African human rights defenders, community activists, and scholars returning for the 2023 Mandela Washington Fellowship
The Presidential Precinct is proud to announce its selection as an Institute Partner for the 2023 Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders. Beginning in mid-June, Precinct partners will host 25 of Africa’s bright, emerging civic engagement leaders for a six-week Leadership Institute, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State.
The Mandela Washington Fellowship, the 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. YALI was created in 2010 and supports young Africans as they spur economic growth and prosperity, strengthen democratic governance, and enhance peace and security across Africa. Since 2014, the U.S. Department of State has supported nearly 5,800 Mandela Washington Fellows from across Sub-Saharan Africa to develop their leadership skills and foster connections and collaboration with U.S. professionals. The cohort of Fellows hosted by the Presidential Precinct will be part of a group of 700 Mandela Washington Fellows hosted at 28 educational institutions across the United States.
After their Leadership Institutes, Fellows will participate in the Mandela Washington Fellowship Summit, where they will take part in networking and panel discussions with each other and with U.S. leaders from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Following the Summit, up to 100 competitively-selected Fellows will participate in four weeks of professional development with U.S. non-governmental organizations, private companies, and government agencies.
Funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and implemented by IREX, Leadership Institutes will offer programs that will challenge, motivate, and empower young leaders from Africa to tackle the challenges of the 21st century.
The Presidential Precinct is the only Virginia-based institution hosting Mandela Washington Fellows in 2023. Fellows at the Precinct will share in a world-class experience thanks to our program partners across the state – William & Mary, James Madison’s Montpelier, the University of Virginia, and James Monroe’s Highland – and community partners throughout Charlottesville and Williamsburg. This Institute will mark the Presidential Precinct’s ninth year as a host of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, as well as its 200th Fellow welcomed to Virginia.
In total, the Presidential Precinct has built customized leadership development curricula for just over 1,300 leaders from 162 countries, representing every region of the world. Precinct Alumni have all participated in a professional fellowship, leadership exchange, and/or global forum that inspires conversation around six core focus areas: good governance, human rights and justice, cultural heritage, women’s empowerment, civic engagement, and economic opportunity.
For additional information about the Mandela Washington Fellowship Leadership Institute at the Presidential Precinct please contact Drew Precious, Director of Communications (dprecious@presidentialprecinct.org) or visit http://presidentialprecinct.org/mwf.
The Mandela Washington Fellowship is a program of the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. Government and administered by IREX. For more information about the Mandela Washington Fellowship, visit mandelawashingtonfellowship.org and join the conversation at #YALI2023.
###
