Tangier, Morocco – Dr. Najat Zarrouk, a founder of the Women’s Democracy Network (WDN) Morocco Country Chapter, recently helped organize and lead the Forum of Tangier. The forum brought together more than 765 locally elected women leaders from more than 40 African countries to highlight their achievements, develop standard good governance practices and implement mechanisms for networking among African women.

The theme of the forum was the Millennium Development Goals and Good Governance, Roles and Responsibilities of Female Leadership. During the conference, Najat led a session for participants titled Towards Supporting Local Governments through the Provision of Training in Capacity and Competency Building Related to Gender Equality. Throughout her presentation, Najat spoke about her extensive work with the WDN and the Arab Women’s Leadership Institute (AWLI). She also discussed her experience as Governor and Director of Staff Training in the Ministry of Interior of Morocco, and her more than 28 years of management experience as a public servant.

The Forum of Tangier was the first forum dedicated exclusively to locally elected women from across the African continent. The forum concluded with a formal declaration of the participants’ commitment to the principles of democracy and a pledge taken to strengthen the empowerment of women throughout Africa.