Abella Bateyunga and the 2018 Young Leader Award

The Presidential Precinct believes in the transformative power of visionary leaders to create thriving, just, and free societies.

While effective and accountable institutions, a robust private sector, and a vibrant civil society are all necessary for good governance and economic growth, we know that change happens when smart, motivated leaders use their talents to drive these processes forward.

Abella Bateyunga is one of those leaders. A 2014 alumna of the Presidential Precinct, Abella was part of the first cohort of Mandela Washington Fellows to learn and exchange ideas here in the birthplace of modern democracy. Since her time at the Presidential Precinct, Abella founded Tanzania Bora, an NGO that engages and inspires youth, particularly young women, to be active participants in promoting political, social, and economic development.

For her commitment to a thriving, just, and free Tanzania, the Presidential Precinct Board of Directors and staff recently awarded Abella Bateyunga with the 2018 Young Leader Award.

Surrounded by friends of the Presidential Precinct, including participants in the 2018 Global Leadership Forum, the award was presented at a festive luncheon on October 30. Abella traveled all the way to Charlottesville for the week, to serve as a mentor to Global Leadership Forum participants through a newly formed global women’s empowerment initiative called The She Lab. Up until the morning of her award luncheon, Abella was working to share ideas and empower her peers in their efforts to create strategic solutions for gender equality, women’s entrepreneurship, and workforce readiness for women and girls.

21 emerging leaders participated in the 2018 Global Leadership Forum, which this year was focused on Advancing Women’s Economic Empowerment. In addition to Abella’s representation of Tanzania, participants came from over 16 countries to engage in a week-long dialogue and sharing of experiences across country contexts.

Abella’s work through the Tanzania Bora Initiative continues to grow. On receiving the award, she said that her team had “been awakened to understand what we do matters and that we have not only national but global support.” Hear her full remarks in the video below.
 

 
Now, nearly a month later, Abella and her team have holistically renewed their commitment to furthering their reach across Tanzania. You can hear more on Abella’s work in her Q&A conversation with Presidential Precinct Board Member, Renee Grisham.
 

 
In addition to her leadership of Tanzania Bora Initiative, Abella is increasingly interested in the value of strong political leadership. Building on her BA in Law from the University of Dar es Salaam, she is currently in pursuit of a Masters Degree in Governance and Leadership.

At the Presidential Precinct, we have been known to refer to alumni as ‘future Presidents’. We have great hope for the future thanks to humble hearts and bright minds like Abella.