4 Ways Akilah Celebrated International Women’s Day

March 8, International Women’s Day (IWD), is one of our favorite days of the year. Celebrating women and their aspirations and achievements is right up our alley, and we make sure to recognize the day with the attention it deserves.

International Women’s Day celebration in Nyabihu District.

This year, under the international theme “Be Bold For Change,” Akilah represented our community in events around — and outside — Kigali.

Here’s how Akilah students, faculty, and staff celebrated IWD this year.

A Campus-Wide Discussion

Students and staff assembled in Akilah’s communal area on the afternoon of March 8 for frank discussions on female empowerment and the way forward for women in Rwanda.

Students broke into discussion groups to tackle topics ranging from increasing women’s opportunities in education to setting boundaries and decision making. Each group then presented their ideas and conclusions to the campus community.

“The effort, commitment, and open-mindedness of everyone participating was really outstanding. It was a day that put the students front and center and gave them a day of inspiration and support that they won’t soon forget,” said Academic Director Lisa Doherty after the event.

DOT Rwanda: Women’s Empowerment Through Technology

Five Akilah students participated in DOT Rwanda’s technology workshop for female social entrepreneurs.

Five Akilah Entrepreneurship students participated in Digital Opportunity Trust Rwanda’s full-day workshop on Harnessing Technology for Female Social Entrepreneurs. Together with tech-savvy women from other institutions, including Kepler University and the University of Rwanda, our students spent the day discussing the application of technology in entrepreneurship. Topics included how to use social media more purposefully and productively — for instance, to pursue business opportunities and professional networking.

Akilah’s participants collaborated with other women interested in tech, listened to testimonies from successful female tech entrepreneurs, and learned about products produced by women entrepreneurs. They’ll bring these experiences and lessons back to campus and apply them to building their own enterprises.

Audressse Girarike studies Entrepreneurship at Akilah and joined our Business Incubation Center to develop her business idea for designing and selling waitress and kitchen uniforms.

“It was really interesting to get a better understanding of how to integrate technology in business. As young women, I think we don’t always use social media for all the things we could be doing. Until today I didn’t think of using social media to promote my products. It’s really useful to work together with other young women and to see how we can combine our skills to build strong businesses,” she said.

Akilah Attends National Celebration

First Lady Jeannette Kagame led the national celebration of International Women’s Day in Nyabihu District. Akilah Country Director Aline Kabanda and two staff attended the ceremony.

Akilah was invited to take part in the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion’s official International Women’s Day ceremony, which took place in Nyabihu District in the Western Province of Rwanda.

Akilah Country Director Aline Kabanda and two staff members attended the celebration. First Lady Jeannette Kagame, an entrepreneur herself and a strong advocate for women’s empowerment, delivered a keynote address that praised Rwandan women for their contributions to the country:

“As we celebrate International Women’s Day, we also take the time to reflect [on] and celebrate great achievements accomplished by Rwandan women,” she said.

Growth MindSet Training at Kigali Marriott Hotel

Marriott is one of Akilah’s oldest and strongest private sector partners — the international hospitality brand has employed 50 Akilah alumnae, with many working at its new five-star hotel in Kigali.

As part of their International Women’s Day celebration, Kigali Marriott Hotel invited Akilah’s Recruitment & Admissions Team to provide growth mindset training to its female employees. Developing a growth mindset, the belief that one can learn new concepts and skills, is an important part of the Akilah experience, and our staff was excited to share the concept with the Marriott team.

Akilah’s recruitment team also encouraged Marriott staff — and their relatives and friends — to continue their professional development and education. Akilah’s new Evening & Weekend Program allows working professionals to continue their studies without leaving their job.

“Akilah is a great partner to us, and we are happy to celebrate this special Women’s Day with you. The growth mindset training is so useful to all our staff — it makes them think outside the box and take initiative. And we always encourage our employees to keep learning, so this is a great way for us to come together on Women’s Day,” said Aisha Mambo, human resources manager at Kigali Marriott Hotel.