Ameenah Gurib-Fakim and Stephanie Busari: An interview with Mauritius's first female president
أمينة غريب فقيم: مقابلة مع أول رئيسة لموريشيوس
Ameenah Gurib-Fakim is the president of the Republic of Mauritius. She has been a university professor and entrepreneur before her election as the first female Head of State of Mauritius. Full bioStephanie Busari - Journalist
Stephanie Busari is a journalist and editor at CNN International Digital. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
thank you for joining us.
شكرا لانضمامك إلينا.
you're something of an overachiever.
فإنجازاتك مبهرة.
of the University of Mauritius,
for your work in science
لعملك في العلوم
female head of state in Africa.
to the TEDGlobal stage;
عن منصة TEDGlobal،
ambitions at that time?
the opportunity to be here today.
the government of Tanzania
the contribution of our consul,
for all our stay here.
anything in your journey
أي شيء خلال مسارك
president of your country?
immediately after TED, actually.
بدأت مباشرة بعد TED.
this journalist called me and said,
for the president of the republic,"
in the form of a declaration?
the interrogation mark,
and they see my picture.
where they wanted to have somebody
religion in Mauritius,
we stratify people's origins
whole campaign started,
to note, Stephanie,
is elected after the election.
بعد الانتخابات.
was flagged before the election process,
قبل العملية الانتخابية،
they knew that at some point,
كانوا يعلمون أنه وفي مرحلة ما
this Muslim woman president.
to you as a woman
of your country?
the terrible statistics
لقد ذكرتِ للتو الإحصاءات الرهيبة
in the whole of Africa.
from the background I come from --
وباعتباري أنحدر من خلفية -
but more academic and entrepreneurial --
بل الأكاديمية والريادية -
growing in my village
لتلك الفتاة الناشئة في قريتي
there was diversity,
have been most productive.
when cultures, religions --
when they were highly productive.
الذي حققت فيه انتاجية عالية.
another conflict area
seem to be at loggerheads.
يبدوان على طرفي نقيض،
on how you reconcile both
حول كيفية توفيقك بينهما
at the perfection of the human body,
ecosystem functions together.
to those who are of faith,
there has been evolution."
that evolution exists.
What came first?
ما الذي أتى أولا؟
the various strata of evolution,
which is guiding the process,
المسيِّرة للعملية
don't happen by chance.
this great spirit by any name --
are not mutually exclusive.
لا يستبعد بعضها بعضا.
to one of your passions -- science.
مجالات شغفك: العلوم.
passionate about science.
a very young girl,
to become a chemist,
determined to study science
to that career guidance officer,
لمستشار التوجيه المهني ذاك
to draw attention to again,
with this rote learning.
عبر الحفظ عن ظهر قلب.
this curiosity in the child,
for them to become great scientists,
curious in everything they do.
في كل ما يفعلونه.
I went to see the careers guidance,
زرت مستشار التوجيه المهني،
"What do you want to do?"
"ماذا تريدين أن تفعلي؟"
because this is for boys.
لأن هذا للصبيان.
back, there'll be no job for you."
لن يكون هناك أي عمل لكِ".
who happens to be my father.
and asked, "What did he say?"
ثم سأل: "ماذا قال؟"
He said, "What are you going to do?"
وقال: "ماذا ستفعلين؟"
one must always follow your heart.
يجب على المرء دائمًا أن يتبع قلبه.
that I had developed this thinking
about what you do,
a single day in your life,
Confucius who said that.
as someone in your position,
كشخص في مركزكِ،
especially on this continent,
وخاصة في هذه القارة،
that you actively work --
two days, Stephanie,
to that level of development --
إلى هذا المستوى من التنمية -
an educated youth in Africa.
you cannot win a football match,
لا يمكنك الفوز بمباراة لكرة القدم،
of the team outside.
of effort has to be done
them from a very young age,
that she can do anything.
أنه يمكنها فعل أي شيء.
that anything is possible
from a very early age,
منذ سن مبكر،
look at the books,
when I went to a debate on Women's Day.
إلى مناقشة في اليوم العالمي للمرأة.
how many women inventors we have,
حول عدد النساء المخترعات،
that hardly anyone knew
أن لا أحد تقريبا كان يعرف
behind computer science,
with two Nobel prizes.
بفضل نيلها جائزتي نوبل،
to actually make --
at a very young age;
في سن مبكر جدا؛
if not better than her brother.
أن تبلي نفس بلاء أخيها أو أحسن.
that I know you've been very active in,
أعرف أنك كنت نشيطة فيه،
is an area that Africa must embrace.
في وجوب تبني أفريقيا لهذا المجال.
herbal traditions and plants
من الأعشاب التقليدية والنباتات
into a big pharmaceutical industry.
of how you've been using your expertise
حول كيفية استغلالك لتجربتك
to one of the talks;
to turn into a knowledge economy.
تغيير أفريقيا إلى اقتصاد معرفي.
والجنوب الأفريقي،
medicinal plant species,
I gave in 2014,
التي أَلقيتُ في عام 2014،
this biodiversity,
harness it in the right way,
our own livelihoods on this planet.
from countries of the north
for the protection of our planet,
livelihoods on this planet.
that must be addressed.
of Africa working for us,
في أفريقيا لصالحنا،
that we have on the market,
الرائجة لدينا في الأسواق،
our own traditional knowledge.
as allopathic medicine.
for traditional Chinese medicine
للطب الصيني التقليدي
have not documented,
becoming a knowledge continent,
حول جعل أفريقيا قارة مَعرفة،
to address very seriously,
we are racing against time
the transmission has always been oral.
