Ellen Johnson Sirleaf: Women's Center, Leadership & Liberia's Future

The EJS Center's Mission & Milestones

• 💡 The Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development recently celebrated its fifth anniversary, marking a significant milestone since its inception.
• 🚀 The center was established in March 2020, funded by a portion of the Mo Ibrahim Prize money received by former President Sirleaf, fulfilling her commitment to promote women in leadership.
• ✅ Despite initial challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the center successfully launched its programs, with Starte Weeks serving as its first executive director, laying foundational structures.

Key Initiatives and Future Vision

• 🎯 The Amu Initiative is a core program, recruiting 15 women annually for leadership development; it currently supports 42 women across three cohorts.
• 📚 The center also focuses on strategic research and communication to track women's progress in leadership roles and is building a library and archives for historical and contemporary information on women.
• 🏛️ A major future project is the Africa Women House, a proposed complex estimated to cost $10 million, designed to ensure the center's sustainability and expand its impact.

Promoting Women in Leadership

• 🌍 The EJS Center aims to increase the number of women in parliamentary and executive positions across Africa, noting that countries like Rwanda and South Africa have higher representation than Liberia and West Africa.
• 🤝 The center is non-partisan, promoting women's political involvement through academic training, mentorship, and showcasing successful examples from other nations.
• 📈 Former President Sirleaf expressed a personal goal to see at least five women presidents in Africa within 10 years, building on the progress of two democratically elected women presidents so far.

Liberia's Current State & Challenges

• ⚠️ The former president highlighted concerns about political instability in Liberia, citing clashes between police and motorcyclists, which deter private investment and impact the country's reputation.
• 💰 A significant challenge for Liberian youth is unemployment, which is exacerbated by a lack of private capital and perceived instability, hindering job creation.
• 🚫 She strongly condemned corruption at all levels of government, stating that such practices discourage investors and undermine the nation's progress and credibility.

Call for National Responsibility

• 🗣️ Former President Sirleaf urged Liberians to take personal responsibility and work towards national development, rather than blaming others or relying on external aid.
• 🙏 She called for a return to the true meaning of Memorial Day, emphasizing reverence and remembrance for those who made sacrifices, rather than treating it as a day for mere merry-making.
• 🇱🇷 She expressed hope that Liberians would embrace peace, hard work, and unity to build a proud nation, encouraging citizens to invest in their own country rather than seeking opportunities abroad.