Global Leaders
OUR STUDENTS | Expanding our reach is just as much about inviting the world in as it is sending Blue Hens out.
Stories from UD's Global Leaders
“I had the opportunity to go to primary school. I devoted myself to my studies and applied myself fully because I dreamt of a better life. Soon, I became one of the best three in my class. In grade seven, I passed with flying colors, being one of the six best in my province. When I was in 2nd Form, my mother died. Eleven months later my father followed. Me and my four siblings had to go to Mozambique to live with my only aunt. I did not have the opportunity to go to school in Mozambique because my aunt lived in a very impoverished environment... I cried thinking that all my dreams were shattered and I would never be able to realize them without education. My aunt saw me as a cash crop and ticket out of her miserable life. She planned to marry me off to a 53-year-old rich man when I was 16. I fought very hard and I wanted better. Thanks to the opportunity of going to school before my parents’ death, thanks to the little education I had.... The biggest opportunity of my life came this March, when I was chosen to be a 2015 YALI Fellow on the track of Civic Leadership and I am very grateful for it.” — Drucila Catarina Jose Meireles from Mozambique
#UDGlobalSummer #UDMWF #YALI2015 @exchangeourworld @mandelawashfellowship
“I fell in love with civic engagement and being surrounded by positive people who aspire to do more. I worked on myself. I got training. I went to workshops and I made connections. And I told myself that I would not just be a doctor. I will always have an activity in youth and civic engagement.” — Ali Al Timimy from Iraq
#UDGlobalSummer #UDMEPI
@exchangeourworld
“We conducted a general census of people with albinism in the two largest communes in Benin and distributed school supplies to students in primary schools. Now we give them psychological care and the project is still going on. We have just put together one minute adverts that will broadcast on the Internet and our national TV station to let people know that those with albinism are not ghosts but they are human beings. When I get back from my Mandela Washington Fellowship Journey, I have a big event on our national television. Some people with albinism and some lawyers and doctors will discuss questions about people with albinism in a one hour debate. We are going to record the first ever documentary of people with albinism in Benin before the end of this year.”
— Houčtčhou C. Franck Hounsa from Benin
#UDGlobalSummer #UDMWF #YALI2015
@mandelawashfellowship
“MEPI was an amazing program, it promoted my power to do a lot of things in my home country and do it in the right way. It gives me the chance to learn more about American culture and meet people from all over the world. When I return to Lebanon, I want to do a project about the Syrian refugees there. We have many and they really need help. I hope to work with a professional team and cooperate with NGOs that will give me information about the families. I will work on two campaigns... I will work on collecting food and clothes and distributing it to the refugees. I want to help them get an education system for their children, so I will speak with local principals and high schools about teaching afternoon academic sessions in schools for free.” — Katia Bawab from Lebanon
#UDGlobalSummer #UDMEPI
@ExchangeOurWorld
"I actually studied in a school where we had Muslims and Christians and that was really helpful. It was a biblical school. And it helped me to know other people's cultures. There are some people in Sudan who are so closed minded, who don't accept other people. But I think that experience has made me realize that just because I see something as true doesn't mean the rest of the world should see that, doesn't mean they have to agree with me. I have to respect them and their point of view." — Shiemaa Ahmed from Sudan
#UDGlobalSummer #UDSUSIWL #SUSIWomen @ExchangeOurWorld
“I had this vision for the community because I was looking at the stage of the problems that we were having, the environmental problems, the young people were dropping out of school at a very high rate, the poverty level and unemployment were very high. So I looked at these problems and had a vision of something that would unite the young people, something that they feel they would own, and that would improve their lives.”
— Vuyo Adams from Swaziland, on his work as part of the Swaziland Youth Empowerment Organization.
#UDGlobalSummer @exchangeourworld
@mandelawashfellowship #YALI2015
“I sent my application in about one minute before the deadline. I didn’t think I would be selected. But one day my phone rang and I said ‘What? Are you sure?’ When I went back to school everyone said to me ‘Meganne, you did it!’ Everyone in my family has gone abroad, but never to the USA. My whole family is so proud. But my pride comes from my mother’s pride. She has struggled so hard for me. She is my inspiration. So I want to give her pride and know that she is happy I am her daughter.” — Meganne Boho from Cote D’Ivoire, on being selected as a 2015
#UDSUSIWL Leader
#UDGlobalSummer
@exchangeourworld
This July, UD welcomed 65 leaders from 36 countries throughout Africa and the Middle East for five to six weeks as part of three programs funded by the U.S. Department of State. Each Global Leader was hand-selected from tens of thousands of applicants for their ability to change the world. Together, these proponents of human rights and lobbyists for good governance represent some of the most promising agents of social, global and political change in the world.
The three summer programs—the Mandela Washington Fellowship, the flagship program of President Obama’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI); the Study of the United States Women’s Leadership Institute (SUSI); and the Middle East Partnership Initiative Student Leaders Program (MEPI)—are designed to prepare leaders across the world for deeper civic engagement in their home countries.
On the Newark campus, they learn from more than two dozen faculty and staff members on myriad topics, ranging from how to develop ideas and business models for social entrepreneurship to tips and strategies for creating a website or blog. Peppered throughout the weeks were visits from legislators and corporate leaders. The University’s mission is twofold: to expose budding global leaders to our rich array of expertise, while learning more from the scholars themselves.
“Global citizenship is our key to the future,” says Acting President Nancy Targett. “We teach our students how nations relate to each other, and we want students to work across borders to address the big, international issues that challenge and connect us all.”
Mandela Washington Fellowship
The fellowship selects 500 young professionals from Sub-Saharan Africa each year to participate in leadership training, academic coursework and mentoring at 20 host universities across the United States. UD has hosted the program since its inception in 2014.
Middle East Partnership Initiative Student Leaders Program
The longest-running MEPI program in the United States, UD has hosted more than 200 participants from across the Middle East and North Africa over 13 years for a series of high-level and interdisciplinary leadership trainings. The University is one of six institutions to offer this summer Institute.
Study of the United States Women’s Leadership Institute
UD’s Institute for Global Studies hosted the SUSI Women’s Leadership program for the first time in 2015, a noteworthy year as the University celebrated its 100-year anniversary of the Women’s College. The five- to six-week program brings young female leaders from Sub-Saharan Africa to the United States for leadership sessions focused on the history and participation of women in public life.
Article by Nikki Laws, AS14
Through a summer Instagram campaign, we invited our Global Leaders to share their dreams, stories and perspectives. See more at Storify.com/UDGlobal/udglobalsummer-2015.
