NEWS International Advocate Joins Group to Select Winners of World’s Largest Annually Awarded Prize Posted by on Oct 15, 2008, 17:58

Graça Machel to Join Mo Ibrahim Prize Committee

Graça Machel.. Advocate for Women's and Children’s Rights

Graça Machel, the renowned international advocate for women’s and children’s rights, is joining the Prize Committee of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, the organisation established in 2006 to support great African leadership. The announcement of Graça Machel’s appointment comes one week ahead of this year’s announcement of the winner of the Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership in London on 20 October (she will begin participating in deliberations from January 2009).

During a lifetime dedicated to extending the rights and opportunities of women and children, Graça Machel served for fourteen years as Minister of Education and Culture in Mozambique, overseeing a dramatic increase in primary school enrolment. As an independent expert appointed by the UN Secretary-General to assess the impact of armed conflict on children, her groundbreaking report helped establish a comprehensive agenda for the protection of children caught up in war. In 1994, Graça Machel founded the Foundation for Community Development, a grassroots NGO that works to bring together the forces of all sectors of society to promote development, democracy and social justice.

Graça Machel has been married to Nelson Mandela since 1998. The widow of the Mozambican President Samora Machel who died in 1986, Graça Machel’s work has redefined the role of First Lady in Africa. She is the winner of numerous awards recognising her achievements and serves on the boards of a number of international organisations.

Last month the Mo Ibrahim Foundation announced that Mohamed ElBaradei, the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, had been appointed to the Prize Committee. Under the Chairmanship of Kofi Annan, the seven-person Prize Committee selects the winner of the Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership, the largest annually awarded prize in the world.

Based on the Prize Committee’s decision, the Foundation awards US$5 million to a democratically elected former Executive Head of State or Government from a sub-Saharan African country who has served his or her term in office within the limits set by the country’s constitution, and has left office in the last three years.

In October 2007, Joaquim Chissano, the former President of Mozambique, became the inaugural Ibrahim Laureate. The Prize Committee’s citation praised President Chissano’s “achievements in bringing peace, reconciliation, stable democracy and economic progress to his country”.

On the Prize Committee, Graça Machel has joined:

• Kofi Annan (Chair), former Secretary-General of the United Nations and Nobel Laureate
• Martti Ahtisaari, former President of Finland and Nobel Laureate
• Aïcha Bah Diallo, former Minister of Education in Guinea and Director of Basic Education at UNESCO
• Mohamed ElBaradei, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency and Nobel Laureate
• Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
• Salim Ahmed Salim, former Secretary-General of the Organisation of African Unity and former Prime Minister of Tanzania

Kofi Annan says: “Having dedicated her life to humanitarian causes in Africa, few people better understand the qualities that constitute effective leadership and the positive impact it can have when exercised judiciously. I am delighted that Graça Machel is bringing her judgment and experience to the Prize Committee of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation.”

Graça Machel says: “The Mo Ibrahim Foundation recognises the centrality of leadership and governance in determining our continent’s future. We need to recognise and celebrate excellence in leadership so that future generations of African leaders are both inspired and influenced by the achievements of their predecessors. I feel honoured to be joining the Prize Committee of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation.”

Mo Ibrahim, the founder and Chairman of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, says: “For many millions of Africans, Graça Machel is the very personification of determined leadership, quiet authority and dedicated service to her country and her continent. I warmly welcome her appointment to the Prize Committee of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation.”

The announcement of Graça Machel’s appointment comes one week after the publication of the 2008 Ibrahim Index of African Governance in Addis Ababa. Assessed against 57 criteria, the Ibrahim Index ranks sub-Saharan African nations according to governance performance. The Ibrahim Index is an independent project of the Foundation. It is one of a number of independent and authoritative sources which the Prize Committee uses in its deliberations.

• The announcement of the winner of the 2008 Ibrahim Prize will take place at City Hall, London, UK at 11.00am BST / 10.00am GMT
• Media resources, including a video news release, photos, press releases and background material on the 2008 Ibrahim Laureate will be available from 11am on Monday 20 October
• The prize ceremony to award the Ibrahim Prize will take place at the Bibliotheca Alexandria, Egypt on 15 November
• Photos and audio and video clips, as well as the option of broadcasting the prize ceremony in full, are available to all broadcasters by contacting chande.r@moibrahimfoundation.org
• The full data of the 2008 Ibrahim Index of African Governance has been published on the Foundation’s website: www.moibrahimfoundation.org/index

For further information or to request an interview, please contact:

Diana Jackson

Direct:  +44 20 7842 0151

Mobile: +44 7904 752736

diana.jackson@portlandpr.co.uk

Graça Machel's History

1.  Graça Machel is a renowned international advocate for women and children's rights and has been a social and political activist over many decades. She is President of the Foundation for Community Development (FDC), a not for profit Mozambican organisation she founded in 1994. FDC makes grants to civil society organisations to strengthen communities, facilitate social and economic justice and assist in the reconstruction and development of post war Mozambique.

In 1994, the Secretary General of the United Nations appointed Graça Machel as an independent expert to carry out an assessment of the impact of armed conflict on children. Her groundbreaking report was presented in 1996 and established a new and innovative agenda for the comprehensive protection of children caught up in war, changing the policy and practice of governments, UN agencies, and international and national civil society.

Over the years, Graça Machel has gained international recognition for her achievements. Her many awards include the Laureate of Africa Prize for Leadership for the Sustainable End of Hunger from the Hunger Project in 1992 and the Nansen Medal in recognition of her contribution to the welfare of refugee children in 1995. She has received the Inter Press Service's International Achievement Award for her work on behalf of children internationally, the Africare Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award and the North-South Prize of the Council of Europe, amongst others.

Graça Machel has served on the boards of numerous international organisations, including the UN Foundation, the Forum of African Women Educationalists, the African Leadership Forum and the International Crisis Group. Amongst her many current commitments, she is Chair of the GAVI Fund Board, Chancellor of the University of Cape Town, South Africa and Panel Member of the African Peer Review Mechanism.

As Minister of Education and Culture in Mozambique (1975-1989) she was responsible for overseeing an increase in primary school enrolment from 40 per cent of children in 1975 to over 90 per cent of boys and 75 per cent of girls by 1989.

2. The Mo Ibrahim Foundation was launched in October 2006 and is committed to supporting great African leadership. It was founded by Mo Ibrahim, one of Africa’s most successful business entrepreneurs, and has the support of a number of world leaders, including Kofi Annan, Nelson Mandela, and Amartya Sen. The Foundation aims to stimulate debate around, and improve the quality of, governance in Africa.

3. Journalists wishing to be updated about Foundation activities, including the upcoming announcement about the winner of the Ibrahim Prize, should send an email to Risha Chande, chande.r@moibrahimfoundation.org