07 May 2015

Thirteen (13) young people selected to partake in the prestigious Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African leaders will depart for the United States in June to develop their leadership skills with other youths from across Africa.

Speaking during a Young African Leaders press briefing in Gaborone, the United States ambassador, Mr Earl Miller, said the Young African leaders Initiative (YALI) was launched in 2010 by President Barack Obama, to empower the incredible talent and creativity of young Africans.

Ambassador Miller said the objective behind this Initiative aimed to support these leaders as they spurred growth and prosperity, strengthen democratic governance and enhance peace and security across Africa.

He said all those selected had proven record of accomplishment in leading and promoting positive change in their work as well as in their communities. The 13 participants would be among 500 African leaders who will partake in this initiative.

“The thirteen leaders selected to represent Botswana will be part of a larger delegation of 500 Africans, representing bright, ambitious and dedicated young heroes in the continent,” he said.

He said that participants would engage in a six week academic residency at a US university which would include leadership seminars, mentoring and networking sessions as well as community service opportunities.

“After the academic component, fellows will unite in Washington D.C for a presidential summit to interact with senior US government, business, and civic leaders including Barack Obama,” he said.

He added that upon return, Fellows would have numerous opportunities, including internships with companies and non-profit making organisations, professional mentorship, travel grants to attend and speak at high level conferences, and fundraising assistance.

In his remarks, the 2015 Young African Leaders fellowship representative, Mr Bakang Palai said that the continent is going through a great transformation.

“As young leaders, we have to be focused, credibly and innovatively and apply our thinking to address these challenges, socially, culturally and economically,” he said.

Mr Palai said as leaders in different fields there was need to address critical challenges which include employment for the youth, poverty alleviation and wealth creation.

“We need to come up with strategies and programs that will provide the best quality of live, to promote good governance and to fight corruption and other ills in our countries,” he said.

He said this was going to bring a long lasting relationship with people of the United States. He further said that they were going to meet and interact with young leaders from across the globe, a move which would provide a great opportunity for them to acquire international relation skills to build excellent diplomatic relationships.

These relationships would facilitate development exchange programs and most importantly peace between Botswana and the rest of the world,” he said. Ends