Women in Leadership and Public Service: Challenges and Opportunities for the New Generation

Come join Al-Sahm Women for an exclusive dinner at NAGA Thai Cuisine with some of the most hard working women in Morocco. This event is an industry roundtable for women in public service, including female professors and deans at universities, women working at government organizations, and female leaders in NGOs and the United Nations.

Where: NAGA Thai Cuisine, Hay Riad, Rabat, Morocco

When: 27 September 2018, from 18h to 21h

Who: Women who work in Public Service and existing Al-Sahm Members

Cost: 250 MAD at the door (cash or check) if you register ahead of time; 350 MAD for door registration.

Our speaker: Lamia Bazir, one of Morocco’s most impressive female leaders. Follow her biography below, or on her website: http://lamiabazir.com/biography/

Lamia Bazir is a 27 years’ Government Officer, Humanitarian, and Advocate for Youth and Women.

Register for our event below!

Biography: Lamia Bazir

Born in the port city of Mazagan (El Jadida, Morocco), Lamia nurtured an interest in and a commitment in favor of the most disadvantaged. Her volunteering activities and contact with different populations enabled her to acquire a more sophisticated understanding of her society and to gain values of empathy, persistence, and hope; thereby reinforcing her will to have a positive impact.

Aware that knowledge is a strong weapon in promoting change, Lamia bazir got passionate about her own education. In 2008, she obtained a Baccalaureate in Economic and Social Sciences with the Highest Honors from the Lycée Jean Charcot in El Jadida. Then, she enrolled in Al Akhawayn University (Ifrane, Morocco), where she specialized in Political Science and the Middle East and North African region, and chose a minor in Women’s Studies. In 2012, after four years of academic inquiry and dedication, she obtained a Bachelor’s of Arts in International Studies with Summa Cum Laude, being both the Student Valedictorian and the Speaker for her Class.

Committed to deepen her knowledge and enrich her perspective, Lamia got accepted to an intense dual degree program and continued her education. She earned a Master’s in International Development from Sciences Po Paris, and a Master’s in International Affairs, with a specialization in Economic and Political Development from Columbia University. During her stay in New York, Lamia showed an exceptional sense of ethics and dedication to others. Hence, she was selected to win the prestigious “Harvey Picker Prize for Public Service” awarded by the School of International and Public Affairs in 2014.

However, Lamia Bazir never got satisfied with academics, she enriched her learning through a continuous exposure and involvement in both the professional world and on the ground. In parallel to her studies, Lamia Bazir continued to build proximity and friendship with locals. In 2012, she founded her own social venture Empowering Women in the Atlas where she dedicates, until today, to support rural women gain leadership in order to foster community development in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. In 2014, she also carried field research for Transparency International on the theme of Women and Corruption in Niger, and in 2010 she volunteered to support single mothers for Solidarité Féminine in Casablanca, Morocco.

During her stay in New York, her outspokenness and innovative ideas for gender equality got her selected to represent the “Third World Network” at the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. Lamia Bazir also got the exceptional opportunity to intern for the Arab League during the Arab Spring in 2011; thereby, gaining a comparative and regional understanding of the uprisings in the region.

Right after completing her studies, Lamia Bazir made the choice to return to Morocco and not to remain abroad. Indeed, she committed to invest her education, experience, and passion in and for her country. In 2015, she won the United Nations Volunteering Award, and in 2016 she was the youngest to be selected among the 60 most influential women in her country, Morocco.

She currently works for the Government on a cooperation program between the United States and Morocco. In her work, she focuses on projects linked to Education and Employability.

At the same time, she carries her advocacy and volunteering work by launching humanitarian initiatives in favor of rural women and disadvantaged youth and children. She is rising as a promising figure in the Moroccan civil society.