Women's Action Summit Celebrates Black Giving

MINNEAPOLIS, MN

-- The Pan-African Women's Action Summit 2011 is open for registration at www.pawas2011.net. A one-of-kind convening of the world's black women to promote philanthropy and volunteerism, PAWAS 2011 is from August 11th-13th, 2011 at the Minneapolis Community and Technical College. A pre-summit on August 10th will feature a Pan-African Women's Film Festival. Click here for a one-page Summit flyer to circulate.

 

Open to all black women and the general public, the Summit is being sponsored by the Pan-African Women's Philanthropy Network organized in 2004 to advance the culture of giving and sharing among diverse black women for the development of Pan-African communities everywhere.

PAWAS 2011 celebrates the first-ever Global Black Philanthropy Month as well as the UN's Declaration of 2011 as The International Year for People of African Descent to promote global awareness of the challenges and contributions of the black diaspora worldwide.

The Summit's world class roster of keynote speakers includes:

* Dr. Julianne Malveaux, President of Bennett College
* Tiffany Dufu, CEO/President, The White House Project
* Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi, Co-Founding President of African Women Development Fund and First Lady, Ekiti State, Nigeria
* Shegitu Kebede, Winner of the McKnight Humanitarian Award and Social Entrepreneur
* Judge (ret.) LaJune Lange, Founding President, International Leadership Institute
* Dr. Natalia Kanem, Physician and Global Philanthropy Leader
* Gael Sylvia Pullen, President, MGA Global Foundation

According to Dr. Jackie Copeland-Carson, PAWPNet founder and chair, "Black women's social innovation and philanthropy are often overlooked. This Summit celebrates, builds and unites black women's leadership, sharing it with the broader community and the world to promote justice and opportunity for all."

Over 30 workshops, a technical assistance fair, wellness services, networking events, Giving Stories© sessions, cultural performances, a film festival, a United Nations of Giving Women's Rally, and Minnesota African Crossroads Cultural Tour© will educate the community and broader public about the black diaspora's contributions to community development and social innovation.

PAWAS 2011 is a local, national and global event. Keynote addresses will be broadcast live over the World Wide Web. And SisterSummits are being planned in the Caribbean and Africa. For Arlene Bailey-Franklin, executive director of the Anguilla Community Foundation, which is hosting the PAWAS 2011 Caribbean SisterSummit, "Women are the backbone of our community's giving and volunteerism. PAWAS 2011 represents a unique moment for the Caribbean to take leadership in the worldwide philanthropy movement."

Antonia Apolinario-Wilcoxon, an Afro-Brazilian PAWPNet leader and education activist, says "PAWAS 2011 is energizing. It recognizes that there is a global black community and that women have a special role to play in strengthening the Pan-African Philanthropy Movement that is so vital to the success of our people everywhere."

Moira Gaidzanwa, chair of PAWPNet's outreach sub-committee, is from Zimbabwe. The evaluation director at The Family Housing Fund, a PAWAS 2011 funder, she notes that "The Twin Cities has the US's most diverse black population and has become a true hub of Pan-African women's social innovation. So, we are especially proud to have PAWAS 2011 here to share our strategies and learn from the worldwide community."