UD to welcome Mandela Washington Fellowship back to campus

Article by UDaily staff February 08, 2022

After going virtual in 2021, young African leaders will return this summer

The University of Delaware is proud to announce its selection as an Institute Partner for the 2022 Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders. Beginning in mid-June, the University will host 25 of Africa’s bright, emerging civic engagement leaders for a six-week Leadership Institute, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State.

Michael Vaughan, vice provost for equity and principal investigator of the Mandela Washington Fellowship at UD, said the fellowship bolsters the University's designation as a Community Engaged University and provides an opportunity to partner with the U.S. Department of State and other global entities to foster talent and leadership development.

“We are excited to return to an in-person format for the Mandela Washington Fellowship Leadership Institute and proud to once again welcome and host the fellows on campus," Vaughan said. "After successfully making it through the rigorous recruitment process and absorbing the leadership lessons learned in their fellowship, they become coveted candidates for international awards and graduate fellowships. Obviously, we will look to encourage these impressive individuals to consider UD for graduate or undergraduate program opportunities."

The Mandela Washington Fellowship, the flagship program of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), empowers young African leaders through academic coursework, leadership training, mentoring, networking, professional opportunities and local community engagement. YALI was created in 2010 and supports young Africans as they spur economic growth and prosperity, strengthen democratic governance, and enhance peace and security across Africa.

Since 2014, the U.S. Department of State has supported nearly 5,100 Mandela Washington Fellows from across Sub-Saharan Africa to develop their leadership skills and foster connections and collaboration with U.S. professionals. The cohort of fellows hosted by UD will be part of a group of 700 Mandela Washington Fellows hosted at 27 educational institutions across the United States.

This 2019 photos shows an earlier cohort of Mandela Washington Fellows visiting the UD campus. Beginning this June, UD will once again host fellows in person, after the program went virtual last year because of the pandemic.

After their Leadership Institutes, fellows will participate in the Mandela Washington Fellowship Summit, where they will take part in networking and panel discussions with each other and with U.S. leaders from the public, private and nonprofit sectors. Following the summit, up to 100 competitively selected fellows will participate in four weeks of professional development with U.S. nongovernmental organizations, private companies and government agencies.

Funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and implemented by IREX, Leadership Institutes will offer programs that will challenge, motivate, and empower young leaders from Africa to tackle the challenges of the 21st century.

At UD, fellows will give back to the community through service opportunities at Project CURE, Summer Collaborative, Newark Food Bank and other community-based organizations through new connections with partners at UD's Community Engagement Initiative.

“After hosting a virtual Leadership Institute in 2021, UD is pleased to host the incoming set of 2022 fellows again for an in-person experience,” said Oyenike (Nike) Olabisi, associate professor of biological sciences and academic director of the fellowship program at UD. “With adequate COVID safety measures in place, we hope to once again be able to connect our Mandela Washington Fellows with faculty, community partners, UD students, mentors, coaches and professional organizations as we contribute to the internationalization of our campus and community.”

You can meet the Fellows at various networking events planned to engage the UD campus community.

For additional information about the Mandela Washington Fellowship Leadership Institute at the University of Delaware, please contact Nike Olabisi at nolabisi@udel.edu or Colin Miller at cdmiller@udel.edu.

The Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders is a program of the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. Government and administered by IREX. For more information about the Mandela Washington Fellowship, visit mandelawashingtonfellowship.org and join the conversation at #YALI2022.