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Professor Thulisile “Thuli” Madonsela, an advocate of the High Court of South Africa, is the law trust chair in social justice and a law professor at the University of Stellenbosch, where she conducts and coordinates social justice research and teaches constitutional and administrative law.  She is the founder of the Thuma Foundation, an independent democracy leadership, and literacy public benefit organisation and convener of the Social Justice M-Plan, a Marshall Plan-like initiative aimed at catalysing progress towards ending poverty and reducing inequality by 2030, in line with the National Development Plan (NDP) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). She is a monthly columnist for the Financial Mail and City Press/Rapport, and occasionally writes for other newspapers. A multiple award-winning legal professional, with over 50 national and global awards, Thuli Madonsela has eight honorary doctor of laws degrees, one of which was awarded by the Law Society of Canada. She holds a BA Law from Uniswa, a Bachelor of Law from Wits University, and a Harvard Advanced Leadership Certificate. Named one of Time 100’s Most Influential People in the World in 2014, Forbes Africa Person of the Year in 2016, and one of BBC’s 100 Women, her peer recognition includes the Commonwealth Lawyers Association’s Truth and Justice Award, Transparency International’s Integrity Award, the South African Law Society’s Truth and Justice Award, General Council of the Bar membership, the Sydney and Felicia Kentridge Award, the SAWLA Women in Law Icon Award, Botswana Lawyers Association Honorary Bar membership, the German Presidential Medal, the German Africa Prize, the African Peer Review Mechanism Anticorruption Crusader Award, Tällberg Global Leader recognition, Rotary International’s Paul Harris Fellow recognition, the Gauteng Premier’s Provincial Achiever Award, and having a rose named after her in recognition of her social justice and integrity work. Recently, Madonsela was appointed as Knight of the Legion of Honour by French President Emmanuel Macron. Viewed as the highest decoration in France, the Knight of Legion was bestowed on Madonsela in recognition of her remarkable achievements in defense of the rule of law and the fight against corruption in South Africa.

Founder of World Speech Day, Simon Gibson and Global Lead for World Speech Day Women, Vino Pillay, chat about the WSD Women #GenerationEquality Podcast Series. Inspired by the United Nations Women's call for participation by individuals and groups around the world in the GenerationEquality '12 Small Actions Campaign', World Speech Day choose the 7th small action which includes investing in media produced by women by listening, sharing, and engaging in an effort to amplify the power of using our voices. Podcasts, like other mainstream media, leave a lasting impression as women share their stories, expertise, experience, and varying perspectives. Simultaneously, when action is taken in small and simple ways, this collective form of activism reinforces the similarities in the challenges and joys that women derive, irrespective of their location, culture, nationality, ethnicity, or aspirations. Our appreciation goes out to all the women who took the time to share their stories with us over the past year.

Lilli Janzen is a Psychotherapist, with a MA in Counselling Psychology. She lives in Quebec and has worked for many years in the business world. The oldest of six children, she is an immigrant from Europe, arriving in Canada at the age of 5 after WW2, with family roots in Austria, Germany, Netherlands, and Ukrainian. Lilli has family members living in different parts of the world and many of them speak several languages.  Lilli's motto is Social Justice and believes that we are all blessed with gifts and challenged by hardships. She loves writing poetry, communicating, public speaking.

Dr Astera Brylka is a psychologist that pursued an international career in academia and specialised in intergroup relations, cultural diversity, and inclusion. Astera’s areas of interest and expertise include stress and anxiety management, resilience building, relationships, and cross-cultural transitions. In the last 15 years, she has worked and lived in Poland, Finland, Switzerland, and the UK.

Grace was born and raised in the Philippines. but spent most of her life in Hong Kong, her 2nd home. She is an accountant by profession, a public speaker by passion, a Distinguished Toastmaster, a practising life coach, and an enthusiastic individual who has high hopes for her future as a motivational speaker. She is a woman with real opinions on real things she cared about, a woman who gives true friendship, a woman who dared to adventure and explore pushing boundaries and finding, again and again, her new and improved self until she creates her own masterpiece.

Vera resides in Coimbra, Portugal. She is a Project Manager/Innovator in Training & Education; and a Public Speaking Designer. In addition to Public Speaking, Vera specialises in Leadership & Teams, Human Resources, and Interpersonal Skills Development She is a Random Hearts Hunter, and Simple Beautiful Moments Collector.

Yolanda Parra is a talent specialist, with training as an Industrial Engineer, a Master's degree in Communication, and another Master's degree in Organizational Development; in addition to being certified as an executive coach. Her professional guidance focuses on supporting companies to successfully develop their human capital. Her experience includes the development of leadership skills, designing and executing webinars, and training that supports people in their professional growth.

Karin Goldgruber is a certified EFT Emotional Freedom Techniques Practitioner and works with Highly Sensitive People, specifically businesswomen. Because of this innate trait they are easily overstimulated and overwhelmed by their environment, and then they often procrastinate. Karin teaches them how to reduce these strong feelings. This empowers them to embrace their Sensitive Self and to take the next step in their business. 

