International Conference on Women/Youth and Transformational Leadership

— Published on behalf of AASR member, Dr Damaris Parsitau —

It is with great pleasure that I write to invite you to the first ever International Conference on Women/Youth and Transformational Leadership: whose theme “The Ripple Effect of Women/Youth Leaders: From Local Impact to Global Change” as well as the launch of the Global Centre for Transformative and Inclusive Leadership (GCTIL), which will be held from the 13th to the 17th of Oct 2015 at the Institute of Women, Gender and Development Studies (IWGDS), Egerton University, Kenya. The Conference and the launch of the GCTIL will be co-hosted by the IWGDS and the Global Women Leadership Network (GWLN). Expected to be highly acclaimed meetings in the field of Women/Youth and Transformational Leadership in Kenya and beyond, they will be game changers.

The Institute of Women, Gender and Development Studies (IWGDS) was established in 1991 as the Centre for Women Studies and Gender Analysis to address issues that interfere with the pursuit of academic excellence among female students in campus. It was the first of its kind in Kenya and is credited as the first institute that offers both academic and social outreach programmes. The Centre was later upgraded to an institute with full mandate to offer academic and social programs. The institute has since grown into a formidable center of excellence in teaching, research, training, outreach and mentorship.
The Global Women’s Leadership Network (GWLN) on the other hand is a non-profit organization (headquartered in San Francisco, California, USA) which provides leadership development skills and resources for women leaders around the world. Its Women Leaders for the World Programme (WLW) is a Transformational Leadership Educational Programme designed for women leaders keen on accelerating their ability to lead more effectively and dare transform their organizations, communities and the world.

Over 150 participants from all over the world are expected to gather at Egerton University to discuss the ripple effect of transformational leadership from local impact to global change, and for Kenyan women, pave the way for contesting the 2017 General Election.

The Local and International organizing committees are gearing up for an exciting, informative and learning conference programme which will include plenaries, parallel sessions, lectures, TED talk, speeches, sharing of experiences, narratives and motivational speakers. Women and men who are captains of their fields and industries will be invited to share their experiences and mentor participants aspiring to become leaders in various fields.

Special focus will be on women in public life and the interconnection between women/youth empowerment, politics, corporate governance, policy/decision making, legislation, education, health, entrepreneurship, environment, agriculture and agribusiness, food security, climate change, peace building, media and information, science and technology and youth mentorship among many other themes.

We invite you to block your diaries from the 13th -17th Oct, 2015 so as to tap into these historic events, including participating in our annual Gender Awareness Day on 17th of Oct. We assure you of a fulfilling and transformative experience with women/men/youth leaders from around the world.
Registration fees will be 100 US $ for International participants, 60$ for local participants and 30$ for students. We will let you know how to make your payments in our next communication. Unfortunately, we do not have funding to meet your travel and subsistence expenses.

All guests will be booked at Egerton University ARC hotel and other hotels in Nakuru Town. We will negotiate for the best prices possible and let you know.

We will be sending you more detailed information and brochures as well as the conference programme in the coming days.

We are also revamping our website and we will upload all the information by the end of March 2015 or Mid-April 2015.

Please share and circulate this information widely to your colleagues and networks.

On behalf of the GWLN, IWGDS Advisory Board Members and Faculty members, the International and local organizing committees, we look forward to meeting and welcoming you to Egerton University in October 2015.

For more information, please contact the Director, Institute of Women Gender and Development Studies (IWGDS) Dr. Damaris S. Parsitau at dparsitau@yahoo.com or the chair of the conference secretariat and acting Deputy Director Dr. Doris Nyokangi at dnyokangi@gmail.com.

On behalf of IWGDS/ GWLN/Advisory Board and the Conference Secretariat

Best wishes,

Dr. Damaris S. Parsitau

Director, Institute of Women, Gender and Development S (IWGDS) Studies,

EGERTON UNIVERSITY