AYV News, October 7, 2024
Mayor of Freetown, Her Worship Yvonne Aki-Sawyer thrills her audience at the 2024 African Mayoral Leadership Initiative (AMALI) programme in Nairobi, Kenya.
The programme is a partnership between Big Win Philanthropy, Bloomberg Philanthropy and the African Centre for Cities (ACC) located at the University of Cape Town.
The leadership programme supports African city leaders with an exclusive, tailored initiative designed to hone and deliver their visions for their cities.
Aki-Sawyer said: “My participation in the AMALI programme (www.amalicities.africa) contributed significantly to the conceptualisation and design of the Transform Freetown – Transforming Lives target of creating 120,000 decent jobs for women and youth by 2028. AMALI is supporting FCC with capacity building, data management expertise and technical personnel input as we proceed with the implementation of our ambitious but achievable job creation target.
“It was a pleasure to have the final convening co-hosted by the Governor of Nairobi city H.E. Sakaja Johnson and the Governor of Kadiajo County H.E. Joseph Ole Lenku. It was wonderful to see firsthand the positive impact of the implementation of their legacy goals on their residents during our field visits.
“We also had the opportunity to meet with the President of Kenya His Excellency William Ruto, who highlighted the important role cities must play in the development of Africa as our continent rapidly urbanizes. I have been inspired and encouraged by our AMALI co-chairs, Jamie Cooper, Founder and President of Big Win Philanthropy and Edgar Pieterse, Founding Director of ACC. The wealth of experience and insights shared by all our amazing AMALI advisors and mentors has been invaluable. Advisors Mdme Mamphela Ramphele Honorary Co-President of the Club of Rome and H.E. Monica Geingos, former First Lady of Namibia, brought new perspectives and views to discussions on youth engagement and local community participation that I found particularly helpful”.