Hadjer Tennah is a young Algerian activist. Born in the south of Algeria, she has a Master's Degree in English major in Linguistics and Didactics. Hadjer is also a certified career advisor, soft skills coach, and teacher. She has participated in numerous national and international events and programs. Hadjer's belief in the power of education, knowledge production, and standing for human rights is her motivation for working in youth capacity development in her region "Adrar", to help them pave the way for a better tomorrow.

Florence is the Program Director of Digify Africa in Nigeria. She has 20+ years of experience in Integrated Marketing Communications, Brand Management, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and Project Management, across various industries - specifically FMCG, Banking plus Information & Communications Technology (ICT).   She has worked with various audiences including Youth, Women, SMEs, Schools, Government Parastatals, and International Institutions to mention a few - working primarily on projects that build brands plus have social impact and relevance. In the last 8 years, Florence has worked actively on projects in ICT, Youth Empowerment and Knowledge Transfer, Branding of Businesses of all sizes. Florence has been one of the World Speech Day ambassadors organizing WSD in Lagos, Nigeria since 2017. She also initiated an annual School Outreach to high schools to get the youth involved in communication and leadership.

Born in Mexico and having lived in America, Europe, and the Middle East and currently in Germany, Aydeli Rios has a B.A. International Relations and a master’s degree in Psycho-pedagogy. Aydeli is interested in women's empowerment and gender equality, managing the Guapalita Women Empowerment Community, she is a member of the pedagogical team for local government has a professional development consultancy.

Vino is passionate about the role of individuals and collaboration in the drive for implementing social change for good. Her commitment to active citizenship may be best illustrated in her role as South African National Ambassador and Executive Director of World Speech Day which is a non-for-profit organisation as well as Member of the WSD Global Advisory Board and Ambassador for Junior Chamber International (Tshwane). As owner of Digital Marketing Edge SA, she has delivered conventional and digital marketing solutions to many not-for-profits; with the latter generating a greater online global footprint. Digital marketing services are further extended to entrepreneurs to secure a firm presence in the digital sphere. Prior to this, Vino was employed at a foreign mission and at leading blue chip companies.  She has a Masters Degree in Geography specialising in Destination Marketing and Local Economic Development (2000) and a Postgraduate Programme in Marketing Management (2006). She is a Distinguished Toastmaster (2017) and a Google Partner (2017-2018). 

Saida Belouali has a PHD in humanities. She directs research in Applied Ethics and teaches at the National School of Applied Sciences of the Mohammed Premier University. She is interested in digital humanities. She is the President of the Moroccan Association of Innovation and the National Ambassador for WSD Morocco.

Nyimasata Camara is a Lecturer of Political Science and researcher at University of the Gambia. She is also a media personality with a platform for socio-political  debates and discussions on the Kerr Fatou Media. She is an active member of the Gambia civil society and offers resources on governance, youth and gender advocacy.

Patricia is the Founder of Perissos Horizon - a brand that's passionate about supporting people through training, coaching & mentoring to achieve their God-given potentials. She is a 2-Time Distinguished Toastmaster, a 2-Time Area Director and the First Female Division Director for Ghana Toastmasters. She is a Communication and Leadership Coach and a 2-Time self-published author. Connect with her on LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/patriciamensahlarkai/

An Ikebana master from India, Rekha Reddy is passionate about the art and spreading the love for nature and environmental awareness through it. She has a Master’s degree in Foods & Nutrition and freelances articles for magazines. Chairperson of Ficci Flo-organization for women entrepreneurs, President of the Ikebana International and Ohara chapters of Hyderabad have been some of her roles.

Diana Abruzzi is the Founder and International Chairman of International Women’s Federation of Commerce and Industry (IWFCI) – the first Chamber of Commerce for women at the time of its inauguration with a mandate to open the trade routes for women across the globe. A pioneer and leader in the cause of free enterprise and economic development, Diana continues to champion the advancement of women in business, globally. http://www.iwfci.org/

Nurvita is Indonesian from Yogyakarta. Having studied English Letters at Sanata Dharma University, she is currently lecturing in Linguistics and Literature at Universitas Bangka Belitung in Sumatera Selatan, Indonesia. Nurvita is a World Speech Day Event Organiser who is passionate about women's empowerment and aspires to think bigger, dream bigger and be extraordinary. @wijayavita

Previously employed as a material engineer, consultant and project manager in Shanghai, China, Mengjia is a TEDx licensee & curator, WSD China Ambassador, Guiness World Record adjudicator and member of NOGCSW, passionate about feminism and gender equality (http://linkedIn.com/in/mengjiama).

A Syrian entrepreneur and startup enthusiast focusing on women’s empowerment and communities’ prosperity while leading youth initiatives viz. TEDxYouth/Women and ChangeMakers seeking to close the gender gap in STEM (technology) and advance the inclusion of girls in building more developed communities. Key speaker at Geneva Peace Week 2018, attended One Young World - The Hague 2018, Young Sustainable Impact Innovation Impact 2019 cohort, she served for 3.5 years at the UNFPA in Syria.