Elizabeth Nyamayaro

Elizabeth Nyamayaro in 2018

Elizabeth Nyamayaro (born August 15, 1975) is a political scientist and former senior advisor to the United Nations Under Secretary[[1]] and Executive Director for UN Women. Nyamayaro is also the head of HeForShe, a movement founded by UN Women to empower all humans, especially men and boys, to have a voice and take action to achieve gender equality in their own lifetime.

Quotes

• There are a lot of things it’s hard to do by yourself. Play tennis, for example. Or ride a tandem bike. Or end gender inequality. “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go strong, go together.
  • "Elizabeth Nyamayaro, the woman behind the United Nations' HeForShe campaign, says gender inequality isn't about men vs women", YP (September 26, 2016)

• Well I knew I couldn’t give up. I held this strong conviction, and still do, on so many levels, that my life must have been saved for a reason all those years ago. I also knew that my desire to create change in the world was inextricably linked to the dreams and the hopes that I had for my own family, community and continent. So I knew that I had to be part of the solution in trying to create a better world and make a difference to the lives of others. And so I persevered against all odds.
  • "Elizabeth Nyamayaro on how to make a difference", Harper's Bazaar (March 12, 2021)

• I am only alive because of a simple bowl of porridge from the United Nations that saved my life when I came close to dying from hunger as a child – so the Zero Hunger agenda is truly personal to me, hunger remains the leading cause of death in the world, and I am determined to play my part in ensuring that we reach every child and family in need -- especially on my own continent of Africa.
  • "Elizabeth Nyamayaro named Special Advisor for the United Nations World Food Programme", ReliefWeb (June 18, 2021)

• My decision to work at the UN was driven by my need to uplift the lives of others the way I had been uplifted. When I moved to the UK, the images of Africa I saw on television did not align with my lived experience. I was galvanised to combat these entrenched misperceptions of the place where I was born and raised, the place I am proud to claim as my continent of origin.
  • "The ‘girl from Africa’ who is taking ubuntu to the world", Mail & Guardian (July 10, 2021)

• That night my activism found a new target: to bring to the world a new understanding of the modern African continent — its youthful potential; its beauty, and most of all, the powerful African philosophy of ubuntu, which sheds light on what it means to be human, and how we can better treat each other for the betterment of us all.
  • "The ‘girl from Africa’ who is taking ubuntu to the world", Mail & Guardian (July 10, 2021)

• As the lights of the city glittered around me, I took a deep breath, thought of my gogo (grandmother) and my mother and all the powerful Africans I knew and know, and reminded myself: I am a girl from Africa.
  • "The ‘girl from Africa’ who is taking ubuntu to the world", Mail & Guardian (July 10, 2021)

• I believe that our potential should not be limited by where we are born or our dreams diminished by our circumstances. This is the world I am working to create through my work with the United Nations, which hopefully, in turn, inspires other young girls to dream bigger. My mission is…To uplift others.
  • Profile: Elizabeth Nyamayaro, Mission
• I am because we are, and because we are, you are.”[2]
• “Our potential should not be limited by where we are born, nor our dreams be diminished by our current circumstances.”[3]

Quotes about Elizabeth Nyamayaro

• Time and again Elizabeth has proven her unique ability to focus public attention and trigger stakeholder action for the advancement of the Sustainable Development Goals,” said Corinne Woods, UNWFP Director of Communications, Advocacy and Marketing. “WFP is honored to add her voice and experience to our own, amplifying the plight of the 690 million people around the world who don’t know where their next meal is coming from.
  • "Elizabeth Nyamayaro named Special Advisor for the United Nations World Food Programme", ReliefWeb (June 18, 2021)

• Elizabeth Nyamayaro, an advocate for women’s rights and economic development, is the driving force behind the HeForShe campaign, a UN Women’s initiative and global solidarity movement that seeks to engage men as advocates for gender equality. Nyamayaro grew up in rural Zimbabwe where she met a UNICEF aid worker who altered the course of her life – she has since become the senior advisor to the Executive Director of UN Women, worked at the forefront of Africa’s development agenda for more than a decade, worked with UNAIDS, the World Health Organization, and the World Bank, and founded Africa IQ, a social impact organization promoting Africa’s sustainable economic growth and development.
  • "Interview with Elizabeth Nyamayaro", UN Women (March 7, 2017)

• Nyamayaro holds a noble goal for the future of humanity: to end gender inequality for good.
  • "Elizabeth Nyamayaro, the woman behind the United Nations' HeForShe campaign, says gender inequality isn't about men vs women", YP (September 26, 2016)