/ 3 October 2007

Phambili, IWFSA, phambili!

The South African chapter of the International Women’s Forum is an organisation made up of eminent women leaders from a wide range of sectors in both the public and private sector.

IWFSA members share a number of characteristics: they are women who have reached the zenith of their respective careers yet are driven by the desire to be part of a networking body that is committed to developing new leaders.

They are unique in the sense that their needs are special and peculiar. These are women leaders who have indeed successfully aligned their needs and aspirations to the challenges they face in their lives.

South Africa is privileged to have an increasing number of women leaders. The presence of the International Women’s Forum will harness the strengths and inputs of these women leaders to inspire, nurture and mentor the next generation of women leaders in the country.

We have come a long way since the inception of IWFSA in 2000, and have under the stewardship of our cherished patron, Zanele Mbeki, and our two previous presidents, Bridgette Radebe and Minister Naledi Pandor, established a stable organisation with good programmes for empowering women.

IWFSA provides its members with an opportunity to contribute to socio-economic discourse at a global level.

This year is the 25th anniversary of the International Women’s Forum, and the 2007 World Leadership Conference in Chicago, United States, will be honouring past and present women leaders globally. The theme of the conference — Women Who Change the World: Shaping the Future — will review the future role of women leaders now that women have made significant strides in politics and business.

We also take pride in the fact that our Deputy President, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, also an IWFSA member, will be honoured at the same conference as a recipient of the IWF 2007 Women Who Make a Difference Award. We are also excited that the IWFSA deputy president, and fellow of the IWF Leadership Foundation, Totsie Memela-Khambula, has been invited to address the delegates as a speaker. The conference will take place from October 10 to 12.

The changing socio-economic landscape dictates that we continually redefine our offerings so that we optimally meet the needs of women and organisations in our environment.

In light of this, we have realigned our vision at a recent strategic planning session that took place on July 24 2007. We have to constantly review our mandate and offerings to make ourselves relevant.

It is also important to explore new ways of engaging members and sponsors in the various corporations and regions. Of equal importance, we have to extend the impact of IWFSA to the provinces, ensure extensive membership participation, ascertain value add to members, launch the IWFSA website as well as strengthen our global networks.

We have forged a strategic partnership with the Gordon Institution of Business Sciences (Gibs) to run a tailor-made intensive leadership programme for our members.

We take pride in the fact that the South African chapter of the International Women’s Forum does not exist solely to create a platform for women to associate with each other, but that it also serves as a vehicle for exchanging ideas on how to support each other.

In 2002, the chapter launched its fast-track Strategic Leadership Programme, especially aimed at grooming young South African women in senior management positions to become in-house agents of change and implementation drivers within their respective organisations.

Eighty-eight fellows have graduated from the programme since its inception. The value of the programme lies in the partnership between the IWFSA and Gibs, as well as our fellows’ access to South Africa’s top women leaders, via the programme’s mentorship component.

At this year’s Leading Women Entrepreneurs of the World celebratory and gala event, our top five fellows who were enrolled on the Strategic Leadership Programme had the privilege of being invited to attend the gala event at Sun City as well as the Business Forum held at the University of Pretoria.

Thanks to the quality of education our fellows received in this programme, they have grown to become highly sought after in the corporate world.

I thus appeal to our members to participate actively in whatever form to ensure that we are not the last generation of women leaders in South Africa.

I would like to reiterate my sincere appreciation to the previous IWFSA board members, our sponsors as well as our fellows for their efforts and commitment in upholding the IWFSA vision over the years. I further look forward to your continuing support going forward.

Phambili IWFSA! Phambili!

About the women’s forum

The International Women’s Forum of South Africa (IWFSA), established in 2000, is a progressive organisation of woman leaders whose vision is to educate, empower, nurture and mentor the next generation of women leaders in South Africa through various programmes.

The organisation was initiated in South Africa by IWFSA patron Zanele Mbeki.

The organisation supports and promotes a breadth of diversity across professional, racial, cultural, age and sector-based categories, and all the women have accomplishments that are well known and respected far beyond the communities in which they live. In short, these are women pioneers who have broken and are continuing to break professional obstacles confronting women in leadership.

In 2002, the South African chapter of the International Women’s Forum launched its fast-track Strategic Leadership Programme, which is specifically aimed at young women in senior management positions with the purpose of grooming them to become in-house agents of change and implementation drivers.

Membership of IWFSA is by invitation only and is influenced by definitive international standards.

The IWFSA provides a platform for women who have achieved at highest levels to support one another, exchange ideas on supporting their own and others’ societies, for women to network with other top women from around the world, and to collaborate and build relationships.

Other specific benefits of IWFSA membership that address the needs and interests of women leaders and also enable them to lead in both practical and intangible ways include:

  • direct access to leaders in diverse fields through the membership
  • roster, which contains complete contact information for the

    world’s most accomplished women;

    private access for member-to-member, forum-to-forum and member/forum connectivity through the IWFSA’s private

    membership domain;

  • access to two annual global conferences with programmes
  • that take members behind the headlines and provide the
  • inside perspective on the issues shaping the international
  • community;

    access to research and study findings on global women leaders produced through the efforts of the International Women’s Forum’s Leadership Foundation;

    • mentoring opportunities to guide talented, up-and-coming young women, providing paradigms for the training and development of women in the workplace.
    • a fellowship year at Harvard University, which allows members
    • to compete for selection by the Weatherhead Centre for
    • International Affairs at Harvard University for a tuition-free
    • fellowship in this formidable leaders’ programme;
    • exposure and public-speaking opportunities on a world stage
    • through programmes featuring the principal leaders in the world; and
    • access to friendships, camaraderie and support from

    women outside a member’s field of focus.

    The IWFSA was privileged to host the 2003 South Africa Cornerstone Conference. The conference theme was Courageous Leadership for Global Transformation and showcased Africa’s diversity and progress, focusing on South Africa, the African renaissance, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, debt and other global issues of importance.