UD to host 2016 Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders

2:12 p.m., Feb. 9, 2016--The University of Delaware Institute for Global Studies has announced that it has been selected for a third year as a partner with the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders.

Beginning in mid-June, UD will host 25 of Africa’s brightest emerging civic leaders for a six-week academic and leadership institute.

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The Mandela Washington Fellowship, the flagship program of President Barack Obama’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), empowers young African leaders through academic coursework, leadership training, mentoring, networking, professional opportunities, and support for activities in their communities.

Fellows are young leaders from sub-Saharan Africa who have established records of accomplishment in promoting innovation and positive change in their organizations, institutions, communities, and countries.  

The cohort of fellows hosted by UD will be part of a larger group of 1,000 Mandela Washington Fellows hosted at institutions across the United States this summer.  

These exceptional young leaders will meet with Obama at a town hall during the Presidential Summit in Washington, D.C. Select fellows also will spend six weeks in professional development training with U.S. non-governmental organizations, private companies and government agencies.

Working closely with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational Affairs and its implementing partner, IREX, host institutions have designed academic programs that will challenge, inspire and empower these aspiring young leaders from Africa.

Some highlights of the UD program will include visits with U.S. Sen. Chris Coons and Gov. Jack Markell, as well as a weeklong community organizing training with the Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League Young Professionals.

Fellows will connect with representatives from units across campus while also taking the opportunity to volunteer and network with organizations and agencies in Wilmington and surrounding areas.

Fellows will tour local heritage sites and nearby cities including New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., and also will travel to Dover and Rehoboth Beach.

UD has hosted the Mandela Washington Fellowship Civic Leadership Institute since the program’s inception in 2014. To see moments of last year’s activities, visit the 2015 Storify page.

For additional details on the University of Delaware institute, visit the IGS website and contact Kim Bothi, associate director for science and engineering, or Gretchen Bauer, professor of political science and international relations. 

To engage follow @UDGlobal on Instagram and Twitter and use the hashtag #UDMWF.

The Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders is a U.S. government program that is supported in its implementation by IREX. For more information about the Mandela Washington Fellowship, visit MandelaWashingtonFellowship.state.gov and join the conversation with #YALI2016.