International cultural exchange organization. b Founded in 1958 as the Africa Program Committee by representatives of American women's organizations and women in the U.S. State Department's overseas outreach programs. Early Committee efforts included the Resident Wives Program for wives of diplomats of newly independent nations who were provided assistance to ease their transition into everyday life in the United States. Upon affiliation with the African-American Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that sponsored educational opportunities for African students, the Committee was renamed the Women's Africa Committee. They sought to foster cultural and educational exchange between women in the U.S. and African women community leaders. Their Community Service Program provided training, intercultural exchange, and support for existing efforts of womens community development projects in Africa. The Summer Leadership Scholarship Program provided training young African women studying in U.S. to establish community development programs in their homelands. Although the Women's Africa Committee no longer exists, the African-American Institute (now the Africa-America Institute) continues to provide educational and training resources to African students.
From the description of African-American Institute. Women's Africa Committee records, 1959-1978. (Smith College). WorldCat record id: 59759723
