UPCOMING Events
PAST Events
State Library of NSW - Author Talk: Rising Heart
AUGUST 27 2020 | LIVE WEBINAR
As a teenager, Aminata Conteh-Biger became a casualty of the Sierra Leone civil war. Kidnapped by rebel forces and later released, Aminata was granted refugee status by Australia, making her the first Sierra Leonean refugee woman in the country. Since her arrival here, she has forged an incredible life as a performer, wife, mother and now author.
The Aminata Maternal Foundation she founded supports and empowers women and children in Sierra Leone. Taken from the pages of her autobiography Rising Heart, hear Aminata’s story in conversation with literary critic Nicole Abadee.
Music Victoria - Cultivate Conference
27 Feb 2020
Cultivate is an initiative of the Victorian Government delivered by @musicvictoria for mid-level to established women leaders in the Victorian contemporary music sector.
It aims to foster the strengthening of its participants' leadership skills through one-on-one coaching, mentoring, masterclasses and networking opportunities outside of the music industry.
![Let us virtually travel to Aberdeen Women's Centre during our 2019 visit - our CEO @aminata_conteh_biger with the Dream Team as pictured above
Here in Sydney as we find ourselves in an extended lockdown due to COVID-19, we can appreciate the access that Australians have to quality healthcare, warmth and shelter provided in our humble abodes (and the ability to stay connected via Zoom calls during periods of reduced face-to-face contact!).
In celebrating the 2021 United Nations World Population Day today, at the Aminata Maternal Foundation we are reflecting on how the rest of the world is managing with compromised health care systems. The area of sexual and reproductive health in particular is impacted as many countries are experiencing concern over changing fertility rates. United Nations Population Fund (formerly the United Nations Fund for Population Activities [UNFPA]), emphasises that educational, economic and political empowerment of women enables autonomy and control over choices regarding their body.
Did you know, only 55% of women have the power to make their own decisions about their bodies? The current pandemic has exacerbated gender-based inequities, notably in Sierra Leone as the teenage pregnancy rate continues to rise. During the Ebola crisis, teenage pregnancies in Sierra Leone saw a 66% increase and it is anticipated that another surge will result from the COVID-19 crisis. To combat this our Dream Team project collaborates with the Aberdeen Women's Centre located in Freetown, Sierra Leone to provide support to re-integrate teenage mothers into their communities post-birth.
References for further reading🌏:
https://www.un.org/en/observances/world-population-day
https://aminatamaternalfoundation.org/mission/our-projects/the-dream-team/](https://aminatamaternalfoundation.org/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed-pro/img/placeholder.png)
