Sharon Capeling-Alakija, O.C. (1944–2003) was a Canadian development administrator. She was born and grew up in

Moose Jaw Moose Jaw is the List of cities in Saskatchewan, fourth largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. Lying on the Moose Jaw River in the south-central part of the province, it is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina, Saskatchewan, Re ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

, where she completed her elementary, secondary and tertiary education, graduating in 1966 with a B.Ed. from the

University of Saskatchewan The University of Saskatchewan (U of S, or USask) is a Universities in Canada, Canadian public university, public research university, founded on March 19, 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatch ...

. In the early 1960s, she taught history in Saskatoon, leaving Canada In the late 60s and early 70s to teach in

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

and

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

. She became involved with

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

s and enhanced their effectiveness, in particular playing a central role in

CUSO Cuso International (formerly known as CUSO, Canadian University Service Overseas) is a Canadian international development organization that connects communities around the world with skilled Canadians to help end poverty and inequality. Establis ...

(Canadian University Service Overseas).

Works

Between 1989 and 1994 she was Director of

UNIFEM The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM, , ) was established in December 1976 originally as the Voluntary Fund for the United Nations Decade for Women in the International Women's Year. Its first director was Margaret C. Snyder. U ...

and developed initiatives for UNIFEM in favour of the international women's movement to assist women at policy and grassroots levels. While at UNIFEM, she established the Noel Foundation Life Award, whose recipients included the late

Mother Teresa Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu (born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, ; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa or Saint Mother Teresa, was an Albanian-Indian Catholic Church, Roman Catholic nun, founder of the Missionaries of ...

Corazon Aquino María Corazón "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipino politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines and the first woman president in the country, from Presidency of Corazon ...

and

Cheng Yen Cheng Yen or Shih Cheng Yen (; born Chin-Yun Wong; the 24th of the third Lunar month, 4 May 1937) is a Taiwanese Buddhist nun ( bhikkhuni), teacher, and philanthropist. She is the founder of the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation, ord ...

. From 1994 to 1997, she was Director of Evaluation and Strategic Planning at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). From 1997 until her death in 2003, she was Executive Coordinator of

United Nations Volunteers The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme is a United Nations organization that contributes to peace and development through volunteerism worldwide. Volunteerism is a powerful means of engaging people in tackling development challenges, and ...

, spearheading the highly successful

International Year of Volunteers The International Year of Volunteers was designated for 2001 by the United Nations General Assembly. The initiative aimed at increased recognition, facilitation, networking and promotion of volunteering, to highlight the achievements of the million ...

in 2001UNiversity of Saskatchewan
/ref> and the move of the Online Volunteering Service from

NetAid NetAid was an anti-poverty initiative. It started as a joint venture between the United Nations Development Programme and Cisco Systems. It became an independent nonprofit organization in 2001. In 2007, NetAid became a part of Mercy Corps. Launc ...

. She also oversaw the buildup of UNV's largest single presence to date, in East Timor, during its transition towards independence; some 3,000 UN Volunteers from more than 100 countries supported the

East Timor Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...

Public Administration, including electoral processes.

Recognitions

In 1998 she was awarded an honorary doctoral degree from the University of Saskatchewan, and in 2003 was appointed an

Officer of the Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian national order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the centennial of Canadian Confederation, the ...

. At a memorial ceremony in December 2003 in New York City, UN

Secretary-General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder a ...

said, :At a time of unprecedented change in the world and in the role of the United Nations, Sharon had an instinctive grasp of the need for the Organization to reach out as widely as possible and engage people from all walks of life to join in our mission. She brought that understanding to bear on all her work with us -- whether as Executive Coordinator of the United Nations Volunteers programme, Director of Evaluation and Strategic Planning at UNDP, or Director of the UN Development Fund for Women. The highly successful International Year of Volunteers she led in 2001 provided vivid testimony of the energy and enthusiasm she brought to that approach... From the day Sharon set out into the world as a young volunteer, to her final contribution as head of UNV, this courageous woman never stopped quilting in the name of solidarity, for the benefit of all in one world... And I personally, shall miss hearing her call out “Uncle Kofi”. Now that she is gone, which other white-haired woman is going to call me Uncle Kofi?United Nations Information Service
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Capeling-Alakija, Sharon 1944 births 2003 deaths Officers of the Order of Canada People from Moose Jaw United Nations Development Programme officials Executive Directors of UN Women

Works

Recognitions

See also

References