Meet our jury: Flame of Solidarity Award

Edem Dema 

Eden Dema is a seasoned policy and gender expert with over 29 years of experience in women’s financial inclusion and economic empowerment. A 2022 Gender Equality Changemakers (GEC) Award Finalist and Gender Champion, she has led transformative policy initiatives advancing gender equity and women’s leadership. Eden is a Wedu mentor and Board Advisor, aligned with Wedu’s vision of a world where half of all leaders are women.

As a former Deputy Governor of Bhutan’s central bank, Eden played a pivotal role in building the country’s inclusive financial infrastructure—founding institutions such as the Movable Collateral Registry, Financial Intelligence Unit, Credit Information Bureau, and Financial Institutions Training Institute. She has led over 25 projects and served on the boards of public, private, and non-profit organisations.

Eden is a respected voice in global forums, having served as a coach, speaker, and panelist, and was the first female Co-Chair of AFI’s FIS Peer Learning Working Group. She is also a Fellow of the Fletcher School Leadership Program for Financial Inclusion, a Certified Gender Equality Changemaker, Certified Digital Finance Practitioner, and Digital Money Coach.

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Dr. Seema Panthaki

Dr. Seema leads the gender equality platform at AVPN, including its strategic direction and the delivery of its gender programming portfolio. This includes engagement with AVPN members, funders, and other impact partners, creation of new partnerships, and bringing unique Asian perspectives and approaches to build on and further strengthen gender equality outcomes in the region.

Over the last two decades, Dr. Seema has worked in different roles across the public and private sectors, primarily in Africa and South and Southeast Asia. As a grant maker, she led the design and delivery of program portfolios on economic development, governance, and climate and energy in India, South Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa with the UK’s FCDO and on strengthening evidence-based policymaking in South and Southeast Asia with Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC). She has previously worked on research projects in India, Libya, the UAE, and the UK. Most recently, she led projects on gender inclusion in business, finance, and investing in Asia and Africa supported by investors, philanthropic organisations, and other impact partners at Value for Women.

Dr. Seema holds a MSc in Economic Development and Policy from the University of Reading and a PhD in Economics and Business from the Henley Business School, University of Reading. In her voluntary capacity, she also engages with social and impact organisations in India to increase women’s economic and political representation in the country.

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Sophia Seawell

Sophia Seawell leads FAIR SHARE‘s international Feminist Leadership work and resource mobilisation, drawing both on her background in Gender Studies as well as her extensive experience with communications. She also supports internal processes at FAIR SHARE such as the development of a feminist salary model. Outside of work Sophia spends her time playing chess, meditating and travelling to see family and friends.

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