كان نقل المعرفة دائما شفهيًّا.
and make it happen.
of urgency around this.
في هذا الموضوع.
in respect to documenting --
فيما يتعلق بالتوثيق -
was I documented precisely these plants.
هو توثيق هذه الأعشاب بدقة.
it was not perceived to be very serious,
in synthetic organic chemistry,
في الكيمياء العضوية الاصطناعية،
talking to these grandmothers,
bringing weeds in the lab,
بإحضاركِ لأعشاب ضارة للمختبر،
to be working on these."
"Look, this is very important."
"انظروا، هذا مهم جدًّا".
developing a crocodile skin,
في تطوير جلد التمساح،
doing different things.
وتقومين بأشياء مختلفة.
أنا سعيدة جدا لأنني فعلت.
since the documentation,
منذ التوثيق،
started working on as well.
بالعمل عليها أيضًا.
big-man, African leader.
للرجل الكبير والزعيم الأفريقي.
You called me a man.
دعوتِني رجلاً.
and quite unassuming.
والتواضع التام.
إلى استفسار النساء القائدات
on the way they rule,
taken myself seriously.
لم آخذ نفسي قط على محمل الجد.
take yourself seriously.
أخذ نفسك على محمل الجد.
and just work towards them.
وتعمل على تحقيقها.
OK, I'm leading my third life --
حسنًا، أنا أقود حياتي الثالثة...
I've been an entrepreneur, now I'm here.
وكنتُ امرأة أعمال، والآن أنا هنا.
to give my voice to so many initiatives
become tech-savvy,
ليصبحوا متمكنين في التكنولوجيا.
media, technology, you name it,
الإعلام والتكنولوجيا أو غيرها.
technology and innovation.
من العلوم والتكنولوجيا والابتكار.
about the challenges
that there's corruption on this continent
وجود الفساد في هذه القارة
share with us around this issue?
في هذا الصدد؟
there is a corrupter.
إنها دائما عملية ثنائية الاتجاه.
doing something about corruption,
great people in Africa.
هناك أيضا أشخاص جيدون في أفريقيا.
Why don't we talk about ...
لماذا لا نتحدث عن...
the great quotes of Nelson Mandela.
الأقوال الرائعة لنيلسون مانديلا
we've had Julius Nyerere,
كان لدينا يوليوس نيريري،
who have been champions of Africa.
الذين هم أبطال أفريقيا.
pages of their book and see.
أن نأخذ صفحات كتبهم ونرى،
had been a great advocate for science
كان مناصرًا جيدا للعلوم،
will make deserts bloom."
fathers of this continent;
لهذه القارة؛
President Fakim.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Ameenah Gurib-Fakim - President of MauritiusAmeenah Gurib-Fakim is the president of the Republic of Mauritius. She has been a university professor and entrepreneur before her election as the first female Head of State of Mauritius.
Why you should listen
In June 2015, Ameenah Gurib-Fakim became the first female president of Mauritius. She's been honored as one of Foreign Policy's 2015 Global Thinkers and is moving to create opportunity and growth for her island home. Gurib-Fakim has been, prior to joining the State House, the Managing Director of the Centre International de Développement Pharmaceutique (CIDP) Research and Innovation as well as professor of organic chemistry with an endowed chair at the University of Mauritius.
Gurib-Fakim has long been a leading biodiversity scientist studying and validating the flora of Mauritius, one of the world's key biodiversity hotspots. As an entrepreneur at CIDP R & I and professor of organic chemistry, she analyzed the plants from the region for their health, nutritional and cosmetic applications.
Ameenah Gurib-Fakim | Speaker | TED.com
Stephanie Busari - Journalist
Stephanie Busari is a journalist and editor at CNN International Digital.
Why you should listen
Stephanie Busari moved to Lagos from London in July 2016 to pioneer CNN's first digital and multimedia bureau. She also reports on-air in breaking news situations for CNN International.
In April 2016 Busari exclusively obtained the "proof of life" video that showed that the missing Chibok schoolgirls who were kidnapped in Nigeria in 2014 were still alive. She was also an instrumental member of the CNN team that won a Peabody Award in May 2015 for the network's coverage of the missing girls. Busari recently won a Gracie Award for her persistence in covering this story, and she's also a previous recipient of the Outstanding Woman in the Media Awards.
Busari is a passionate community activist who curated TEDxBrixton for three years before she left London. She founded TEDxBrixton in 2013 driven by a desire to bring disparate elements of her community together and to create a platform for those who wouldn't normally have one to share their ideas worth spreading.
A passionate and adept public speaker, Busari is regularly invited to share her insights and host panels. She has spoken at UN Women, Said Business School, Oxford, Africa Gathering among others.
Over a 15-year career, Busari has worked as a news reporter, entertainment and features writer, court reporter and columnist, and she has been published in many of the UK and international media's most influential outlets, such as the BBC and Daily Mirror.
During a six-month stint in Northern Ireland in 2003, Busari spent time in some of the worst affected areas of "The Troubles" and secured interviews with a crucifixion victim, government ministers and paramilitaries. While there, she also launched and edited an award-winning lifestyle column.
A native Yoruba speaker, Busari also speaks fluent French and is currently learning Hausa.
Stephanie Busari | Speaker | TED.com