Ms. Sam is currently the National Programme Coordinator of Women in Law and Development in Africa, a position she has held since 2004. In this role, she provides strategic leadership and coordination for the planning of development programs and manages relationship with donors, stakeholders and partners to assure continued support for women's rights. Among other things, Ms. Sam has: implemented a 5 year strategic plan for WiLDAF Ghana, developed and implemented communications and advocacy strategies that target WiLDAF's varied audiences, introduced efficient and effective financial and administrative systems and has also undertaken various international advocacy submissions before UN monitoring bodies.
Lawa Experience:
Ms. Sam's graduate research culminated in her thesis entitled, "Discrimination in the Traditional Marriage and Divorce System in Ghana: Looking at the Problem from a Human Rights Perspective." For her fellowship internship she worked at the International Human Rights Law Group on a project to improve inheritance legislation for women in Western Africa.
Additional Experience :
Prior to LAWA, Ms. Sam worked as the legal officer in charge of a legal rights awareness program run by the Ghana branch of the International Women in Law and Development NGO. She worked for the SNV/Netherlands Development Organization in Accra, Ghana as a development and legal officer, designing and implementing programs on legal literacy, violence against women, and other programs involving community leaders. In addition, she has hosted a radio discussion program on women's issues and contributed articles to local newspapers.
Ms. Sam returned to Ghana following her fellowship and began working as Program Coordinator of the Africa Office of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative in Accra. Additionally, she worked as a project officer for Gender Studies and Human Rights Documentation Centre where she carried out training for community leaders, police officers, and CSOs on violence issues. She has been involved with the preparation of the Women’s Manifesto for Ghana and has collaborated with international organizations to organize the first ever Commonwealth Human Rights Forum (CHRN) in Abuja, Nigeria.
Recognition:
Certificate of Recognition in the 1999 Women’s Global Leadership Institute
Publications
We Know Politics: A Coalition for Engaging Women in Politics, Report of the Gender Forum, GRAP 2010
Interrogating Affirmative Action as a Strategy for Increasing Women's Participation in Politics: The Rhetoric and the Reality, Report of the Gender Forum, GRAP 2010
Gender and the Democratization Process, Daily Graphic, 14th February 2008
2008 Election and Women's Participation, Daily Graphic, 11th February 2008
Consensual Unions in the Western Region of Ghana: Their Relation to Violence against Women and Property Rights (Elizabeth Ardayfio-Schandorf & Bernice Sam; Pagelinks Publications, Accra. 2006)
Manual for Training on Women's Participation on Governance, Modules: a) State and its Functions, b) The Law Making Process c) Human Rights (2006)
Discrimination in the Traditional Marriage and Divorce System: Looking at the Problem from a Human Rights Perspective in Voices of African Women (Johanna Bond; Carolina Academic Press, USA, 2005)
Election Observation: Gender and Illiteracy Boundaries, Kofi Annan International Peace Keeping Centre, Ghana (August 2004).
People's Democracy, Community Democracy: What Role for Civil Society? Royal Commonwealth Society Int'l Conference, Ghana (July 2004).
International Women's Day, Daily Graphic: Ghanaian Times (March 2004).
Process of Lobbying between Civil Society and Government under the Responsibility to Protect, Commissioned by Lui University, Canada. (February 2004).
Civil Society Perspectives on Democracy and Development, London, UK. (March 2004).
Rights of People Living with HIV/AIDS: Facts, Interviews and Stories (WiLDAF Ghana/ Bernice Sam; Pagelinks Publications, Accra, 2003)
Contemporary Human Rights Issues in Commonwealth West Africa (Bernice Sam, Ed.; Pagelinks Publications, 2003)
A Quick Guide to Violence Against Women and Property Rights of Women (Bernice Sam & Margaret Insaidoo; Afram Publications, Accra, 2003)
The People's Right to Know, Ghanaian Chronicle (2001).
Affiliations
African Women’s Lawyers Association
Ghana Bar Association
Women's Law and Public Policy Fellowship Program Alumnae
Qualification
L.L.B., University of Ghana
L.L.M., Ghana School of Law
L.L.M., Georgetown University Law Centre
Awards
'Ɔbaa Mmo' (Well Done Woman) Award by Television Africa, Accra, Ghana (2011)
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