One of the ways that the West African Research Association (WARA) realizes its mission of promoting scholarship on West Africa is by making its center and its resources available to American undergraduates involved in Study Abroad programs in Senegal. On Thursday, November 30th, 2006, a group of students enrolled in Dr. Mame Selbee Ndiaye’s ”Gender and Development Issues in sub-Saharan Africa” class hosted a panel discussion at the West African Research Center (WARC) on the roles of women’s leadership and Senegal. Dr. Ndiaye’s course, which explored gender issues in Africa and the efforts of NGOs to raise the status of women in Senegalese society, inspired her students to embark on their own project by founding CIPFEM (Centre International pour la Promotion du Leadership Féminin), a non-profit organization seeking to help young Senegalese women stay in school, develop confidence, and expand their peer and support groups. CIPFEM fulfills these goals by providing a safe space where young women can be tutored by local and international volunteers, who will also provide workshops in the arts, athletics, and leadership development. The goal of CIPFEM is to improve test scores so that more young women complete their education. By encouraging academic excellence, CIPFEM hopes to strengthen young women’s voices to be the leaders of tomorrow.

The founding members of CIPFEM (Centre international pour la promotion du leadership féminin) are American students hailing from universities across the United States. All were part of the Council on International Exchange’s (CIEE) Dakar program. CIEE is a member of WARA whose study abroad program is based at Suffolk University.