Wife of the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, has been appointed Visiting Senior Research Fellow of the prestigious Kings College, London.
Mrs Fayemi, an Activist, Writer, Social Entrepreneur and Policy Advocate, is currently Principal Partner, Amandla Consulting, specializing in leadership development for women. She also runs an online community, Abovewhispers.com, in addition to her role as a UN Women Nigeria Senior Consultant.
According to a release by the University, the selection of a fellow is based on the relevance of the expert’s work to the programme of the institution’s African Leadership Centre (ALC).
“We are pleased to announce new Senior Visiting Appointments at the African Leadership Centre, King’s College, London as part of the Centre’s programme on the Practice of Leadership: Professor Abdoulaye Bathily, Visiting Professor; Ms. Thoko Didiza, Visiting Senior Research Fellow and Ms. Bisi Adeleye Fayemi, Visiting Senior Research Fellow.
“The African Leadership Centre brings experienced policy practitioners on an invitation only basis to King’s College London and the ALC in Nairobi for a period of reflection, writing as well as mentoring of ALC Fellows.
“In addition, practitioners give seminars, lectures and participate in ALC activities. The practitioners will typically have served in governmental and inter-governmental organizations as well as civil society organizations.
“Selection is based on the relevance of the experts’ work to the overall programme of the ALC. In the course of the programme, it is expected that Senior Practitioners who hold visiting positions will produce working papers and articles for publication by the ALC among other outputs.” The statement added.
Mrs Fayemi, holds bachelor and master’s degrees in History from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife. She also has another master’s degree in Gender Development from the University of Middlesex, United Kingdom. She was named one of the 20 most influential African women in 2009 by New African Magazine. In 2011, Women Deliver listed her as one of the top 100 people in the world, advancing the rights of women and girls.
She served as the Director of Akina Mama wa Afrika (AMwA), an international development organisation for African women based in London, UK, from 1991-2001 where she established the African Women’s Leadership Institute that has trained over 6,000 African women leaders. She subsequently co-founded the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) – the first Africa-wide grant-making foundation for women, serving as its first Executive Director from 2001-2010.
She has designed and implemented policy, advocacy, grassroots empowerment and social inclusion programs across many African countries. She is the author of “Speaking for Myself: Perspectives on Social, Political and Feminist Activism in Africa (2013); “Speaking above a Whisper, (2013) an autobiography; andLoud Whispers (2017). She is also co-editor (with Jessica Horn) of Voice, Power and Soul (2008), a compilation of images and stories of African Feminists.
