IWD Event at the Global Citizens Network

Thanks to everyone who helped make International Women's Day 2012 in Minneapolis a success! What better way to celebrate IWD than coming together to honor women 

who promote peace and food security? 

Semhar Araia, keynote speaker

Our keynote speaker for the 8 March event was Semar Araia, Founder and Executive Director of the Diaspora African Women's Network (DAWN), an organization whose mission is to provide support to women and girls of the African diaspora focused on african affairs. A lawyer by training, Semhar has worked in various Africa-focused positions, including as Oxfam International's Horn of Africa poliy advisor and an Africa analyst for The Elders, an organization created by Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and eleven other world leaders.

Semhar is a frequent guest speaker on US-Africa policy, effective advocacy strategies and community organizing. She was listed in The Root's Top 100, which recognizes emerging and established African-American leaders making extraordinary contributions. She has also been featured in various media outlets, including National Public Radio, Christian Science Monitor, and The Huffington Post. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Saint Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota and her law degree from Marquette University Law School, with studies at American University’s Washington College of Law and Tel Aviv University. Semhar was born in New York City to Eritrean immigrant parents and currently resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

IWD goers 

Jessica Spanswick, emcee

After watching the film Africa's Last Famine produced by Oxfam and Link TV, Semhar engaged the audience in a conversation about the relationship between food security and conflict. She pushed us all to ask the tough questions and challenge conventional thinking about development. Fittingly the week of  IWD Invisible Children's campaign Stop Kony 2012 captured the hearts of many. Semhar, one to engage in controversial issues, spoke out in the Christian Monitor with her article It's Fine to Stop Kony and the LRA But Learn to Respect Africans. In accordance with her bold nature, she challenged Americans to really consider who and what we are supporting when our hearts bleed for the "third world." 

Thank you to Semhar and Oxfam Action Corps and the Global Citizens Network for the venue!