Dear All!
The need to highlight, raise awareness on and to celebrate achievements and successes of Black European Women from a self-empowerment perspective has been repaeted on several occasions. It is fact that there are many Black European Women in decisionmaking and leadership positions in different Member States of the European Union.
However their contributions and achievements still remain largely invisible. Therefore AFRA and its partners think that it is high time to pick up this challenge from a self empowerment perspective and adress it within the framework of the European Year on Innovation and Creativity 2009.
For this reason we are currently working on our next book with the title: “100 Black European Women in Leadership”. This project aims at gathering data on 100 Black European Women in leadership and decision-making positions in Europe under categories like Politics, Entrepreneurship, Academics and Research, Arts and Culture, Sports, Media, etc. and publishing a book on these black European role models in all their rich diversity.
With this we would very much need your support and would appreciate it if you could recommend us any women you know operating in the above mentioned categories. May be you yourself are one of them.
The deadline for recommendations will be the 20th of 27th if Febraury 2009. Later on a jury is going to decide upon the 100 Black European Women to be considered in the book.
In October 2009 AFRA and its partners intend to organise the “European Diversity, Innovation and Creativity Week 2009” in Brussels within the framework of the European Year 2009 on Innovation and Creativity. In the context of this event the book will be presented and combined with the “Black European Leadership Award (BELA)”- and the “Global Diversity Award Europe 2009 (GDA-EU)” – Gala Evening during which selected personalities and institutions will be honoured for their contributions.
For further information we gladly will be at your service and are looking forward to getting in personal contact with you.
Let´s make a change.
With best greetings from Vienna,
Beatrice Achaleke – Executive Director
– AFRA — International Center for Black Women’s Perspectives
– Initiator Black European Women’s Council-BEWC
– Trägerin des österreichischen Bundesehrenzeichen 2008
“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the
ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” (Barack Obama)