Tuesday, 19 May
12:40 - 13:40
Organized by InterPore's Diversity, Equality & Inclusiveness Committee, the DEI Forum will include a lunch-time lecture followed by an open discussion. This event is free and open to all participants of InterPore2026. However, please note that participation in the Lunch Forum is limited to 300 attendees, due to room capacity, and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Lecturer:
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Why Gender Inclusion is Africa’s Next Big Growth Opportunity: Higher Education in FocusBroadly, half of Africa’s market is female, yet 50.8% is still excluded. Inclusion builds nations, for example, Rwanda & Mozambique, while exclusion shrinks markets and community development. Dr. Naomi Lumutenga is the Executive Director and Co-founder of Higher Education Resource Services -East Africa (HERS-EA), an educational NGO registered in Uganda, whose goal is to increase women leaders in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to at least 50%. The presentation by Dr. Naomi Lumutenga will highlight the work done by HERS-EA targeting HEIs – the institutions that shape mindsets and produce most of the national and private sector leaders. HERS-EA’s innovative multi-tier model has been practiced for 10 years and delivered over 250 women leaders across East Africa, who lead differently. HERS-EA prepares women for leadership at all levels of community; women researchers receive training to conduct and publish research, and capacity development for personal development, resource mobilisation and institutional leadership. In return, they are tasked to identify neglected women-oriented issues, such as menstrual hygiene management, and to collaboratively mobilise resources, conduct and publish multi-disciplinary research to inform policy change. Increased research outputs accelerate leadership and promotion prospects for the women in higher education, while simultaneously supporting women elsewhere, by using data to highlight their issues. This low input-high output ecosystem of women empowering women has received global recognition, and it offers lessons for men and women who are ready to move from policy to practices that will finally move the gender equity dial. Bio: Dr. Lumutenga is a Uganda born PhD holder with extensive experience in conceptualizing, setting up, and operationalizing Non-governmental Organizations. She is a visiting lecturer at the University College London, providing input to intersectional modules on Diversity, Equality, and Inclusivity, while consulting with national governments in East African countries. Dr. Lumutenga previously taught for 23 years in the UK and currently serves as Honorary Canon at Canterbury Cathedral in the UK. She has led research to inform policy on gender equity and equality. She has been the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Higher Education Resource Services-East Africa (HERS-EA) since 2014 and an alum of HERS Denver since 2015. In 2023/4, she was Co-PI to a Scoping Study in Gender Equality in Higher Education in East Africa, supported by the Gates Foundation. Her most recent publication is an edited volume, Re-imagining Women Leadership Through Inclusive Community Engagement. |
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