Following the announcement of the date and modalities for the 4th Frontier Discourse Annual Public Lecture Series [African Edition] scheduled to hold virtually on Wednesday, December 11, 2024, by 4.30pm, organisers of the event, Pacesetter Frontier Magazine, have announced Dr. Jewel Howard-Taylor as the Keynote Speaker for the 4th edition of the lecture.
Disclosing this in a statement, the Magazine’s Head of Southern Bureau, Doris Ewo, noted that the Keynote Speaker will speak on the topic: “Beyond Borders – Shared Pressures and the Politics of Reforms in African States”.
Speaking to the purpose of the topic, Ewo said:
“In recent times, Africa has witnessed a resurgence of Military Coups. Incidents of Civil Mass Protests are also sweeping throughout the continent.
“A cursory look at the Coups and Protests occurring beyond the borders of different African countries reveal some things – citizens’ agitation against the multilayered issues of horrible governance, politics, policies and their dwindling economic anti-people upshoots among African States.
“It is also noticed that external pressures come in different forms from Western countries and their allied organs, like the IMF, influencing loads of government decisions taken in African States.
“These shared pressures beyond borders, as identified above, if left unchecked, will obviously cause a continental implosion, now or in the future – and if this is to be avoided, there’s a need to begin to re-echo and preach the message of politics of reforms in African states.
“We hope that the lecture affords the Speaker the opportunity to propose how we can calm the troubled waters, reform the governance approach in the continent, beginning with how leaders of African States emerge, policy making, citizens’ charter and welfare, human rights, press freedom, rule of law, stronger judicial system, food security and security of lives and properties.
“One thing we have in mind is that the lecture contributes to charting new leadership, economic and social paths to the exponential development of the continent of Africa”.
Dr. Jewel Howard-Taylor, the immediate past Vice President of Liberia, is a seasoned diplomat, lawyer, and public servant with over two decades of experience in law, economics, gender development, impactful leadership, and public administration on various levels, with deep proficiency in policymaking, decision making, conflict resolution, peace, and nation building, both on national and international levels.
Dr. Howard-Taylor bagged a B.Sc. in Economics from the University of Liberia, Monrovia, Liberia in 1985, a diploma in banking from the American Institute of Banking, New York in 1991, an MBA in Finance from the Cuttington University Graduate School, Monrovia in 2007, an LLB in Law from the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law from the University of Liberia in 2011, among other prestigious honors in International Relations, Gender Development, Business Management, and many more.
Between August 1997 to August 2003, she served as the First Lady of Liberia during which she rendered heartfelt service to her nation. During the Liberian Civil Crisis, she established and handled the National Humanitarian Task Force that provided monthly food rations and medical services to over 300,000 internally displaced Liberians for over 3 years. Not to mention that as the First Lady, she advocated and lobbied for the creation of the Ministry of Gender, which is today the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection, and also an inheritance law that affords equal rights for widows in civil and traditional marriages in Liberia to this day.
As the Senior Senator, representing Bong County in Liberia in the Liberian Senate from January 2006 to January 2018, Dr. Jewel served on several key Senate Committees, such as Ways, Means, Finance, and Budget; Judiciary, Claims, Petitions, and Human Rights; Defense and Internal Affairs; Gender, Health, Children and Social Services, among other important committees, and international relations.
Between January 2018 to January 2024, she served as the Vice President, and later the President of the Liberian Senate. During this, she, among other ambitious feats, as the Presiding Officer of the Liberian Senate, ensured the legislature made laws and policies that guided the implementation of Liberia’s Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development, with a focus on poverty eradication, gender equality, SDGs, and accessible healthcare to the people of Liberia.
Dr. Howard-Taylor has also served or is serving in many other leadership positions.
*April 1996 to September 1996 – President, Agricultural Cooperative Bank of Liberia
*September 1996 to August 1997 – Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Liberia
*Former Chairperson, Women Legislative Caucus of Liberia
Member, African Women Network, African Union
*Current Global Chairperson, African Women in Leadership Organization, AWLO
*Founder, Jewel Star Fish Foundation
Dr. Jewel Howard-Taylor is a shining light in the discourse of African Leadership and the continent’s social and humanitarian development, and the overall growth of Africa.
Participants are to register freely via *https://forms.gle/zGkDhp2jdx4y5UQG9*
The event which will be entirely virtual and live-streamed on Zoom, X, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram will be hosted by a Nigerian Broadcast Journalist, Alex Ogbodo and has TheNiche Newspaper, Journalist101, AnchorNews and CEO Media as its media partners.
Other partners are Odengene Airshuttle Services Limited; ROWE Oil, Nigeria; Human Development Center, Nigeria and OPEANS Nigeria Limited.
