Speaking on Wednesday 2 July 2025 as Guest of Honor and Keynote Speaker at the Nalafem Summit in Freetown, former Liberia President and Africa’s first elected female president, Her Excellency Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, has emphasised that power is about service as people elect leaders because they believe in their ability to effect change. Power for its own sake, she said, is not true power. Instead, power must have purpose; to transform lives, influence systems, and inspire others to follow in building a lasting legacy.

In a one-on-one conversation with Tunisian born Aya Chebbi, Founder & President of Nalafem, madam Sirleaf encouraged women to lead and to continue learning, and to embrace their identity unapologetically. You don’t have to change yourself to be accepted by others, she said. and that being a woman takes nothing away from one’s ability to lead. On the subject of courage, she described it as the ability to pursue one’s chosen goals despite obstacles, as seeing the barriers and still pressing forward.

Also speaking via video, H.E. Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and Nalafem Champion, stressing that 2025 is a pivotal year to accelerate progress towards gender equality and parity, noting that women are no longer demanding a seat at the table, they are creating the table that are more diverse and inclusive. She encouraged women to remain bold, focused and united in the transformation the world needs.

Day two of the summit featured a sideline conversation titled Opening the Learning Village – Mentorship & Sponsorship: Building a Pipeline of Women Leaders. Moderated by Dr. Syeda Re’em Hussain, Advocacy & Programs Lead at Nalafem, the panel brought together influential voices from across the continent, including: Lesego Otlhabanye (Botswana), AL for Governance Program Manager, African Leadership Academy, Dalree De Lange (South Africa), Senior Programme Officer, Graça Machel Trust, Serah Makka (Nigeria), Executive Director for Africa, ONE Campaign and Baindu Massaquoi (Sierra Leone), Programme Specialist, UN Women.

Convened by the Nalafem Collective, and hosted by the Mayor of Freetown Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr OBE, the summit brings together 100 leaders from across Africa including government ministers, parliamentarians, youth leaders, activists, and survivors under the theme “From Representation to Power: Women Leading in Crisis & Peace.”