Cambridge, MA — ‘Rootedness’ has at all times been an idea that intrigued me. I typically puzzled how one’s life journey may develop and evolve whereas preserving a way of rootedness that does not restrict or stifle ambition.
My life journey has taught me that rootedness is a supply of resilience and willpower, and it has taken me past the borders of my very own nation of Liberia. However, my roots have remained deeply planted in the soil of my stunning nation and my beloved Africa.
As a younger woman rising up in a household that valued schooling and laborious work above all else, and as a lady president main Liberia towards peace and reconciliation, I’ve taken power from my African heritage and the legacy of Liberian and African girls leaders who preceded me. Thanks to this basis, I may dream, imagine in myself, and break down many boundaries that appeared unattainable to beat.
Today, I need to give again to my fellow Liberians and to Africa – our mom continent. I need to impart the empowering beliefs and experiences which have outlined my journey as an African girl chief to the following era of Liberian girls and ladies and to all Africans who dream of a greater future for his or her nations and the continent.
African girls who dream of a fairer future are empowered by examples of management.
To achieve this, I’ve determined to make my private {and professional} information publicly out there via a partnership settlement with Harvard Library. I need these information, which mirror my life as the primary democratically elected African girl president, to be a complete and freely accessible reference to Liberians and to all Africans – whether or not they dwell on the continent or are a part of the worldwide African diaspora whose roots are firmly planted in Africa’s soil.
This resolution is born out of the idea that there is not any higher instructor than an instance. As leaders, we do not discover ready-made pointers on the way to decide or govern. The solely steerage we’ve got is the expertise of others. By adapting these experiences to our personal context and aspirations, we will flip them into highly effective instruments for attaining our targets.
I’m hopeful that my private {and professional} information will showcase, educate, and encourage in equal measure. They will present the hardship and obstacles that girls leaders can encounter and the ability they’ve to beat them. They will provide examples of my writings and communications in home and worldwide governance contexts. They will current articles and publications that describe my journey and what I achieved. They will likely be a wealthy useful resource for Liberians and all Africans who need to attach with their roots and learn the way African girls are making headway in management on the continent. Select objects can even be out there in the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center and Library in Monrovia, Liberia, as soon as the constructing mission is accomplished.
The collected papers can present Liberians and different African girls dwelling on the continent or in the diaspora that they, too, can turn into African leaders.
Why Harvard Library?
My evolution as a frontrunner didn’t begin or finish with my tenure as president of Liberia. It took me far past the borders of Africa – and again to my nation. My time as a scholar at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government; my years gaining skilled expertise each as a public servant in Liberia and as an economist in the United States; my interval of incarceration in Liberia and subsequent exile; and my presidency are all a part of my journey.
Young girls should write their very own tales and create their very own legacies.
My Harvard University experiences had been among the many most formative of my life. There, I explored the trials of educational pondering and the ideas of fine governance. Since then I’ve constructed robust connections with this establishment and its college students, with whom I interact usually – significantly the African college students amongst them – on varied matters and points, together with good governance, democracy, fairness, and justice.
To entrust Harvard Library with the safekeeping of my private {and professional} information is a technique to encourage youthful generations of ladies leaders in Liberia and elsewhere. Entrusting these papers to an establishment that has the assets to protect them and make them out there via a state-of-the-art digital portal is a manner of connecting with each my very own previous and with youthful generations – and serving to them put together for future management.
Furthermore, having these papers out there via a world-renowned increased schooling establishment will make them a reference and useful resource for researchers, students, and lecturers globally. Education has modified my life, and my ardour for advancing girls’s and ladies’ schooling – and ladies’s management – is aware of no boundaries.
The subsequent chapter
The subsequent chapter is as much as the following era of Liberian and African girls leaders, simply as I wrote the following chapter after the highly effective girls who preceded me. The information that will likely be preserved at Harvard Library will likely be there to inform Liberian and African girls all around the world: write your individual story, create your legacy, and hold connecting along with your roots. If you’re an African girl, your story will likely be totally different from mine, however the fixed issue will likely be Africa and its individuals.
Ellen Johnson is former president of Liberia and founding father of the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development. In 2007, she obtained the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States’ highest civil award, for braveness and dedication to increasing freedom and enhancing lives. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011.
