MS. GLORY BLASIO: A Tanzanian Powerhouse for African Youth!

GLORY BLASIO EMMANUEL
Tanzania

By Ms. Saumu Issa Rajabu

Ms. Glory Blasio Emmanuel is the Programme & Finance Director for the Research Institute for Peace, Policy and International Affairs (RIPPIA) and also serves as the Country Director for Tuwakuze Africa.

Her Background
Ms. Blasio is a twenty five year old Tanzanian, born and raised in the United Republic of Tanzania. She completed her primary school at Haile Selassie Junior Academy before joining Arusha Day Secondary school where she obtained her ordinary level secondary education. In 2008, Ms. Blasio joined Bwiru Girls’ High School where she obtained her advanced level secondary education and later joined the United States International University-Africa (USIU-A). At USIU-A Glory obtained her Bachelor of Science in International Business Administration (IBA) with a concentration in Finance.  


Her Career
Glory’s ambitious career and personal development begun right after graduation from Bwiru Girls’ High School. She started as a volunteer at a meat market in Arusha called Meat King before joining the Corridor Springs Hotel as the Guest Relations Officer. Her drive for hard work and desire to learn did not wither when she joined USIU-A where she doubled as student and as an Under Graduate Research Assistant at the Research, Grants and Graduate Studies Office (ReGGS) of USIU-A. Working at ReGGS provided her with an opportunity to work directly with the Associate Deputy Vice Chancellor Academic Research (DVC AR) Prof. Francis .W. Wambalaba, PhD, AICP,for a period of over three (3) years. Ms. Blasio describes her experience at ReGGS as challenging but one that she enjoyed and in which she learned skills that she went on to apply throughout her career journey. This opportunity shaped her work ethics as well as integrity. It is through this platform that Ms. Blasio was able to develop skills in research by successfully working on research projects that USIU-A conducted on behalf of; the Kenya Education Network (KENET), Kenya’s Retirement Benefit Authority (RBA) and Kenya’s Insurance Regulatory Authority project, among other research projects conducted by the USIU-A Faculty.


Alongside working at the ReGGS, Ms. Blasio volunteered as the Deputy Chairperson of the Black History Month (BHM) Committee at USIU-A. BHM is a month long celebration (that takes place throughout the month of February every year) at USIU-A. Glory developed interest in this event after attending her first celebrations as a freshman in 2011, where she was privileged to listen to a powerful speech by Prof. Patrick Loch Otieno Lumumba, who inspired her to shape her career through international affairs and diplomacy. She was fortunate enough to be mentored further by a Ms. Angela King’ori, a lady who has inspired Glory to live by her sentiments, “I can never forget Angela because she practically taught me how to change my perception of working because it’s a requirement into working because it is an interest”. 

In the spirit of volunteering Glory went on to serve as the Deputy Executive Director for the Youth Alliance for Leadership and Development in Africa (YALDA) in the USIU-A chapter for a period of one year, where among other achievements was able to conduct the first ever Model African Union Conference of which the drafted resolutions were presented at the Agenda 2063 meeting in Abuja, Nigeria during the week of 23rd July 2013.

After her graduation from USIU-A Glory went on to work with the African Development Bank (AfDB) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.At AfDB she had an opportunity to work closely with the Chief Country Program Officer and the Senior Education Analyst. After working with the AfDB, she was called to serve the Pan African Youth Union; a union with a specific mandate to gather and mobilize young Africans on all continents. Afterwards, Ms. Blasio joined RIPPIA, an organization that seeks to foster and propagate peace and policy issues in international affairs and later Tuwakuze Africa, a Community based Organization that empowers orphaned, vulnerable and underprivileged children mainly by supporting their education. 

As an indefatigable and passionate advocate for the interests of the youth, she has been on the forefront actively setting up pragmatic forums that engage visionary youth at international platforms such as the East African Institute of the Aga Khan University, the Pan-African Youth Union, the African Court of Human and People’s rights and the East African Community.  Glory is currently (April 2015) working on organising the Post 2015 MDGs; Africa’s high level Youth Conference expected to gather representatives from Academic Institutions, Governments, Civil Society Organizations, Experts, Media, Youth Groups and Women in an effort to assess the performance and draft recommendations that echo the voice of the African youth on the Post 2015 MDGs agenda.Through community development activities in Sakina, Arusha and Kahawa West, Nairobi. Glory’s initiatives have been featured in international media such as the Voice of America and the United Nations Radio. 

Ms. Blasio has also sought to empower youth through the literary world where she has co-authored a book with Ambassador David K. A. Kikaya Ph.D. HSC. et al. The Book is entitled “SIMULATION MANUAL: SIMULATION AND MOOT COURT IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS (CONCEPTS, APPROACHES AND APPLICATIONS)” 2015. It was launched at the African Union Head Quarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopian March 2015 during the 2ndAfro|MUN Conference. Ms. Blasio also holds an award of excellence from the 2014 Afro/MUN conference held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She has extensive experience in regional and international model UN simulations, having participated in numerous sessions including the 2013 diplomatic training at the Harvard National Model United Nations in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. 

Ms. Glory believes that women are the drivers of sustainable development in any society. She is of the opinion that the benefits obtained from empowering a girl-child (or a woman) have ripple-inclusive effects. She strongly believes that effective empowerment is through mentorship programs for women and children and concurs in the words of Benjamin Franklin; “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn”.