Dialogue for Action Africa opens in Gabon

DEVELOPMENT

The inaugural Dialogue for Action Africa (DFAA) opened this morning in Libreville, Gabon, hosted by the Cecilia Attias Foundation for Women, with the special participation of Mrs. Sylvia Bongo Ondimba, the First Lady of Gabon.

The one-day forum is dedicated to helping women in Africa lead safe, productive, and healthy lives, the forum seeks to creatively address the salient issues faced by African women. The conclusions from the event - and the resulting initiatives - will culminate in a Plan of Action for Africa, to be presented at the G20 Summit in Los Cabos, Mexico this month.

Invited by the first Lady of Gabon, Sylvia Bongo Ondimba, six other first ladies from Africa are participating:  Chantal Compaore, Burkina Faso; Dominique Ouattara, Ivory Coast; Penehupifo Pohamba, Namibia; Patience Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria; Jeannette Kagame, Rwanda; Marieme Faye Sall, Sénégal.

Attias is herself a former First Lady of France and there will be special messages from Cherie Blair, founder of the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, and Sarah Brown, President of PiggyBankKids and Global Patron of the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood - both are wives of former Prime Ministers of the UK.

Attias and Ondimba opened the forum with special remarks; joining them through the day are experts and speakers from academia, government, NGOs, the private sector, and the medical community.

Attias said: "The diversity and expertise of Dialogue for Action Africa's speakers is astounding. Their dedication to women's issues is truly inspiring and their insights will be enable us to promote African women's issues through actionable initiatives."

At the G20, DFAA's conclusions will become part of the global agenda and will be discussed by the world's most influential leaders and policy makers. Creating this bridge between DFAA and government leaders is key to producing change at an institutional level and is an innovative example of public-private partnerships.

Dialogue for Action Africa is held in conjunction with the New York Forum Africa, an annual action-oriented assembly of the world's leading business, economic, and regulatory officials. By collaborating with New York Forum Africa, DFAA is seeking to build crosscutting partnerships between the worlds of business and NGOs.  

New York Forum Africa founder Richard Attias comments: "Non-profits and private enterprises have much to share with one another. They can collaborate on a host of topics, from tackling issues related to efficiency and financing to engaging in discussions of mission and ethics. Collaboration between Dialogue for Action Africa and the New York Forum Africa is a step in this direction."

For more information please visit http://www.ceciliaattiasfoundation.org/DialogueForActionAfrica