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K-State Today

February 9, 2016

Kansas State University to host Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders

Submitted by Trisha Gott

Kansas State University has been selected as a partner with the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders. Beginning in mid-June, the Staley School of Leadership Studies at Kansas State University will host 25 of Africa's brightest emerging Civic Leadership leaders for a six-week academic and leadership institute.

The Mandela Washington Fellowship, the flagship program of President Barack Obama's Young African Leaders Initiative, or 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 the Staley School of Leadership Studies at Kansas State University 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 President 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. nongovernmental organizations, private companies and government agencies.

Working closely with the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational Affairs and its implementing partner, International Research & Exchanges Board, or IREX, host institutions have designed academic programs that will challenge, inspire and empower these inspiring young leaders from Africa.

Some highlights of the Kansas State University program will include:

• Fellows will work with the Staley School of Leadership Studies to move through an engaged six-week course focused on civic leaders in Kansas.

• Fellows will attend a Kansas Leadership Center immersive program on adaptive leadership.

• Working alongside the community, the fellows will plan and facilitate several communitywide days of service.

• State and local elected officials will visit with the fellows about civic leadership and advocacy in Topeka.

• Fellows will work in one-on-one and group engagement experiences with local peer collaborators and the community.

If you would like to get involved, or learn more about the summer institute, contact Trisha Gott at tcgott@k-state.edu.

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.

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