Mandela Washington Fellowship
for Young African Leaders at UGA
The Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders is the flagship program of the U.S. government’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) and sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. Since 2014, nearly 4,200 young leaders from every country in Sub-Saharan Africa have participated in the Fellowship. UGA became a Fellowship Institute Partner in 2019. The Fellows, between the ages of 25 and 35, are accomplished innovators and leaders in their communities and countries. To learn more, visit exchanges.state.gov or eca.state.gov.
About the Fellowship at UGA
2019 Institute
The University of Georgia became a Mandela Washington Fellowship Institute Partner in 2019, and this Institute includes the pioneering cohort of fellows.
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VIRTUAL PROGRAMMING:
(Summer 2020)
2019 Alumni Networking and Reunion
This was a virtual social and networking program to reconnect Fellows with each other and to share updates on their current work that can be promoted through the Fellowship Alumni Network.
Virtual Programming:
(Summer 2020)
Increasing the Effectiveness of Public Health Campaigns and Crisis Communication: Lessons from COVID-19 Experiences and Community Engagement
The Fellowship Team at UGA brought aboard some of UGA's top Public Health experts to discuss with Fellows how they can have a positive impact on their local communities during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Virtual Programming:
(Summer 2020)
Increasing the Effectiveness of Public Health Campaigns and Crisis Communication: Lessons from COVID-19 Experiences and Community Engagement
In partnership with the UGA Grady College of Journalism, this programming encouraged Fellows of NGOs, local government organizations, and other organizations that work in community-oriented projects to create their own audio-visual products, to distribute them to targeted audiences, and to develop sustainable business models for the production and distribution of these materials.
Due to the current global health situation, and with the safety and well-being of Fellows and Partners as the highest priority, the U.S. Department of State postponed the 2020 Mandela Washington Fellowship until summer 2021. During this time, a select few Institutional Partners, including UGA, developed enriching virtual programming for 2019 Alumni.
2020 Virtual Programming
2021 Institute
In Summer 2021, UGA hosted a complete 6-week Mandela Washington Fellowship Institute, fully online. Although Fellows were virtual, they still engaged in community service, cultural connections in the Athens area, and networked with UGA faculty and staff.
