The US Embassy, in partnership with the Nelson Mandela Foundation, will officially welcome home 46 young South African leaders who recently returned from the six-week programme in the United States under President Obama’s Young African Leadership Initiative (YALI).
Details of the Mandela Fellows official welcome (YALI) alumni reception
Date: 16 September, 2014
Time: 18h00 to 20h00
Venue: Nelson Mandela Foundation, 107 Central Street, Houghton – secure parking available along Central Street
NOTE: Any media interested in interviewing Mandela Fellows are encouraged to RSVP to Tebogo Sepeng (contact details below) and should arrive by 17h00.
The YALI participants – now known as “Mandela Fellows” after President Obama announced the name change at a Washington Summit – were placed at various universities and colleges across the US according to their areas of focus: business and entrepreneurship, civic engagement, and public management.
In early July, during their stay, the US African Development Foundation (USADF) YALI Entrepreneurship Grants program provided capital of up to $US25 000 each and technical support for young African leaders to pilot and grow their promising enterprises to foster opportunity and development in Africa.
USADF conducted a business plan competition to select the grant winners. The programme applications were received from 147 Fellows and were subjected to a rigorous review process. There were 36 grant recipients from 18 countries across Africa including two South Africans, Elizabeth Mokiti of Mathemaniacs, and Kgomotso Tabane of Tabane Capital, South Africa.
In addition, the South African YALI Alumni Association will distribute $US50 000 in social impact grants to recently returned alumni who want to make a difference in their communities. The grants celebrate the values of YALI in South Africa, namely job creation, skills development and youth empowerment.
The Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders is the flagship program of President Obama’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) that empowers young people through academic course work, leadership training and networking. Fellowships provide outstanding young leaders from Sub-Saharan Africa the opportunity to hone their skills at top US universities and offer support for professional development, seed funding, mentoring and onward service after returning home.
Applications to become a 2015 Mandela Washington Fellow come online in October and will be available to all those who register at http://YALI.state.gov.
There is no fee to apply and no fee to participate in the program. All citizens of Sub-Saharan African countries aged 25 to 35 are eligible to apply.
For more information & RSVP
US Consulate General: Tebogo Sepeng | SepengTV@state.gov | +27 (0)11 290 3371 | +27 (0)79 111 1981