Forty African executives from 16 African countries took part in the program activities this year with distinguished female executive speakers including  H.E.Hon. Christine Hoebes, Minister in the Presidency of the Republic of Namibia and Egyptian Minister of immigration , Ambassador Soha Gendi.  The APRM was represented by Ms. Sara Hamouda- Continental Governance Program officer in charge and Ms. Ache Haije  as a representative of APRM female employees.

The  African Women Leadership Program (AWLP) is a flagship event which was organized by the Arab Republic of Egypt for the first time during its chairmanship of the African Union in 2019. Dr. Hanan Rizk, the coordinator of the program highlighted that, African Women empowerment has been a constant and firm plan of action for His Excellency Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of Arab Republic of Egypt, during and after his chairmanship of the African Union. She alluded to the significance of this program to capitalizes on the dividends of the increased efforts for better functioning public institutions and serves as part of the President Sisi’s Initiative to go beyond the milestones achieved so far on women empowerment in Africa.

AWLP4 program deliberated on Agenda 2063 : aspirations, progress and challenges which was addressed in a lecture by Ms. Sara Hamouda. Furthermore, the program displayed the Egyptian Government’s experience in different sectors including telecommunication and digital governance, promoting human rights through strengthening the role of the parliament, Anti-corruption reforms, environmental policy and preparations for COP 27 alongside other administrative reforms as a main pillar in Egypt’s Vision 2030. It also focused on raising awareness on the UN-CEPA principles of effective governance for the implementation of SDGs in Africa in addition to novel leadership skills.

Ms. Ache Hadije also shared the APRM reforms under the expanded mandate  to promote women’s’ engagement in continental programs including peace and security issues.

In the closing ceremony, Prof. Dr Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development expressed her appreciation to the continental secretariat of APRM, Kenya School of Government and other African partners for supporting the AWLP. Further, Dr. Sherifa Sherif, the Executive Director of National Institute of  Governance and sustainable development commended the valuable partnership with APRM, not only on promoting Agenda 2063 but also enhancing partnerships with different organs to promote good governance on the continent especially the UN CEPA Principles – endorsed by UN DESA and other programs. On behalf of the female executives, Ms. Hamouda provided the vote of thanks to the organisers and the Government of Egypt. She emphasised that the outcomes of the referred program will be shared with the AU designated working group of Agenda 2063 as recommendations for the Second-Ten Year implementation Plan (STYIP)- which is currently under preparation-  to ensure active participation of women in executing Africa’s continental agenda: “the Africa we want”.