Dr Sania joins strategic leadership retreat for Ethopian women ministers

Islamabad: Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division Dr Sania Nishtar joined Strategic Leadership Retreat for Ethiopian Women Ministers as part of the expert adjunct faculty along with distinguished women leaders from around the world the primary goal of the Leadership Retreat was to equip the new cohort of 10 Ethiopian women ministers with tools to help them navigate effectively in a historically patriarchal political system, and to achieve their priority policy goals. Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewdie and first African woman president from Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf also joined the Leadership Retreat and motivated women ministers.

Pakistani minister attends Harvard Ministerial Retreat as a faculty the retreat was organised in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. The retreat was organised in three main parts: Legacy, Leadership and Delivery, said a press release issued here Monday.

As part of the expert adjunct faculty, Dr Nishtar helped, led and informed discussions throughout the retreat. She also mentored the Ethiopian ministers along with other women leaders from around the world to map personal plans for their tenure in office. She also urged women ministers to promote shared vision, coordinated policy focus and investment for human development, and supported African women leaders to reap the full benefits of a healthy and productive population to better realise their country’s prospects for sustainable economic development.

The retreat was held under the Harvard Ministerial Leadership Programme that is a joint initiative of the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard Kennedy School, and the Harvard Graduate School of Education in collaboration with the big win philanthropy and the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and the GE Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation.

In short, the retreat combined short substantive inputs with experiential learning drawing on the experience and insights of a selected group of distinguished women leaders from around the world. The ministers exchanged their views on the role of women as leaders in political and social change in Ethiopia.