The Henry R. Kravis Prize in Leadership Awarded to the Forum for African Women Educationalists

    CLAREMONT, Calif., Jan. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Claremont McKenna College
 and the Kravis Leadership Institute announced today the selection of The
 Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE), to receive the third annual
 Henry R. Kravis Prize in Leadership.
 
     The Kravis Prize, which carries a $250,000 award designated to the
 honoree organization, recognizes extraordinary leadership in the nonprofit
 sector. FAWE was selected for its outstanding record providing an estimated
 12 million girls and women with access to education, thereby contributing
 to improving their standard of economic and social well being.
 
     The Kravis Prize will be presented to Dr. Codou Diaw, FAWE Executive
 Director, and Simone de Comarmond, FAWE founder and current Chair, at
 ceremonies on April 10 in New York City.
 
     Established in 2006, The Henry R. Kravis Prize in Leadership recognizes
 and celebrates extraordinary accomplishment and bold, visionary leadership
 in the nonprofit sector. The Kravis Prize is administered by Claremont
 McKenna College, the Kravis Leadership Institute, and Marie-Josee and Henry
 R. Kravis. Mrs. Kravis, an economist, is a Senior Fellow of the Hudson
 Institute; Mr. Kravis, founding partner of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.,
 is an alumnus and trustee of Claremont McKenna College.
 
     "It is important to recognize that the entrepreneurial spirit and
 leadership characteristics are just as vital to achievement in the not-for-
 profit world as they are on Wall Street," said Henry Kravis. "We are
 pleased and proud to recognize and celebrate the important and
 inspirational work being done by the leaders, staff, and volunteers of
 FAWE."
 
     The Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE)
 
     In 1992, female Ministers of Education from five African countries
 established FAWE to advocate for the education of girls across Africa. At
 that time, an estimated 24 million school-age girls were out of school in
 Sub-Saharan Africa. FAWE's founders recognized the direct personal benefits
 that accrue to girls who attend school, as well as the extensive indirect
 benefits for society at large.
 
     In the ensuing 15 years, FAWE expanded its programs and developed a
 strong geographic presence across the continent, working in 33 African
 countries. Today, FAWE is the leading non-governmental organization in
 Africa that directly addresses issues relating to girls' education.
 
     FAWE improves access to education as well as quality of education,
 inspiring girls to stay in school and learn. FAWE's current programs are
 organized around four interventions: 1) addressing constraints to access,
 retention and performance in the educational process, 2) undertaking
 advocacy to raise awareness and influence policymaking, 3) developing
 gender-responsive models for training teachers and improving learning
 environments, and 4) facilitating the replication and mainstreaming of best
 practices. In response to FAWE's advocacy, for example, many African
 governments adopt gender positive policies such as free primary education,
 re-entry policies for adolescent mothers, scholarships for needy girls, and
 appointment of more female teachers.
 
     Extensive collaboration, teamwork and partnerships are integral to
 FAWE's success. Internally, FAWE engenders a spirit of teamwork and
 collective leadership among diverse individuals. Externally, FAWE provides
 a model for working directly with governments and policymakers to obtain
 large-scale impact. FAWE is also a model of pan-African collaboration.
 FAWE's wide geographic presence provides a unique forum to leverage
 economies of scale and share knowledge, especially among African
 governments and Ministries of Education. FAWE recently established a
 presence in many areas experiencing or transitioning from conflict,
 including Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Angola
 and Congo (Brazzaville).
 
     Kravis Prize Background
 
     Established in 2006, The Henry R. Kravis Prize in Leadership recognizes
 and celebrates extraordinary accomplishment and bold, visionary leadership
 in the nonprofit sector.
 
     The Kravis Prize Selection Committee, chaired by Marie-Josee Kravis,
 includes: Harry McMahon, CMC alumnus and Chair of the Claremont McKenna
 College Board of Trustees, and Vice Chairman, Merrill Lynch & Co.; Sudha
 Murty, Chairperson, Infosys Foundation; Dr. Amartya Sen, Nobel Laureate in
 economics and the Thomas W. Lamont University Professor at Harvard
 University; Lord Jacob Rothschild, Chairman, Rothschild Investment Trust
 Capital Partners; and James D. Wolfensohn, Chairman, Wolfensohn & Company,
 L.L.C. and former President, The World Bank.
 
     The Organizing Committee, led by Mr. Kravis, includes: Mr. McMahon;
 Peter Barker, member of the CMC Board of Trustees and advisory director,
 Goldman Sachs & Co.; Pamela Gann, CMC president; and Scott Miller,
 president, Six Sigma Academy, Aspen, Colorado.
 
     While the Prize typically recognizes an outstanding individual, in
 exceptional circumstances the Prize may be awarded to an organization. The
 Prize is awarded annually based on nominations that are received from a
 group of confidential nominators. These nominators are selected on the
 basis of the breadth and depth of their knowledge of the nonprofit sector.
 Nominators are chosen internationally and from a variety of fields.
 
     Nominations span a broad range of sectors in the nonprofit field,
 including economic development, public health, law/justice/human rights,
 education, and capacity building in the nonprofit sector as a whole.
 Selection criteria include boldness, innovation, creativity, consistency,
 persistence, and effectiveness in bringing a vision to fruition. Nominees
 are also evaluated based on their accomplishments in realizing the mission
 of an organization and demonstrating best practices in managing that
 organization.
 
     In choosing a winner from the pool of nominees, the Selection Committee
 draws upon its own expertise, letters of recommendation from nominators,
 and expert evaluations assembled by the Prize staff. Nominees are assessed
 using carefully crafted quantitative and qualitative measures based on
 state-of-the- art analysis and evaluation methods. These measures are
 focused primarily on direct impact and achievement. The assessment
 framework also provides for a qualitative analysis of bold, visionary
 leadership and for review of financial stability and integrity, governance,
 and management stability. The Kravis Prize Selection Committee makes its
 final selection of a winner after reviewing extensive information and data
 within the context of this methodology. The recipient of the Prize receives
 recognition at an award ceremony and $250,000 to be directed to the
 nonprofit organization of his or her choice.
 
     The Kravis Leadership Institute (KLI), which co-sponsors the Prize, is
 central to the Claremont McKenna College (CMC) mission of preparing
 students for responsible leadership in business, the professions, and
 public affairs. KLI plays an active role in the education of CMC students
 by involving them in professional research on leadership research issues
 and by offering an intense, interdisciplinary leadership curriculum
 combining classroom study with hands-on leadership experience. Through its
 academic research, model leadership development programs, broad leadership
 curriculum and systematic outreach efforts, the Kravis Leadership Institute
 has become one of the most recognized leadership programs in higher
 education.
 
     Past recipients of The Henry R. Kravis Prize in Leadership are: Roy
 Prosterman, the inaugural recipient (2006), founder of the Rural
 Development Institute, which advocates international land law and policy
 reform through a comprehensive understanding of rural land issues and the
 interaction among financial, land, and labor markets; and Fazle Abed
 (2007), who founded BRAC in 1972 to provide assistance to refugees
 returning from Bangladesh's Liberation War. BRAC is now recognized as one
 of the largest development organizations in the world, with an
 extraordinary impact on poverty reduction and empowerment of the poor.
 
     Claremont McKenna College is a highly selective, independent liberal
 arts college educating leaders in business, the professions and public
 affairs. A member of The Claremont Colleges, in Claremont, California, CMC
 is consistently ranked among the nation's best colleges. For further
 information regarding the Kravis Prize, please visit
 http://kravisprize.claremontmckenna.edu/.
 
 
 

SOURCE Claremont McKenna College