EMBARGOED UNTIL 00:01 BST/ 02:20 South African Time - Tuesday 27 October
The Atlantic Institute and the Atlantic Fellows for Racial Equity programme are delighted to announce the appointment of Khalil Goga to the position of Associate Executive Director at the Atlantic Institute, based in Oxford, UK.
Khalil Goga.
(Image: NMF)Khalil is currently the Director of Dialogue and Advocacy at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg where he also serves as a Senior Director with the Atlantic Fellows for Racial Equity programme.
A political scientist by training, Khalil brings a wealth of experience and success in values-based leadership and a deep commitment to social justice and reducing inequities. He has extensive experience in dialogue and community engagement, giving training workshops all over the world. During his time at the Nelson Mandela Foundation, he was part of a team that hosted visits to South Africa by world-leading thinkers, artists and politicians, including António Guterres, Amina Mohammed, Barack Obama, Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche, Bill Gates and Thomas Piketty.
At the Atlantic Institute, Khalil will work with the Acting Executive Director, Evie O’Brien, in promoting community engagement, programming and impact for a growing community of Fellows and program staff active in 60 countries worldwide. By the end of 2020, there will be around 550 Fellows, and over the next two decades, the network of Atlantic Fellows will grow to 3,000. The global network of Atlantic Fellows and staff are from seven programs (including the Atlantic Fellows for Racial Equity), who are committed to working together to advance fairer, healthier, more inclusive societies.
Commenting on Khalil’s appointment, Acting Executive Director, Evie O’Brien, said: “We are honoured that Khalil will be leading community engagement, programming and impact for the Institute. He will be responsible for building a strongly connected lifelong community of Atlantic Fellows and program staff, who together are working to reduce inequities, locally and globally.”
Khalil Goga will take up the new position on December 15 2020.
For further information, interviews or a photograph of Khalil Goga, please contact Fionnuala Sweeney at institutecomms@atlanticfellows.org.
NOTES FOR EDITORS
*For more information about Khalil Goga
*The Atlantic Institute The Institute is housed with the Rhodes Trust in Oxford, UK. Established with funding from the Atlantic Philanthropies, the Atlantic Institute supports a global community of Atlantic Fellows to accelerate the eradication of inequities for fairer, healthier and more inclusive societies. The Atlantic Institute, in association with seven equity programs around the world, provides a community of Fellows with the networks, architecture and resources to connect, learn and act. Fellows are from all over the world and from a wide range of disciplines, including doctors, scientists, artists, academics, lawyers, journalists, business professionals, government officials and activists. Atlantic Fellows are active in 60 countries, working as leaders within or alongside organizations with a shared equity focus.
The Atlantic Fellows for Racial Equity The Atlantic Fellows for Racial Equity (AFRE) is a fellowship programme based at Columbia University in New York City and the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg, South Africa. It aims to build an enduring transnational network of leaders across issues, approaches and geographies to challenge anti-Black racism and build the policies, institutions and narratives needed for a more equitable future. AFRE supports accomplished leaders from South Africa and the US to uncover and address the root causes of racial inequality and engage in strategic, long-term collaborative efforts for transformative social change. Through leadership development, community building, design labs and narrative change, the programme supports the personal development and capacity of these leaders, and catalyses broader social change activity, based on a view that both are required to achieve racial equity.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation The Nelson Mandela Foundation was established in 1999 when Nelson Mandela stepped down as president of South Africa. It aims to help build a society that remembers its pasts, listens to all its voices, and pursues social justice.
As Mandela’s post-presidential office, it provided the base for his charitable work, covering a wide range of endeavours: from building schools to HIV/Aids work, from research into education in rural areas, to peace and reconciliation interventions. Today the Foundation focuses on dialogue work, preserving the memory and legacy of its founder, and developing its rich archival platform.
ENDS