The Mandela The Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders named the 25 fellows who joined the Georgia State University campus on Friday, June 19, for six weeks of academic and leadership training in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies. Designated a Public Management Institute, the school will introduce the fellows to U.S. models and best practices in public management in areas such as citizen engagement, human resource management, public financial management and the intersection of government with business and civil society.
The fellows are emerging young business, civic and public leaders. They are coming to Atlanta from Angola, Burundi, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Senegal, South Africa, South Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo and Uganda.
The Mandela Washington Fellowship is the flagship program of the Young African Leaders Initiative, which empowers young leaders from Sub-Saharan Africa through academic coursework, leadership training, mentoring, networking, professional opportunities and support for activities in their communities. Those selected for the program have promoted innovation and positive change in their organizations, institutions or communities.
Locally, Mandela Washington Fellows will be partnered with peer collaborators selected from metro Atlanta’s business, civic and government agencies who will provide hands-on experience on these models and best practices through the six-week program.
Highlights planned for the program in the Andrew Young School will include:
- Academic courses in leadership, fiscal policy and public management
- Community service opportunities at organizations such as the Atlanta Community Food Bank
- Peer collaborations with area business, academic, community and thought leaders
The Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders is a U.S. government program supported in its implementation by IREX. Working closely with the 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 inspiring young leaders from Africa.
Those fellows hosted in Atlanta will be part of a larger group of 500 Mandela Washington Fellows hosted across the United States this summer. The program will close in a summit in Washington, D.C.
