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Bollore Blue Zone CanalOlympia Hippodrome
Boulevard du 15 Avril, Niamey-Niger
Niamey, Niamey, 11160
Niger

Aichatou Mindaoudou

Ms. Aïchatou Mindaoudou is today the President and CEO of IPITI CONSULTING, a firm specializing in political engineering, strategy, communication and all questions of security and social cohesion. She has just been appointed Special Envoy of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for Africa. She is the first African woman to be appointed to this post. She was Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Côte dIvoire, Head of the United Nations Operation in Côte dIvoire from May 17, 2013 to June 30, 2017. Her professional career is based on solid training in Public International Law and International Law of development. Ms. Aïchatou Mindaoudou began studying law in 1979 in Côte dIvoire at the University of Cocody in Abidjan. In 1982, she obtained her master's degree in public law with honors. After a year of civic service in Niger, bitten by the virus of law, she continued her training in France, at the Institute of Development Law at the University of Paris V (Malakoff), where she obtained a 3rd cycle Certificate in International Development Law and at the University of Paris I (Panthéon-Sorbonne), where she obtained her Doctorate in International Development Law with the Very Honorable mention. In 2000, she obtained the Habilitation to supervise research at the University of Orleans. In 1991, on the eve of the National Conference, Mrs. Aïchatou Mindaoudou returned to Niger, where she was actively involved in the process of democratization of political life as well as in the awakening and establishment of civil society. First woman with a Doctorate in Law, she teaches International Public Law and International Relations at the Faculty of Law of Abdou Moumouni Dioffo University in Niamey. She takes part in the drafting of the Constitution, the Electoral Code and texts to govern the new democratic environment in the making in Niger. It was also during this period that Ms. Mindaoudou, magistrates and a group of teachers from the Faculty of Law set up the Network for the Dissemination and Integration of Law in Rural Areas (RIDD-Fitila), an NGO of which she became General Secretary. Within the framework of this network, Aïchatou Mindaoudou undertakes to disseminate the law in French and in the national languages to rural communities in Niger, already traveling at this time, towns, villages and the most remote hamlets of Niger to inform and raise awareness among populations, especially rural ones, of democracy, citizenship and the exercise of their rights and duties. In the book entitled 100 Femmes du Niger, published by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Ms. Mindaoudou explains her commitment to promoting the law among populations and women: Above all, it was necessary to make people understand, especially women who were involved in this process and that it would have no value without their participation. We insisted a lot on electoral participation, with this watchword: a man, a voice, a woman, a vote. Noted for her commitment to democracy, human rights and the empowerment of especially rural women, Aïchatou Mindaoudou is appointed to the post of Minister of Social Development, Promotion of Women and the Protection of lChild, from 1994 to 1995. In 1999-2000, she was appointed to the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. In September 2001 she was again recalled to the same post, which she held until February 2010. When Niger presided over the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), she chaired the Council of Ministers for Mediation and Peace there, and led ECOWAS engagement in promoting peace and reconciliation in Côte dIvoire, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea Conakry, as well as in Togo, between 2005 and 2007. His sense of diplomacy, political negotiation, mediation and conflict resolution as well as his perfect mastery of the legal machinery opened the way for an international diplomatic career. Thus in June 2011, Ms. Mindaoudou was appointed by the UN Secretary General and the Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union as Joint Special Representative responsible for political issues in the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID). From August 2012 to March 2013, she became the Joint Special Representative and Acting Head of UNAMID, as well as the Acting Joint Chief Mediator, becoming the first African woman to lead a peacekeeping mission. It is resolutely committed to resolving conflicts in Africa because they seriously jeopardize the capacities of African countries and the development of Africa. In addition, she touches on a reality that she already knew: women and children are the first and main victims of conflicts. From May 17, 2013 to June 30, 2017 Ms. Aïchatou Mindaoudou, whom the people have nicknamed, the wanderer for peace, held the position of Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations for Côte dIvoire and Head of the United Nations Operation in Côte dIvoire ( ONUCI). His commitment to peace for democracy, for human rights and especially those of women in order to build a more just society remained intact and his conviction in this direction was even consolidated. "We have worked for greater gender mainstreaming in all our operations, and thanks to our efforts more and more women participate in decision-making in local administrations" she affirms in the magazine ", Voices of Darfur ”in March 2013. At the opening of the seminar on the participation of women in peace processes in the French-speaking world in Abidjan, on November 17, 2016, she will say: "I have traveled 45,000 km in three years in Côte dIvoire to speak to communities, women, men, youth. And wherever I have been, unsuspected women leaders and natural mediators have emerged and, through their convictions and resolute commitment, have made significant progress in social peace and living together in their communities ”.

