on behalf of the IWFSA.
Following the event, Ms Vuyo Mahlati arranged sponsorship from SA Post Office for the network which she named Young Leaders Connect. A workshop of the network was held in Midrand in October, and Ms Vuyo Mahlati and Ms Janine Hill facilitated the session. Meetings and discussions have also been held with IWFSA members in Cape Town and Durban, following on the recommendations of the YLC there are plans to have events in Cape Town and Durban early next year. Ms Mahlati will give more information on the strategy and plans in her report.
5. AFRICAN WOMEN LEADERS REPORT:
As part of the implementation of the IWFSA strategy of promoting the role of African women leaders in decision making, the study of African women leaders in 5 African countries has been initiated with the UNDP as a key partner, ABSA as a sponsor and Da Vinci providing technical support. A lot of progress has been achieved with the engagement of Frontier Advisory which has already done an economic and social review of the countries and is currently finalizing the report on the study. Ms Vuyo Mahlati, who is also in the National Planning has been supporting me in the process, and it is envisaged that the reports can be part of the contributions to the national planning that she is involved in. That will go a long way in ensuring that the quality of the reports is enhanced and that their impact can be enhanced. We have a meeting scheduled for this week for the final draft report to be presented to ABSA. We are looking at the release of the Report in March.
The Minister of Foreign Relations Minister Maite Nkoana Mashabane has agreed to champion the release of the report. Ms Monhla Hlahla, MD of Airport Company SA will facilitate for us coordination with the Minister’s office and the UN for a suitable date.
SUPPORTED EVENT HOSTED BY ACSA TO CONGRATULATE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS FOR HER SUCCESS IN GETTING SA INCLUDED IN THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL.
On the invitation of the MD of ACSA we partnered with ACSA when they celebrated the Minister’s success on getting SA to be included as a member of the Security Council. Through the assistance of Ms Judi Nokwedi we had met with Ambassador from Australia, a representative and Chairperson of the International Women’s Ambassadors in SA. We therefore asked them to facilitate the invitation of women Ambassadors to the event.
The Minister appreciated our involvement in partnering with ACSA and has suggested that we host quaterly events which she will attend to brief us on global developments including business opportunities. ACSA has already secured funding for the hosting of the events. We believe that this creates an opportunity to extend networks of our members to global partners, events and opportunities.
6. SENIOR EXECUTIVE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM:
In partnership with DBSA and GIBS, we have gone a long way in developing a program that will create opportunity for women leaders to get exposure in Infrastructure project management and strategic leadership. Ms Vuyo Mahlati has attended several meetings with me and the DBSA, at this stage we are awaiting outcomes on the funding proposals from European Union.
7. OFFICE MANAGEMENT & FUNDING
With the departure of Khomotso, we have had only Gwen in the office, and we would like to note appreciation for the support we got from Janine Hill and Veronica Devine. I have asked Veronica and Gwen to provide us with a draft budget proposal for the coming year. See attached. Ms Mahlati has approached some companies for funding and we are hopeful that we should be successful. We are proposing R1, 5m which should enable us to manage the office and the YLC.
Noting the challenges of managing our office and the global networks, we should consider appointing Veronica as the CEO and a senior manager to work with her and Gwen.
