GCIV had the opportunity to host a delegation of women from all over Africa, representing Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Equitorial Guinea, Guinea, Madagascar, Senegal, and Togo. This distinguished group was participating in the U.S. Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program. The participant backgrounds ranged from NGO officials, journalists, elected officials, civil servants, attorneys, to educators. They were in Atlanta September 25th-28th, and also had the chance to visit Washington, DC and Salt Lake City. The delegation also split into three groups to visit Boston, Chicago, and New Orleans before reconvening in Atlanta.

While in Atlanta, they began their first day of appointments with Fulton County Commissioner Ms. Nancy Boxill. Commissioner Boxill spoke with the group about women’s participation in politics and her experiences as a female elected official. Afterwards they had some free time which they spent at the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site. In the afternoon they met with representatives of the Women’s Policy Group, where they discussed the organization’s work to advocate on behalf of women in Georgia. That evening they enjoyed home hospitality with five different GCIV hosts.

The next day of professional appointments began at the Women’s Bureau of the U.S. Department of Labor, where representatives discussed their mission to improve the status of working women. Afterwards they went to the office of Georgia State Representative Mable Thomas to hear about her experiences running a campaign. In the delegation’s final professional appointment, they attended an E-Commerce Training at the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Electronic Commerce Research Center.

GCIV was honored to host this diverse group of African women leaders in Atlanta. Their time here in gave them a first-hand view of women’s experiences in the United States. The professional resources with whom they met appreciated the opportunity to hear about their challenges and successes as women leaders. We hope they found their time in Atlanta valuable, and we look forward to hearing about their continued successes.