Alia Bare

Alia Bare is a fashion designer born in Niger but having traveled on 5 continents throughout her youth. Her inspiration for her creations is at the crossroads of cultures that she had the opportunity to discover. She likes to merge styles while registering in modernity. Passionate about know-how and craftsmanship, at the age of 31, she decided to leave the banking world to train at the Raffles Design Institute in Singapore in order to realize her dream. Living in Dakar (Senegal) since 2015, Alia created her clothing brand and draws inspiration from African, Asian and Indian traditions to pass messages through her creations. The elegance, the sensuality of women but also their strength and their responsibilities within society are the elements that they highlight in their collections.

Fati N'zi Hassane

Fati N’Zi-Hassane, a national of Republic of Niger, serves in Midrand, South Africa at the African Union Development Agency/NEPAD as Head of Skills and Employment for Youth Programme. Her role is to provide the leadership in order to develop and implement the relevant projects, interventions, and tools in support to the governments of the 55 African Union Member States in their fight against unemployment and underemployment. Prior to joining NEPAD, Fati worked in Europe for ten years as a management consultant and as a programme manager, supporting the transformation of private and public entities. Her interest for education, employability and equal opportunities led her to take part to several initiatives serving communities in both France and Niger since 2007. Fati holds an engineer degree from the Ecole Nationale de Statistique et d’Economie Appliquée d’Abidjan, and a MBA from French business school ESSEC.

Haoua Oumarou

My name is Haoua Oumarou Moussa, I am 24 years old, I am a 3rd year law student at A.D.U. (African Development University) and at the same time student president of my university. Holder of a Bac A and having attempted the Bac D 2 years later, I had to continue my academic career at UNICAN (Canadian University) for my apprenticeship in law. But I was not satisfied because I wanted to learn more in different fields, so after a year I left UNICAN to enroll at A.D.U. (African Development University). Outside of my studies, I have been involved in a lot of extra-curricular activities since college, mainly community activities, leadership activities and sports. Being passionate about sports since I was a child, I had to join the women's national football team of Niger in 2018. I have also been interested in the entrepreneurial world for a very long time because having an entrepreneurial father, I was often amazed when I saw him working. I am also the creator of Save Them Yourself, an innovation in the fight against covid19. Finally, I am a dynamic, motivated and committed person who loves to learn and discover new things and culture and also always looking for a way to achieve my goals. Hoping one day to be one of the most influential women in Niger, if not Africa.

Ibrahima Guimba

Mr. Ibrahima Guimba-Saïdou has over 20 years of worldwide professional experience in the telecommunications industries. His vast field of expertise goes from strategy, to planning and management of operations, to market sizing, to product marketing, to business planning, to sales and market development, to the management of large projects, as well as engineering. He has been the recipient of several CEO Awards throughout his career. Ibrahima Guimba-Saïdou is currently Director General of the National Agency for the Information Society (Ansi) in the Office of the President of the Republic. He was previously, since November 2016, High Commissioner responsible for ICT in the Prime Minister's office. He is responsible for driving the digital development of the territory by ensuring the transformation of the Nigerian administration towards the all digital, by opening up the administrative villages of Niger, by stimulating the whole Nigerian ecosystem, by detecting and highlighting talent Nigerien and local startups. Ibrahima Guimba-Saïdou is also Minister - Special Advisor to the President of the Republic. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Niger Telecom, the national operator of Niger. He was also appointed representative of Niger on the Steering Committee of the Smart Africa Alliance. Before joining the government, Ibrahima Guimba-Saïdou was SES Senior Vice-President Commercial-Africa and General Manager of SES Astra Africa (Pty.) Ltd. since January 2012. Before that, he was Senior Director and Sales Director at Intelsat. He was previously Director of the Group's Regional Strategy and Marketing Center. Ibrahima joined Intelsat as a Communication Engineer at the Center for Technical Control of Satellite Operations. Ibrahima Guimba-Saïdou was also Managing Director of Intelsat South Africa (Pty) Ltd. from 2004 to 2006. He began his professional career at the Société des Télécommunications Internationales du Niger (the Niger National Operator). Ibrahima Guimba-Saïdou holds a degree in electrical engineering from the École Polytechnique de Montréal. He also holds a Master in International Management (MIM), as well as an MBA from the University of Maryland. He has completed several executive programs with Wharton Business School (Aresty Institute) and the Center of Creative Leadership (Leadership Development Program). Ibrahima Guimba-Saïdou has had a high-level sporting career: member of the Niger national basketball team, of the Olympic football club of Niamey (winner of the Niger Top football league) and Judoka. He also led various student and social associations in Niger and in Canada (President of the Association of African Students of the École Polytechnique de Montréal, President of the Junior Economic Chamber Niamey-Baobab and Vice-President of the National Youth Office Niger Economic Chamber).

