Former Malawi Head of State Joyce Banda has been lined up as one of the main speakers at one of the world’s largest education conferences.
Banda will in May speak at the National Association of Foreign Students Advisors (NAFSA) 2018 International Education Conference in United States of America.
The conference is under the theme “Diverse Voices, Shared Commitment.”
According to NAFSA Executive Director Esther Brimmer, the former Malawi leader will speak as an activist, entrepreneur, politician and philanthropist in Philadelphia during the conference that will take place from 29 May -1 June 2018.
Brimmer hailed Banda as the right speaker since she is the first female president in Malawi and someone who is advocating for women and girl’s civil rights and empowerment through the Joyce Banda Foundation International which guides initiatives that include helping women to become financially independent through business training to support schools and caring for orphans in their centres.
“She will provide a meaningful and vital perspective to the conference,” Brimmer said.
In 2014, Forbes named Banda as the 40th most powerful woman in the world and the most powerful woman in Africa.
Banda is also the recipient of multiple international awards including the Hunger Project Africa Prize for Leadership for the Sustainable End of Hunger that she shared with President Joaquim Chisano of Mozambique in 1997 among others.
NAFSA’s 70th annual conference and expo is the world’s largest gathering of professionals in international education with expected attendees from more than 100 countries.
The conference offers a wide platform of learning and networking opportunities for international educators, and features more than 200 sessions and workshops focusing on the most crucial topics in international education and exchange and global learning.
