Côte d’Ivoire: First Lady Dominique Ouattara officially launches the ADWIN network in Abidjan

 On Thursday June 5, 2025, the auditorium of the Sofitel Abidjan Hotel Ivoire hosted the official launch ceremony of the ADWIN network (African Descendant Women Impact Network), under the patronage of the First Lady of Cote d’Ivoire, Mrs Dominique Ouattara.

This global network, founded by Mrs Elisabeth Moreno, former French Minister Delegate for Gender Equality, Diversity and Equal Opportunities, aims to unite African and Afro-descendant women around the values of leadership, solidarity and inclusive development.

The ceremony witnessed the presence of Mrs Debora Katisa Carvalho, First Lady of Cape Verde; Her Majesty Queen Temifope Morenike, Queen of the Yoruba of Nigeria; Mrs Denise Époté, Director of TV5 Monde; Ivorian ministers committed to gender equality, such as Mrs Kaba Nialé, Nassénéba Touré, Myss Belmonde Dogo, and Euphrasie Yao. Also present were representatives of Mrs Danielle Sassou N’Guesso, First Lady of Congo, as well as wives of senior Ivorian officials, diplomats, ambassadors.

In her speech, the First Lady expressed her satisfaction to be joined by influential women from Africa, America, Europe and the Caribbean to attend this historic moment.  The First Lady, Mrs Dominique Ouattara, hailed the ambitious and innovative scope of ADWIN, a network she described as a promise of a world where African and diaspora women assert themselves and cooperate to build a more fair future.

According to Dominique Ouattara, the ADWIN network is based on five fundamental pillars: competence, confidence, capital, well-being and memory. These are all levers designed to promote the personal and professional development of women, taking into account the specific challenges they face, such as  unequal access to education, financing, health and representation.

“This network is not just a concept. It is a tool for transformation, a chain of solidarity between generations and continents”, stressed the First Lady, emphasizing the importance of building bridges between women the world over through concrete, sustainable actions rooted in local realities.

President of the Children of Africa Foundation for over 25 years, Mrs Ouattara recalled her long-standing commitment to women and children. She saw ADWIN as a natural extension of her fight for a more just and inclusive society, and proudly accepted to be the patron. Speaking directly to the participants, the First Lady delivered a message of encouragement filled with faith and benevolence: “Listen to your ambitions, dare to go where you are not expected, and above all, stay united. Every outstretched hand is an act of solidarity capable of changing the world.” She went on to congratulate Côte d’Ivoire, host of this first edition, for its leading role in promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment. She also praised Minister Nassénéba Touré for her faithful implementation of President Ouattara’s vision of equal opportunity.

In an atmosphere imbued with emotion and hope, the First Lady closed her speech with a call to perpetuate the legacy of the pioneering women who paved the way, and to make ADWIN a beacon for generations to come. “It is with pride and conviction that I declare the official launch of the ADWIN network,” she proclaimed to thunderous applause from the audience.

Her Majesty Queen Temifope Morenike, Queen of the Yoruba of Nigeria, hailed the initiative, clearly expressing her support for it. Committed to the cause of women in Nigeria, Her Majesty Queen Temifope Morenike maintained that through ADWIN, women have made the choice to take their place in history by becoming the actors of their own destiny.

From Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, Mrs Debora Katisa Carvalho, First Lady of Cape Verde, praised the resilience and strength of African and Afro-descendant women. She maintained that ADWIN was created to bridge the gap in equal opportunities between men and women. She also made a solemn appeal to women from the five (5) continents to unite in order to meet the challenges of defending their rights.

Madame Nasseneba Toure, Minister for Women, the Family and Children, revealed that since 2020, Côte d’Ivoire has been the leading country in Africa in terms of equality between men and women, thanks to the vision of President Alassane Ouattara. In fact, according to the Minister, thanks to the enlightened leadership of the President of the Republic, numerous reforms and policies have been introduced in Côte d’Ivoire, enabling women today to enjoy the same rights as men, and to occupy positions in professions initially reserved for men.  She also called on women to be courageous and resilient, following in the footsteps of historical figures such as Ashanti Queen Yaa Asantewaa, also known as Yaa Asantewaa, one of the most important figures in the history of West Africa.

Minister Euphrasie Kouassi Yao, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Gender Issues and co-organizer of the ADWIN Summit, explained why Côte d’Ivoire was chosen to host the event. Indeed, she revealed that the organizers chose the country because of the reforms it has put in place, which have helped to make it one of the champions of equal opportunities between men and women.

In a solemn speech, Elisabeth Moreno, Minister Delegate for Gender Equality, Diversity and Equal Opportunities and President of the ADWIN network, revealed that the network’s launch ceremony was a rendezvous with history. In the sense that it will enable women to unite their energies to take charge of their own history and their own lives.

The launch of the ADWIN network marks the beginning of a pan-African and global adventure driven by the determination of women committed to transforming the world.