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Viola Mzungwana
Famed American pop sensation Beyonce would sing a�?Who runs the world?a�? and her back-up singers respond a�?Girls!a�? a�� back home that could be the same asA� former and current school headgirls have their own exclusive conference.
The Office of the First Lady in the Office of the President and Cabinet and the Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development in conjunction with the Cradles Of Influence Leadership Institute is embarking on an ambitious project that targets empowering the girl child through targeting former and current schools headgirls.
The pilot project has already started in Harare and is moving to other nine remaining provinces in the country.
In Bulawayo it will be held on 21 May 2016.
Kwanele Hlabangana, the chairman of the organisation, saidA� the organisation committee was now ready to roll out the programme in the remaining provinces starting with Bulawayo.
a�?The Programme was launched in Harare on 21 March 2016 as a National Programme for Women Empowerment and Girl Child Development. We are now ready to roll it out in all the remaining nine provinces starting with Bulawayo on 21 May 2016,a�? explained Hlabangana.
The Zimbabwe Head Girls Leadership Summit is a private and public sector initiative aimed at inspiring, empowering and nurturing headgirls in line with the Governmenta��s national priority of enhancing the life skills of school graduates and the global commitment to achieve gender equality.
a�?The summit paves way for future women leaders and celebrates excellence in women leadership. It also enhances the life skills of the girl child and is a way of achieving gender equality,a�? he said.
The chairman said it was their belief that choosing a headgirl or her deputy was not a simple exercise or just a mere liking of an individual but the qualities that lead to the selection should be taken into consideration.
a�?It is our belief that it is not a simple exercise or a mere liking of an individual when making a decision to zero down on one particular girl when selecting a headgirl to lead other students a�� it is indeed very thorough, it means that for one to be chosen, she would have demonstrated impeccable leadership qualities,a�? explained Hlabangana.
The 2016 Leadership Summit held in Harare saw 200 former headgirls and deputy headgirls being trained and groomed for leadership. There were presentations and there were mentors and motivational speakers during the summit.
a�?Professor Hope Sadza, Minister of Media and Broadcasting Services Christopher Mushohwe who read the First Ladya��s speech and Honourable Damasane were among the guest speakers in our Harare Summit. The Ministry of Women Affairs and World Vision were also part of the organisations we hosted,a�? said the chief executive officer of Cradles of Influence Leadership Institute, Mmillili Tapela.
The summit was a move towards the adopted 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda with a specific emphasis on giving girls and women all the opportunities they deserve by 2030.
a�?We are inspired by the transformative power of education and what it can do for the girl child. An educated girl is more likely to marry later and have fewer, healthier children. She will have a better chance of staying healthy and remaining alive. The headgirls summit does not only have the capacity to change the individual lives of the girls growing up in Zimbabwe, through improving lifestyle choices and strengthening each girla��s sense of identity, but it also has the power to encourage active participation from the community in celebrating the achievement of the girlsa�� limitless potential,a�? explained Tapela. .
Online Reporter