Mariam Abdou

Abdou Gado Mariama is a young Nigerian. Born on 16/12/1996 in Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso. Passionate about issues of sustainable development, health, humanitarian and digital, Mariama uses her environment, her skills, seizes the opportunities to live her passions and make them live for others. She is now a 4th year medical student at the Faculty of Health Sciences at Abdou Moumouni University in Niamey where she excels in participating in school and out-of-school activities. Recently, she led her faculty to victory in the JCI National Debating Championship. Mariama is an activist for a change of mentality and positive behavior through her involvement in NGOs and Youth Associations. She is : - member of the West African Medical Students Network (REMAO) - President of the Network of Young Ambassadors for Reproductive Health and Family Planning (RJA / SRPF) in Niger. - Focal point of the Ratanga Club in Niger - Member of the Association Jeunesse en Action (AJA) and Girls Engaged in Medecine and Science (GEMS) Within each of these organizations, it carries out strong advocacy so that the opinions and needs of young people are taken into account at the highest decision-making level. This earned her international recognition in Kigali (Rwanda) in November 2018 where she won the First Advocacy Prize at the end of the Amplify Change competition. Mariama works in the humanitarian field through aid actions for needy people which she has led with her group Taimako since 2015. Mariama is also a social entrepreneur. She is currently developing a start-up called "Kimaski" which will facilitate access to health services for its users. Which application received the "public's favorite" prize and the 3rd national price during the Orange social entrepreneur competition in September 2018.

Mariam Kamara

The Nigerian architect is among the 4 finalists for the Dorfman Award from the Royal Academy in London, whose names were announced on February 9. This annual prize, which rewards young talents in architecture, is awarded to those who "reinvent the future of architecture and whose work shows great sensitivity to the local and global context". The other finalists for the 2019 edition of the award are Fernanda Canales (Mexico), Alice Casey and Cian Duggan or TAKA Architects (Ireland) and Boonserm Premthada or Bangkok Project Studio (Thailand). The winner will be announced later this year. Mariam Kamara will also be one of the speakers at the next edition of Design Indaba 2019, which will take place from February 27 to March 1 in Cape Town. Mariam Kamara lives and works between Niamey in Niger, his hometown, and Providence, near Boston, in the United States. In her country of origin, she founded, since 2014, the "Masomi" workshop which aims to develop innovative solutions in architecture and design, while exploring new adaptations to local techniques. Masomi, which means "The beginning" or "creation" in the Hausa language, develops a wide variety of public, cultural, residential, commercial and urban design projects. From the age of 12, Mariam Kamara always knew that she wanted to be an architect. When she was a child, the designer loved to draw her friends and was also interested in history, archeology and heritage. She grew up in a family of engineers and it was only natural that she studied computer science during the Internet boom in the early 90s. She thus holds a diploma in information systems from the University of Purdue (USA) and a Master in Computer Science from the University of New York. But, at the age of 30, after working for 6 years as an engineer in the startup sector in New York as well as in Seattle and Baltimore, she decided to join an architecture school. At almost 34, she received a Masters in Architecture from the University of Washington. In 2013, she became a founding member of united4design, a global collective of architects working on projects in the United States, Afghanistan and Niger. This led to the creation of Masōmī in 2014. Mariam Kamara teaches urban planning at Brown University in the state of Rhode Island in the USA.

Rana Abdel Hamid

Rana Abdelhamid is a community organizer and social entrepreneur from Queens, New York. She is the founder of Hijabis of NY. Her work as founder of WISE has led to coverage in AJ+, a L’Oreal award, and features in Teen Vogue, BBC, and HuffPost. WISE is [1] a self-defense, leadership and entrepreneurship program for young women in New York City,[2] other cities in the United States,[3] and internationally.[4] Abdelhamid later became a dedicated shotokan karate martial artist. She holds a black belt in Tai Chi karate.[6] She first pitched her idea for the a self-defense class with women teaching women to her imam at the Queens Community Center when she was sixteen.[7] This was after she had been attacked on the street by a man who tried to take off her headscarf.[2] The class was rejected, but Abdelhamid continued to try and finally held her first class for Women's Initiative for Self Empowerment (WISE) in 2010.[7] Since then, WISE chapters were created in other parts of the United States and internationally, in Edinburgh, Dublin and Madrid.[4] The program grew to incorporate a summer camp in New York called Mentee Muslimah.[8] Abdelhamid describes creating WISE as "part of her 'healing process,'" according to Elle.[5] She told National Catholic Reporter that so-called "hijab grabs" are a common experience for Muslim women.[9] Abdelhamid attended Middlebury College as a Posse Foundation Scholar, where she majored in international politics and economics.[10] At Middlebury, she and others organized a local chapter of Amnesty International USA.[10] After graduating from Middlebury,[11] she attended Harvard Kennedy School of Government,[3] after earning a Harry S. Truman Scholarship.[10] She is a recipient of the 2015 UNAUSA Leo Nevas Human Rights Youth Award, and the Running Start Rising Political Star.[12]