Who was at the Meeting?

 

Who was at the meeting? That is a fascinating question as we gathered Africa in the Baraza (Kiswahili word for consultative meeting) room on the North Coast of Kenya from the 3-7 of June 2024. What indeed would be the agenda of such a meeting; as bringing together delegates from twelve African countries for a five-day seminar?  The meeting actually covered two language groups from West and Eastern Africa. The interesting thing about this meeting is that it was attended by budding scientists. Most of them pursuing research and developing their academic careers in their various disciplines from farming methods to veterinary medicine They came armed with their research knowledge, critical for recognition in their fields of expertise. On the face of it, this should have been a hard core scientific conference. Indeed, you would have guessed the same from the name of the organizers: AWARD – African Women in Agricultural Research and Development - Well No!

The event was about building the capacity of Africa’s  Young Leaders. I will not say, “next generation” or even, “leaders of tomorrow”. No. These ARE our leaders. To put it simply, leadership is a journey that each of us must embark on - deliberately. No it will not just come to you. And even if it does, you must know how to go about it.  You see, progress in a career is about the technical competencies you must develop to be respected by your professional peers. But, it is ALSO about the soft skills you need to lead yourself, teams and institutions. It is about the soft skills you NEED to be an effective leader. It is about understanding yourself and others and the organization. It is about Emotional Intelligence and that very special African philosophy of Ubuntu. Leadership, they say, is about influence. But how exactly do you go about it. Many people find themselves appointed to administrative, management and leadership positions with technical, but next to no training in soft skills.

So the AWARD team brought together Siaka, Nalla, Maria, and I, in a leadership conversation to empower our young leaders on their (leadership) journey from Malawi, Tanzania, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Zambia, Togo, Benin, Mali, Senegal add Uganda and Cameroon and you have a  conclave that one cannot forget… 

“I cannot evaluate this training – it was priceless!”

“I was very disorganized! I now know how to change”

“Why were we not taught this in school?” 

The charge: Keep the Promise!