Maximilienne Chantal Ngo Mbe
2022 IVLP Impact Award Project: Protecting Woman Human Rights Defenders and PeacemakersCameroon
Maximilienne Chantal Ngo Mbe leads the Network of Human Rights Defenders in Central Africa (also known as REDHAC) as it advocates for and defends human rights in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Chad, Central African Republic and Sao Tome and Principe.The four pillars of REDHAC's work are promotion, protection, advocacy and prevention, conflict resolution, peace and human security.
In 2021, Ms. Ngo Mbe was recognized as an International Women of Courage by the U.S. Department of State. U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, congratulated Ms. Ngo Mbe for her, “courageous leadership promoting human rights in Central Africa, and her advocacy for a peaceful solution to the Anglophone crisis in Cameroon, despite great personal risk and sacrifice."
IVLP Impact Award Project: Protecting Woman Human Rights Defenders and Peacemakers
Ms. Ngo Mbe's project trained 20 human rights defenders and peace ambassadors from the Southwest and Northwest regions of Cameroon and provided them with security tools to protect themselves and their digital information as they work in complex environments.
Through this training, participants recorded and analyzed security incidents and wrote a security plan to serve as a guideline for their individual and organizational security when working in the field. The training helped identify the vulnerabilities that exposed participants to the various risks of malware, hacking, online intrusion, and phishing, as well as arbitrary arrest, detention, kidnapping and other uncontrollable inhumane treatments inflicted on them during humanitarian crises. The women also were able to organize peacebuilding activities in their communities and exchange reflections on challenges that undermine the context of the sociopolitical crisis.
"After the training we are now able to gain engagement of local religious, traditional, and administrative authorities." - Project Participant
IVLP Exchange Experience
Maximilienne was a recipient of the International Woman of Courage Award in 2021, organized by the U.S. Department of State and Meridian International Center, in partnership with Georgia Council for International Visitors, WorldBoston, GlobalJax, Global Ties KC, Global Ties Arkansas, Global Minnesota, the U.S. Department of State Office of International Visitors program branch in New York City, Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy, San Diego Diplomacy Council, World Affairs Council of St. Louis and International Citizen Diplomacy of Los Angeles.
Her exchange experience led to the development of her IVLP Impact Award Project: "[The] IVLP gave recognition to my daily fight and henceforth, I am more engaged to protect human rights defenders regardless of the reprisals."
U.S. Communities Visited Virtually
Little Rock, AK; Los Angeles, CA; San Diego, CA; Washington, DC; Atlanta, GA; Boston, MA; Minneapolis, MN; Kansas City, MO; St. Louis, MO; Jackson, MS; New York City, NY; Salt Lake City, UT