Katherine Fleming Leadership Course for Women Leaders

Coady Institute continues to honour Katie’s memory by educating African women leaders. In 2025, the Katherine Fleming committee approved the first Katherine Fleming Leadership Course for Women Leaders to be held in Africa for woman leaders to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the first award.

This change provides an opportunity to extend the award’s reach helping more women leaders with an opportunity to learn and grow within their own communities.

The Course focuses on:

  • emerging leaders from mid-level civil society organizations that align with co-operative movement, economic empowerment, protecting children, education, creating assets, health, and/or gender equality; and
  • improving skills and capabilities required to enact economic agency so that women can build toward sustainable livelihoods.

Coady partnered with the Organization for Women in Self-Employment (WISE) in Ethiopia to host the course’s initial offering. Tsigie Haile, the 2024 Katherine Fleming award recipient and founder of WISE and Coady staff co-designed the course which took place in Addis Abba, Ethiopia June 16 to 20, 2025. Katie’s daughter, Madeline Zutt a Policy and Advocacy Officer at the Dallaire Institute, was present for the initial course.

Our intention is to continue to offer this course in sub-Saharan Africa in partnership with former Katherine Fleming award recipients while still recognizing the participants at StFX Homecoming each year. The course is made possible through the generosity of donors to the Katherine Fleming International Development Award.

“What have we said to the young women particularly, living in this world should not only be for self. We should live and contribute to the betterment of this world for others. When you get older, what you see is what have I done to this world? To others? It’s the most rewarding, a reward that you can get from your efforts if you have contributed to the betterment of the lives of others.”

Tsigie Haile

Ethiopia, 2024 Katherine Fleming International Development Award recipient

News

Katherine Fleming award turns 20

Katherine Fleming award turns 20

“Each [recipient] has been an exceptional person, doing great things for their communities and the causes they have championed. Hearing their stories, and what the award means to them, inspires us, and gives us some satisfaction that our efforts to honour Katie by enabling others, has been achieved.”

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