A historic step in cross-continental gender empowerment and diplomatic cooperation has been achieved, as two senior female politicians from the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) have gained formal admission to a prestigious pan-African political leadership development program, marking the first formal inclusion of Caribbean leaders in the initiative.
The OECS Commission confirmed this week that Lanien Blanchette, Speaker of the National Assembly of Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Lisa Jawahir, Minister of Agriculture of Saint Lucia, have been officially welcomed into the African Academy for Women in Political Leadership. Both leaders traveled to Kigali, Rwanda to take part in the academy’s official launch event held between August 2 and 7.
Blanchette, a trained lawyer, has built a strong regional reputation for her consistent advocacy for youth political inclusion, unwavering defense of constitutional integrity, and tireless promotion of transparent democratic governance.
Founded through a collaborative partnership between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the African Union Commission, the African Women Leaders Network (AWLN), and the African School of Governance (ASG), the academy was created to equip emerging and established women political leaders with advanced, practical capabilities in strategic planning, policy design, and legislative drafting. Its core curriculum covers critical leadership competencies including electoral campaign strategy, cross-party coalition building, systemic legislative reform, ethical public governance, and effective implementation of public policy initiatives.
In an official statement, the OECS Commission framed the admission of the two Caribbean leaders as a landmark milestone, as it brings formally brings Caribbean political leaders into this major continental governance training program for the first time. The statement emphasized that this inclusion represents a tangible acknowledgment of the African diaspora by the African Union, recognizing the diaspora as the official sixth region of the African continent.
Credit for the breakthrough integration was given to Aisha Maina, OECS Strategic Advisor for Africa-Caribbean Cooperation, whose leadership and persistent outreach laid the groundwork for the historic achievement. Maina spearheaded efforts to expand the academy’s global outreach and successfully shepherded the nominations of Blanchette and Jawahir to represent the Eastern Caribbean region.
Dr. Didacus Jules, Director General of the OECS, called the inclusion of the two leaders a point of collective pride for the entire OECS community. “This milestone underscores the extraordinary calibre of female leadership within our Member States and signals a dynamic new era of transatlantic collaboration between Africa and the Caribbean,” Jules noted. He added that Maina’s work continues to prove that the deep historical and cultural bonds between Africa and the Caribbean are actively reshaping the future of inclusive global leadership.