GCWD hold awards and economic development summit

Global Council for Women Development Inc. a non-governmental organisation that focuses on the development and empowerment of women and youths globally, through the creation of sustainable programmes in their communities, will hold its yearly awards and summit from October 25 to 28 in Washington DC, New Jersey and a special session at the United Nations headquarters in New York, USA.

The platform brings together business, governments and organisations across the globe in the same environment to deliberate and recommends solutions to enhancing their different communities, especially, Africa.

This year, the council has nominated an array of women who have made tremendous impact in their communities. Some of the women are, the proprietress of Green Spring Schools, Mrs. Lai Koiyiki, the late doctor Ameyo Adadevoh, Mojisola Adams and others.

The criteria for selecting these people, according to the President/CEO of the summit, HRH Princess Moradeun Ogunlana, are women that are doing things in their communities directly or indirectly.” According to Ogunlana, “women multitask and we rarely celebrate ourselves so this a platform where we celebrate women.” This year Dr. Mrs. Olufunso Amosun, the wife of the Governor of Ogun State has been selected as the ambassador, as Ogunlana puts it, “she founded the Uplift development foundation even before her husband became the governor, and she has over 23 initiatives under the foundation, which includes all the concepts we stand for. She reaches out to the elderly, widows, children, motherless, disabled, youths, and many others.

It is not only first ladies in Nigeria that we have considered, there are women from Africa, Asia, middle East, but she has been selected because of the developmental of progress she has made.”

Ogunlana also cleared the air “When we say, first ladies we do not mean that your husband is in government. First ladies as regard the women summit are women that are making power moves either as heads of NGOs or CEOs of their companies because indeed when you look at it, they are first ladies, women leaders.”

According to Ogunlana, “Most of the things we were doing were in America but this time Nigeria is our focus, and the youth who will be selected to go for the summit will be exposed to resources that will impact their lives and once they get back they will in turn, begin to impact other youths especially in IT communication.”

Continuing, “We cannot also talk about women empowerment without celebrating our men because when you look at great women that have achieved a lot, the men are involved, a great woman has either a supportive husband or she was raised by a great man that has shown her that she can be all she wants to be in life. With that in mind, we have an award we call ambassadors of women empowerment awards, which is strictly for these group of men that have in one way or the other uplifted their women while the youth group is for young men and women under 30 years.”

One of the recipients, the proprietor of Green Spring schools Mrs. Lai Koiyiki who has been running the school for over 30 years and also empowering the under privileged by renovating public buildings for over 27 years now, since she began with Ilaje community in Bariga, was nominated because as a woman in her profession she is a first lady.