According to information provided by Dr. Sylvia Blyden when she landed in the U.S, the two ministers were invited by the Women For Africa Foundation, an institution with the aim of “providing equal rights and opportunities for women with the objective of social transformation and the generation of sustainable development for Africans , particularly African women, ” according to the invitation letter .
The women were invited for a top-level “Leadership Forum For Strategic Impact “in collaboration with the prestigious Yale University and specifically designed for African women holding ministerial posts or former ministers,” which have shown strong commitment and leadership in their countries.”
The Forum will last from May 12 to 19, 2017 and will be divided in two parts. The first one will last for four days at the campus of Yale University, followed by a second part that will entail visits to Washington DC.
The forum will consist of seminar-type discussion sessions, presentations and meetings, in what will also be an intensive, interactive program.
The ministers will also have the opportunity to engage directly with faculty, experts, and one another in open unconstrained dialogue in order to stimulate critical thinking and illuminate ideas.
The invitation letter went on to say that “The program envisages the exploration of key governance and policy issues of vital importance to the social, political and economic development of Africa such as leadership and strategy; public policy development ; feminism and gender equality , science, public health, environmental sustainability and food security, terrorism, gender-based violence , economic growth , financial crisis and globalization .”
With reference to the impact, the Foundation said that the most critical part of the forum is an expectation that participants will share their ideas, skills and personal approach to leadership with young leaders in their countries while replicating the initiative back home “as we strongly believe that this is the way to guarantee the maximum impact for the program”, the letter continued.
