KEEP Liberia convened a powerful dialogue at the 70th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70), bringing government leaders, donors, and African education advocates together to examine how national organizations can shape policy and strengthen systems for girls’ education.
The event, “Community Rooted Leadership: How National Organizations Shape Policy, Systems, and Girls’ Education,” highlighted the growing recognition that Liberia’s most trusted community based institutions are essential partners in national development.
Opening the program, Mrs. Julia K. Sandiman Gbeyai, Executive Director of the Center of Excellence for Curriculum Development and Textbook Research at the Ministry of Education, emphasized that government–CSO partnerships are indispensable for bridging policy and practice. She noted that organizations like KEEP provide real time insight into system realities, strengthen local content, and deepen community engagement—making them critical co architects in curriculum and policy development.
From the Ministry of Gender, Hon. Atty. Laura Golokeh, Deputy Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, underscored the urgency of gender responsive education. She highlighted the Ministry’s new Girls’ Education Scorecard and called for co creation, flexible funding, and alignment with national priorities to ensure girls—especially those in rural communities and those with disabilities—can thrive.
The panel explored a central question: What becomes possible when national organizations are empowered not just to implement, but to shape policy and systems?
Representing philanthropy, Margretta Supuwood of the Mortensen Family Foundation explained that KEEP’s community centered, trusted, and consistent work is what drives the foundation’s investment. She emphasized that accountability- not organizational size- should guide donor decisions.
Sibabalwe Mona of African Collaborative highlighted a global shift toward trust based philanthropy, stressing that donors must amplify African led solutions rather than define them. Emily Gumba of FAWE added that sustainable scale requires embedding programs into national systems, securing government funding, and ensuring community voices shape design.
Bringing the discussion home, Dr. Deddeh Supuwood, KEEP Board Member, reflected on KEEP’s national footprint, community trust, and production of local books- reinforcing transparency, accountability, consistency, and inclusive collaboration as the foundations of effective systems change.
In closing, Ambassador Lewis Brown, Liberia’s Ambassador to the United Nations, called for stronger support to national organizations that have demonstrated impact over time. He emphasized that accountability and transparency are the pillars that make local institutions worthy of sustained investment, and that Liberia’s progress depends on strengthening the organizations closest to communities.
The event reaffirmed KEEP Liberia’s role as a national partner advancing education justice and systems transformation. As KEEP continues its work, the message from CSW70 was clear: when communities lead, systems change.
