BWA Awards set to launch impactful community development initiative

The annual Businesswomen’s Association (BWA) Awards, hosted by the Zululand chapter on Friday, 4 October, welcomes former Public Protector professor Thuli Madonsela as this year’s keynote speaker. Madonsela will use this platform to outline her incredible community and leadership development initiative that is taking place in Zululand’s eManzimeleni region.

The project is being implemented in a co-ordinated effort by Madonsela’s NGO the Thuma Foundation under the title eManzimeleni Enterprising Communities, and the globally-awarded Partners for Possibilities (PfP) leadership development program with the official launch taking place at the highly-anticipated BWA Zululand Awards on the 4th October.

The programme will kick off with education development and Thuma Foundation has partnered with PfP on the implementation of a school principal support and leadership development programme. To date, 12 eManzimeleni schools have signed up to the programme – with hopes that another 12 will join at a later stage. Every school will be partnered with a local business leader in a structured 1-year co-learning, leadership development programme that will develop conscious and effective leaders in both schools and businesses. The launch of this programme at the BWA Zululand Awards’ will give business and school leaders a chance to sign up and benefit, personally and professionally, from this award-winning initiative.

Lwazi Mahlangu, the head of performance, monitoring and evaluation at Thuma Foundation, explained that, as part of the Thuma Foundation’s principle of strengthening democracy through community empowerment, Thuma had worked with eManzimeleni Enterprising Communities to establish four committees on top of their focus on leadership development and education. The recently-established committees, Health & Safety; Entrepreneurship Skills; Agriculture; and Arts, are assessing the needs in these four areas and ways local stakeholders can assist in development.

“We are so thrilled to announce professor Madonsela as this year’s BWA Awards’ keynote speaker,” said Ronelle Ramsamy, BWA Zululand Chairperson. “Her empowerment of democracy through her work as Public Protector and now within the Thuma Foundation is inspiring and she so perfectly embodies this year’s theme ‘Leading with Integrity’. We are sure the Zululand community will be excited to get behind the launch of incredible local project.”

Justin Foxton, PfP KZN Co-ordinator, said: “Partners for Possibility is proud to be working in eManzimeleni with Prof Thuli Madonsela and her team, bringing our globally recognised leadership development programme for school principals and business leaders to the heart of Zululand.”

Audiences at this year’s BWA Zululand Awards’ ceremony will get the chance to interact with professor Madonsela through a 10-minute Q&A session scheduled for the night. The BWA Zululand Awards welcomes Zululand’s most influential community members for a glamorous evening while celebrating the accomplishments of local businesswomen. The event will be on Friday, 4 October at Umfolozi Casino Resort in Empangeni. Limited tickets are available so book your place now.