President Johnson Sirleaf Launches 1st Peace Girls Leadership Dialogue

President john sirleaf addresses WIPSEN dialogue participants
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Monrovia, Liberia - President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has reiterated her Government’s commitment to education. Government’s emphasis, she noted, is on girls because they are more deprived than boys.
 
The President spoke today at the Monrovia City Hall, where she participated in the launching of the 1st Peace Girls Leadership Dialogue of the Women Peace and Security Network in Africa (WIPSEN). The project, which is implemented by the Ministry of Gender and Development and WIPSEN, aims to strengthen young girls’ leadership capacity. It was held under the theme “UNSCR 1325: Tool For Advancing Young Girls Leadership.’

She stressed that it is her own commitment to education in Liberia which led to the establishment of the Liberia Education Trust (LET), a program which aims to build 50 schools, train 500 teachers and provide 5000 scholarships for girls over a 3-year period. President Johnson Sirleaf spoke of the need for strong leaders across every facet of society and challenged the participants to use the opportunity afforded them. The President further called on participants to task the Government to see how it can be of help.

For her part, the Executive Director of WIPSEN, Madam Leema Gbowee, said the project shares similar programs with the International Colloquim on Women. She said the group is focused on women and regularly reports on their status, adding that the well-being of young girls is critical to women's empowerment. Madam Gbowee added that 10 mentors have been trained under the program to guide participants. She further emphasized that three leadership dialogues are scheduled to begin in Montserrado, Bong and Grand Bassa counties, with further plans to expand the program to three other counties over the next three years.

The launching of the 1st Peace Girls Leadership Dialogue of WIPSEN also brought together Gender and Development Minister Varbah Gayflor and officials of the Ministry, civil society groups, students and the media.