BELIZE CITY, Wed. Mar. 2, 2022– In celebration of International Women’s Month, the She4She Champions World Summit, organized by the Belize Mayors Association, in collaboration with the Belmopan City Council, will take place this week from March 4-6 at the Belize Best Western Biltmore Plaza. The summit, which is the first of its kind and the brainchild of Belmopan mayor Sheran “Sharon” Palacio, will be held under the theme “Towards Inclusive Leadership in Governance and Political Affairs” and will feature discussions surrounding women’s leadership.
According to Mayor Palacio, the She4She Summit has received overwhelming support from women (and men) leaders from various countries. AMANDALA had a chance to sit with Mayor Palacio, along with one of the summit’s guest speakers, H.E Chief Dr. Jewel Howard-Taylor, vice president of the Republic of Liberia. Mayor Palacio spoke about what motivated her to organize the summit and the role she hopes it will play in empowering women of all ages to pursue positions in politics.
“She4She came about when I attended a summit in Atlanta last year. I was invited by the African Women in Leadership Organization leader. His name is Dr. Atai, and he invited me to be a guest speaker at the event. Several prominent leaders were there, and majority of the females who spoke as to their involvement in politics, in different aspects of development that they were engaged in, it was always a ‘he’ who gave them that motivation, that encouragement to get involved,” she said. Mayor Palacio further stated that, after constantly hearing the term, “He 4 She,” she asked herself, “Why not She 4 She?” This question, first posed in the summer of 2021, is what led her to organize the summit, which places a large amount of focus on motivating and mentoring women to strive for excellence.
Mayor Palacio said that she reached out to Dr. Jewel Howard-Taylor, who is Liberia’s first female vice president, and asked her to be a guest speaker at the summit back in November. Vice President Howard-Taylor told AMANDALA that she believes the most important thing for women to remember when faced with challenges is to be steadfast even in the face of adversity.
“Challenges will be everywhere, but if you are determined in your soul that this is what you want to do, you should be willing to face the music, but keep focused on what you want to do,” she said, also highlighting how important it is for women to come together and support one another. At the She4She Summit, Dr. Howard-Taylor will be speaking on why representation of women matters.
“I want to say to Belizean women, whether you are young or middle age or aging, there are still opportunities for women to come together, more so for the younger women, because they are the next generation, and those of us who are on the stage now must begin to prepare those who are coming after us so that this struggle for equality isn’t lost,” added the vice president. She cited Madame Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who made history as the first elected female head of state in all of Africa, noting that thanks to her and women like her, the journey for other women is much easier.
The program for the three-day summit will include talks on Women’s Participation in Public and Political Affairs, Facilitating Women Inclusion in Political Governance, Building and Enabling an Environment for Women’s Participation in Public and Political Affairs, Women in Solidarity, and most notably “Her Story,” which will see several speakers share stories about their own journeys to success. Speakers will include Belize’s Special Envoy for the Development of Families and Children, H.E Mrs. Rosanna Briceño; Madam Mayor Nicole Jackson of Rice, Texas; and the Permanent Representative to the UN at the Government of Sierra Leone, Ambassador Victoria Sulimani.
According to Mayor Palacio, the She4She Summit is set to take place in the Republic of Liberia next year. Dr. Howard-Taylor also said that she hopes Belizeans, regardless of gender, will attend the event, learn, and then go on to mentor others using what they have learned.