Chair

ActionAid International is a global justice federation with a strong belief that transformative change is possible and works with communities living in poverty and exclusion, people’s organizations, and women’s movements, networks, and solidarity groups to understand, tackle and overcome the structural systemic causes of poverty and injustice.

The Federation appointed Prospectus to lead the search for their new Chair. As a leading, rights-based NGO, ActionAid International’s Chair would need to be an inspirational ambassador who could bring significant global leadership and governance experience. The new Chair would build ActionAid’s profile and support global movements on core issues. The engagement between Prospectus and ActionAid International, was rooted in the democratic organisation and processes that are key to ActionAid’s identity. We organized online global briefing sessions with more than 90 key stakeholders from members and country programmes, as well as from the Secretariat and the Board itself.

Following an extensive international search throughout May-July 2021, a shortlist was delivered to ActionAid International and agreed by the Board in August 2021. Following this process, the selected candidates were required to stand for election to ActionAid International’s Board at their General Assembly in November.

Ugandan Hellen Grace Akwii has been appointed as Chair of ActionAid International. Hellen is the former African Coordinator for the UNDP Millennium Development Goals, as well as the former Anglican Observer to the UN. She has worked closely with economic justice issues through the Jubilee South campaign as the coordinator of the African Women’s Economic Policy Networks in 20 countries, and has served as the Vice President of the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC). She is currently working for the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa (CAPA) in Kenya.