Program brings young African leaders to UD
Twenty-five young African leaders selected to participate in a presidential program spent six weeks of their time in the U.S. this summer at the University of Delaware.
President Obama’s Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders is a flagship program of the Young African Leaders Initiative. The fellows who came to UD represented 19 different countries and were among 500 applicants chosen for the program; the others attended similar programs at 19 other U.S. universities.
At UD, the fellows took part in an academic institute on civic leadership with sessions focused on good governance, political organizing and advocacy, diverse roles of the media, civil society-business relations in the U.S., organizational development and more, all within the African context.
“You all have a gift—the capability and leadership ability to make things change,” Babatunde Ogunnaike, dean of the College of Engineering and a native of Nigeria, told the fellows.
Among numerous other activities, the group attended an academic session with Wunyabari Maloba, professor of history, titled, “African in America: Walk in My Shoes,” and the fellows traveled to Dover, Delaware, one day, where they toured Legislative Hall and met with Gov. Jack Markell.
