{The Akilah Institute for Women, the first and only institute of higher education in Rwanda open exclusively to women, will graduate the second class of students on its Rwanda campus on December 6, 2013.
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The ceremony begins on the Akilah campus in Kibagabaga at 8 am with guest arrivals and concludes at 12 pm after the graduate procession. This year’s graduation speaker is Swanee Hunt, former US Ambassador to Austria and the Eleanor Roosevelt Lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
Amb. Hunt’s work to achieve gender parity, especially as means to end war, rebuild societies, and alleviate human suffering, spans more than two decades and 60 countries. Dr. Hunt founded Harvard’s Women and Public Policy Program, a research center focused on sharing knowledge to close gender gaps in economic participation, political opportunity, health and education.
“There’s no more effective way to address society’s most pressing needs than by elevating women,” said Ambassador Hunt.
“When women participate fully in society, communities flourish, generations thrive, and democracy prevails. My motivation is not simply fairness. As my friend Hillary Clinton says, raising the status of women is ‘not only the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do’.”
Many Akilah graduates have gone on to work for major international companies such as Marriott International in Dubai and Doha, while others have joined businesses in Rwanda or launched their own ventures.
Florence Mukundwa, class of 2012, started her own design business using African fabrics. She employs three women from her village.
Vestine Ukwishaka, class of 2013, won first place in a business plan competition at the
University of San Diego. Her bakery substitutes sweet potatoes for white flour to produce diabetes–‐ friendly baked goods without refined sugars. Since 2010, Akilah has graduated two classes of students, opened a second campus in Burundi, and launched a new major in
Information Systems in response to Rwanda’s priority to develop and expand the information technology sector.
According to Rwanda Country Director Aline Kabanda: “The 56 young ladies graduating from Akilah on December 6 have worked hard to complete a very intense and rigorous program that equipped them with the skills and professional knowledge necessary for success in Rwanda’s increasingly sophisticated service and hospitality sector. Ambassador Hunt’s participation in our graduation ceremony truly underscores the success we’ve seen in transforming the lives of low–‐ income women by giving them access to leadership tools and market–‐driven curricula.”
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