EMPOWER HER: Inspiring and Motivating Women’s Empowerment

PANEL REPORT on March 8

March 8, 2024, will remain engraved in the annals of the International University of
Grand-Bassam (IUGB) as a day of inspiration, motivation, and women’s empowerment. The
university’s auditorium was filled with energy and determination as the She Club, in
collaboration with the Student Government Association (SGA), organized a remarkable panel
under the theme “EMPOWER HER”.

The invited personalities, Allou Frédérick, Fatima Doumbia Kone, Valencia Koffi, Lova Blassiri,
and Natacha Sonloué (known as artist Nash), illuminated the stage with their inspiring
experiences and valuable advice. The panel began with enlightening words from Provost Dr.
Debrenna LaFa AGBENYIGA, who shared five essential points to guide all women on the path
to success.

She Club President Roxane Miessan then spoke, embodying excellence through her title of Miss
Mathematics, followed by words of encouragement and motivation from the Face of IUGB
Keren-Happuc Nwabuike, currently the general-secretary of the She Club, emphasizing the
importance of pushing boundaries. An enchanting show, blending poetry and praises of women,
was presented by Assistant Secretary Grâce Kadje and poet Mikamis.

The highlight of the conference was the panel itself, where each woman shared her life journey.
Despite the challenges, each story was a vibrant testimony of resilience, determination, and faith.
Lova Blassiri , CEO of Nappylocks, faced vocal challenges but was supported by artist Nash,

revealing the fantastic work of the ETERNAL GOD in their lives by affirming that she is not the
founder of Nappylocks because it is her Patron THE ETERNAL GOD who placed her in that
position.

Inspiring testimonials followed, including that of Madame Allou, a professor at IUGB. She
shared her tumultuous journey, revealing that teaching was not initially her post-degree plan, but
she realized it was one of the best things that could happen to her. Despite past challenges and
failures, she became one of the best professors at IUGB, demonstrating the importance of
believing in oneself and one’s abilities.

The panel was further enriched by other poignant testimonials highlighting the personal and
professional transformation of remarkable women, such as Madame, a professor at IUGB, and
former student Fatima Kone, now a teacher at IUGB, who overcame obstacles to achieve
excellence.

Finally, the Director of Communication, a former student of IUGB, shared her thoughts on the
importance of fully living each moment and cultivating skills beyond mere academic averages.
Her advice on faith, vigilance, and perseverance captivated the audience, reminding everyone
never to lose hope.

The conference, skillfully and excellently moderated by She Club Vice President Mayana Vlehi,
ended on a note of determination and optimism. Together, the participants became aware of their
infinite potential and committed to continuing their journey toward empowerment and success
while having God by their side.

Fatima Doumbia Koné is a Mathematics lecturer at the international University of
Grand-Bassam (IUGB). Among the courses she taught we have the following: Introduction to
Differential Equations, Elementary Statistics, Calculus(I,II,III), Transforms in Applied Math,
Introduction to Linear Algebra, Operations Research and Abstract Algebra.
She has a Bachelor degree in Mathematics (IUGB), a Master degree in Pure and Applied
Mathematics (AUST) and she is currently enrolled for a PhD in Mathematics at the African
University of Science and Tecnology (AUST), Abuja. She has also been an intern at the
Institutional Banking Group department within GTBANK CI (Garanty Trust Bank Côte
D’Ivoire).
She is a former IUGB student and she was the president of the science club in 2015.
Academically, her goal is to be a great researcher and innovator on the topics of asymptotic
theories in Fuzzy Probability Theory and their various applications to image processing. She
has good programming skills (JAVA, LaTeX, C++) and she is bilingual (French and English).
Over the years, she has been developing a method of teaching which not only put students at
the center of the learning process but also which deconstruct most of the stereotypes about the
inaccessibility of mathematical knowledge to everybody.
Regarding her research activities, she has been working since 2018 on the topic of integration
on Banach spaces and a preprint of an interesting work is available at
https://arxiv.org/pdf/1905.04480. She is continuing with her research on integration but now
her PhD studies focus on Random Sets Integration in Probability Theory. Professionally, she
is a very active lecturer at IUGB and she is currently the faculty advisor of the SHE CLUB,
which aims at promoting women empowerment by providing learning, leadership and
networking opportunities.

I am currently Associate Professor of computer and data science in the school of science technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) at the International University of Grand-Bassam (IUGB).
From 2000 to 2018, I successively worked as a research scientist at Independent Computing Research in Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Assistant Professor at the department of computer science and
engineering at Université Laval in Québec, Canada; Research Associate at the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST) where I also received a Ph.D. degree in computer science in March 2000. Upon receiving a master's degree in mathematical and computing science
from the Tokyo Institute of Technology (TIT) in 1990 in Japan, I worked as a research scientist at National/Panasonic, one of the most prestigious companies in Tokyo.
I am involved in research on Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Semantic Web and its applications in a wide range of fields. Besides, I designed the current Data Science program in effect
since September 2021 in STEM. In addition, I am also one the founders and current President of the
Ivorian Association of Artificial Intelligence and member of ORBICOM, the Network of UNESCO Chairs in Communication headquartered in University of Quebec in Montreal (UQUAM), Canada.

Kwame Simpe Ofori is an Assistant Professor in Finance at the school of Business and Social Sciences. He holds a doctorate degree in Finance, a master’s degree in finance and a master’s degree in Telecommunications Technology. He is also currently a PhD student at the School of Management and Economics, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China. He has taught courses in the areas of finance, computer science, computer and electrical engineering, and telecommunication engineering. Before joining IUGB he lectured in several universities in Ghana. He also worked with Ghana Telecommunications Company as a support engineer. His research interests are in the areas of consumer behaviour, technology adoption and trust in online systems and in recent times financial econometrics. His papers have appeared in several CABS-ranked journals such as Information Technology and People, Journal of Cleaner Productions, Quality Management Journal, Marketing Intelligence and Planning, International Journal of Bank Marketing, Total Quality Management and Business Excellence, Journal of African Business, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology and Society and Business Review.