On the 17th-20th of June 2016, the MasterCard Foundation (MCF) in collaboration with Asheshi University convened the Baobab Summit for MCF Tertiary Scholars. The Summit is an annual convening of Tertiary Scholars representing all MCF partner institutions, and serves as a platform to rally scholars for transformative change, leadership and movement-building. The space also provides scholars with options to access networks, leverage opportunities, and be inspired by mentors from several professional spheres.
As a key partner supporting MCF’s work on Transformative Leadership (TL),Moremi Initiative designed and facilitated breakout sessions on community activities and leadership development. We focused our attention on “Enhancing Ethics & Empathy-based Leadership.” We also highlighted the importance of “Leveraging Leadership Platforms and Spaces for Sustainable Development”; “the Dynamics of Gender and Leadership”; and “the Power of Reflecting and Documenting our Leadership Journey and Stories.”
Focusing on these themes ensure a deeper understanding and appreciation for ethics and empathy-based leadership, and empowers Scholars to leverage leadership opportunities for their personal leadership growth. At the Summit, we focused our attention on exploring and generating meaningful dialogue on Pan-African Leadership, strengthening Scholars’ capacity and providing them with relevant skills and resources to meet their leadership goals and to effectively communicating their leadership growth while being influential role models. With the ultimate vision to build a cadre of bold, solution-oriented and visionary leaders for Africa, workshops were carefully designed to feed into the broader objectives of transformative leadership.
The session on Identity, Leadership Stories and Values, facilitated by Moremi Initiative Advisory Board Member, Nii Sai Sai, allowed Scholars to pause and reflect about their leadership Journey. Emphasizing the importance of values, this session challenged leadership stereotypes, and explored factors necessary for leadership success. Closing out the session, Scholars were guided to define their personal leadership goals using the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-sensitive) approach.
Moremi Initiative’s Global Programs and Partnerships Director, Maame Afon Yelbert-Sai, worked with Scholars to design their personal leadership tapestries. This aspect of the training was geared towards engaging the creative arts as part of their leadership journey. Maame Afon who is also a recording artiste, uses music to promote social justice, leadership and philanthropy. To this end, she facilitated the session using a combination of music, meditation, and art to help scholars document their leadership journey.
Mrs. Margaret Jackson under the theme Leveraging Leadership Platforms and Spaces for Sustainable Development encouraged scholars to appreciate the opportunities they have been given, and to approach every endeavor prepared to engage for meaningful impact.
Our last breakout session, captioned Gender and Leadership, was led by Ms. Abigail Burgesson of the African Women’s Development Fund. Ms. Burgesson explored the nuances of leadership from a gender lens by challenging gender stereotypes. She admonished Scholars to foster a safe space and environment for both men and women to co-exist as Transformational Leaders and stressed the importance of deepening solidarity, fostering community and building strong ties of sisterhood and brotherhood.
At the 2016 Baobab Summit, these breakout sessions were complemented with masterful leadership sessions from motivational and influential speakers like Dr. Esi Ansah – the CEO of Axis Human Capital Ltd; Mamadou Toure– Africa 2.0 Foundation Founder and Chairman; Dr. Patrick H. Awuah– Ashesi University College Founder and President; and Bernardino Avle– The Citi Breakfast Show and The Ghana Report, Host.
At the end of the comprehensive transformational leadership training session at the Baobab Summit, Scholars were Empowered, Inspired and Re-energized from their exposure to the various skills, resources, and networking opportunities; and pledged to make meaningful contributions to their families, communities and society broadly.
Moremi Initiative is grateful for its partnership with the MasterCard Foundation and for the opportunity to impact and impart valuable information, skills and resources to engage, inspire and equip a new generation of African leaders in the MCF Scholars.