This year, the United States Embassy in Lilongwe is celebrating ten years of the Mandela Washington Fellowship Programme.
According to a press release from the Embassy, the 2024 cohort of 18 young Malawians increases the number of participants to 157 from 139.
Since its inception in 2014, nearly 6,500 young leaders from every country in Sub-Saharan Africa, including a total of 139 young Malawian leaders, have participated in the Mandela Washington Fellowship.
The fellows come from diverse backgrounds and include artists, innovators, a Paramount chief, and practitioners in the medical, legal, energy, education, environment, NGO, governance, business, and entrepreneurship sectors.
The Mandela Washington Fellowship, a flagship program of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), empowers young African leaders through academic coursework, leadership training, mentoring, networking, professional opportunities, and local community engagement.
“Ninety-one percent (91%) of alumni report that participating in the Mandela Washington Fellowship motivated them to take on leadership roles in their communities. After attending Leadership Institutes in the United States, Fellows participate in the Mandela Washington Fellowship Summit in Washington, D.C., where they take part in networking and panel discussions with each other and with U.S. leaders from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.
“YALI, the U.S. government’s signature effort to invest in the next generation of African leaders, supports young Africans as they spur economic growth and prosperity, strengthen democratic governance, and enhance peace and security across Africa. The fellowship is funded by the U.S. Department of State, designed and managed by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), and implemented by the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX)” reads the press release.
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