Erin Van Der Meer* says Oprah Winfrey has praised the leadership of New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern and says women are already changing the world.
Oprah Winfrey (pictured) used her keynote speech at the 10th annual Women in the World conference to praise the leadership of New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern in the wake of the Christchurch massacre.
Describing how Ardern “projected peace and goodness” in the aftermath of the terror attack on two mosques and wore a hijab while attending memorials for the 50 victims, Winfrey said: “I have never seen such leadership.”
“A woman who has the courage of her convictions and has set a global standard in leadership with her response.”
Pointing out how Ardern’s hijab-clad image was projected onto Dubai’s Burj Khalif with the word “peace,” Winfrey said it proved Ardern’s strategy to unite, not divide, in the wake of the tragedy had worked.
“We saw that the ‘other’ didn’t seem that much different from us.”
Winfrey received several standing ovations as she spoke to a room packed with hundreds of women at New York’s Lincoln Center last week, ahead of two days of panels and talks.
Offering some brief advice on how women can be successful and make change in the world, she said: “My primary offering is this: It is your job to make your self whole.”
“Not perfect, but whole.”
“Fill yourself until your cup runneth over, so that you are never grasping.”
“Live your life assured in your worthiness and your right to be here.”
She touched on the 42 new women sworn into the US Congress this year — “a diverse new generation of Congresswomen forged by fire — celebrating the diversity they will bring to US politics.
“They have experience with issues few Congressmen have ever had to face,” Winfrey said.
Addressing a key focus of the conference, “Can women save the world?”, she had this to say: “Can women save the world?”
“I say we have been doing that for so many years.”
“We gotta reinvent this game, because the game is not built on a level playing field.”
Winfrey capped an electric first night at the 10th annual Women in the World summit in New York City.
* Erin Van Der Meer is a freelance writer. She tweets at @erinvandermeer and her website is erinvandermeer.com.
This article first appeared at grazia.com.au.
