Michigan State University is proud to announce its selection as an Institute Partner for the 2024 Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders. Beginning in mid-June, MSU will host 25 of Africa’s bright, emerging Civic Engagement/Public Management 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. Established in 2014, the Mandela Washington Fellowship is celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2024. Since its inception, nearly 6,500 young leaders from every country in Sub-Saharan Africa have participated in the Mandela Washington Fellowship. The cohort of Fellows in residence at MSU 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 attend 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 Mandela Washington Fellowship is celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2024, and it will be the third summer that MSU serves as an institute partner for the Fellowship. Some highlights of the MSU’s Fellowship program will include networking with campus and local partners, public presentations on African culture and civic engagement initiatives, and community service in the Lansing area.

For additional information about the Mandela Washington Fellowship Leadership Institute at Michigan State University please contact by email Halla Jones (Program Manager), Derek Tobias (Administrative Director) or Salah Hassan (Academic Director).  

For more information about the Mandela Washington Fellowship, visit mandelawashingtonfellowship.org and join the conversation at #YALI2024. 

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.