Felicite Rwemarika was born on 9 March

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

Ruanda-Urundi Ruanda-Urundi (), later Rwanda-Burundi, was a colonial territory, once part of German East Africa, which was occupied by troops from the Belgian Congo during the East African campaign in World War I and was administered by Belgium under militar ...

(now

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

). She has been a member of the

IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

since 2018. Rwemarika has organized many international conferences on gender equality in sports and in society as a whole. She is also a speaker at the American University of Nigeria on unity and reconciliation through sport. Rwemarika organizes workshops and seminars in order to raise awareness for gender equality in sports and promote sport as a powerful tool for peace-building, conflict resolution, and economic empowerment. Rwemarika has dedicated herself to heal women who were victims of the 1994 Tutsi genocide through activities which are held by the Association of Kigali Women in Sports
AKWOS
. She is a supporter of gender equality and encourages the wider participation of both women and men in the conversations about gender-based violence, women empowerment, HIV/AIDS reconciliation and entrepreneurship. She is also an organizer of financial literacy trainings and bespoke competitions for the AKWOS members.

Education

From 1985 until 1995, Rwemarika studied at the

Mulago Hospital Mulago National Specialised Hospital, also known as Mulago National Referral Hospital, is a component of Mulago Hospital Complex, the teaching facility of Makerere University College of Health Sciences. It is the largest public hospital in Ug ...

in Uganda and received her Diploma in Nursing. In 2007 she received her Diploma in

Business Administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

from

Cambridge College Cambridge College is a private college based in Boston, Massachusetts. It also operates regional centers in Lawrence, Massachusetts, Springfield, Massachusetts, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, and Rancho Cucamonga, California. History Founding Cambrid ...

Online. Rwemarika also has a Diploma in

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

leadership development program.

Career

From 1985 to 1995, Rwemarika was a medical nurse at the

in Uganda. In 1997 and 2004 she was the founder of two businesses, a beauty salon and a

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

. From 2004 to 2008, she was Country coordinator of ''We Act for Hope'' NGO, where in 2009 she became chair. She was also Chair of the Rwanda NGO forum on HIV & AIDS and health promotion in 2015.

Sports career

In 2003, she was founder, chair and legal representative of AKWOS. From 2007 until 2001, Rwemarika was a board member of the international women's organization ''Women Win''. She was a member of the CECAFA Women Commission in 2011. From 2013 to 2017, she was executive and advisor of the RNOSC (Rwanda National Olympic and Sports Committee). From 2017 to 2018, she was president of the Women's Football Commission in the Rwandan Football Federation (FERWAFA). Also in 2013, she was president of the Rwanda Women and Sports Commission. In 2017, she was a member of the Sport and Active Society Commission, and in 2018 an IOC Member. From 2007 until present, she remains a member of the FERWAFA Executive board, 1st vice president of the Rwanda Olympic and Other Games, as well as initiator of Women Football in Rwanda.

Honors

Rwemarika was selected as and made an Ashoka Fellow in 2012. In 2015 she received an award from the Stars Foundation and from Girls Collective. In 2016, she received the IOC Award for Women and Sport on the African continent.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rwemarika, Felicite International Olympic Committee members Gender equality Rwandan women 1958 births Living people Ashoka Fellows