Zeedah Meierhofer-Mangeli is the Executive Director of the Meeting Place and Resource Center for Women in Zurich and former Director of Akina Mama wa Afrika (London and Uganda). Trained in the fields of sociology, pedagogy, and conflict resolution, she has been an educator and a specialist on women’s human rights and race relations. She served as Co-Director of the Zurich Women’s Shelter for Abused Women and Children; and led the youth awareness and civics training for Focus World, Switzerland. In her work, she has also been involved in concept development and training for the Swiss Police on domestic violence.
As a member of the Social Party of Switzerland, she was the first Black woman to contest for Parliament in Switzerland as part of a coalition between SP and FRAP. Zeedah is committed to the education of young girls in Africa. She recently founded the Resource Center for Women and Girls Trust in Kenya, with a flagship programme, the Empowerment Camp for Girls, which became operational in 2007. Her hobby is photography. Her photographs have featured in exhibitions in Switzerland, the UK and at the United Nations in New York. She sits on several boards, including, The African Leadership Institute, Akina Mama wa Afrika, and also the Gender and Equality Commission for the City of Zurich.