African Woman Diplomat: Challenges and Opportunities

Her Excellency Fatima Braoulé Méïté is the Ambassador of Mali in Canada and the Permanent Representative of Mali to the International Civil Aviation organization (ICAO). She graduated from the University of Quebec in Montréal (UQAM) and the State University of New York at Stony Brook. She has a master’s degree in business administration as well as a double major in sociology. 

Previously she worked in public health, where her expertise was to ensure the continuity of Maternal, Neonatal, Infant and Adolescent Health (MNIAH) services and the protection of Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC). She has worked as a consultant to the UN as well as for EU and Luxembourg cooperation, covering human rights, the advancement of women, decentralisation, and poverty alleviation. 

In a discussion moderated by Dr. Paulin Mulatris, Professor and Vice Dean of Campus Saint-Jean at UAlberta, Ambassador Méïté will speak to issues of diplomacy through the lens of her identity as an African woman. The discussion will take place in English, with a Q&A in both French and English to follow.

This Diversity in Diplomacy episode is the part of Black History Month celebrated and observed annually in Canada in February. The webinar aligns with the BGSA’s conference on The Black Student Experience in Academia on February 25, beginning at 3:30 p.m. Ambassador Méïté will also take part in this student-led event.

This Diversity in Diplomacy episode is jointly organized by UAlberta’s Campus Saint-Jean, Black Graduate Students’ Association, Intersections of Gender Signature Area, the Peter Lougheed Leadership College, and UAlberta International. The Diversity in Diplomacy series is moderated online conversations in which diplomatic leaders, such as Canadian and foreign ambassadors, high commissioners, and consuls general, are invited to reflect on their practice of foreign policy and diplomacy with a view to equity, diversity, and inclusion in the diplomatic service.

The series is open to interested students, faculty and the public. Registration is required. For further information please contact: alexander.kuznetsov@ualberta.ca.