The U.S. Embassy in Freetown, in a Press Release dated 15th June, 2023, stated that it is proud to announce that 11 participants from Sierra Leone have been selected to participate in the 2023 Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders.
Said to have been launched in 2014, the Mandela Washington Fellowship is the flagship program of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) and embodies the U.S. commitment to invest in the future of Africa.
Further revealed was that 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.
It was continued that since 2014, nearly 5,800 young leaders from every country in Sub-Saharan Africa have participated in the Mandela Washington Fellowship.
According to the US Embassy, Twenty-Eight U.S educational institutions in 20 states and the District of Columbia will host Leadership Institutes for approximately 700 Mandela Washington Fellows.
Additionally stated was that the six-week Institutes, hosted by college and university campuses across the United States, will support the development of Fellows’ leadership skills through academic study, workshops, mentoring, networking with U.S. leaders, and collaboration with members of the local community.
Against such a backdrop, the U.S. Embassy in  Freetown stated that he is proud to announce that the following leaders will participate in the 2023 Mandela Washington Fellowship: Ebunoluwa Tengbe, Jeremiah Thoronka, Hajaratu Sama, Ahmed Sheriff, Ambalieu Barrie, Janet Kallon, Rugiatu Kanu, Alex Nallo Junior, Bashiru Koroma, Florence Roberts and Jeneba Mary-Magdalene Saidu.
Also revealed was that after their Leadership Institutes, Fellows will participate in the Summit Washington, D.C. and it is expected that up to 100 competitively selected Fellows will virtually engage in professional development with U.S. organizations in the public, private, or non-profit sector.
In addition, Fellows can participate in Alumni Programming after their Fellowships to further build their professional skills and networks.
Worthy of note is that 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.
