BRIDGEWATER, MA – Bridgewater State University is proud to announce its selection as an Institute Partner for the 2022 Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders. Beginning in mid-June, BSU will host 25 of Africa’s bright, emerging Public Management leaders for a six-week Leadership Institute, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State.
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 Bridgewater State University will be part of a group of 700 Mandela Washington Fellows hosted at 27 educational institutions across the United States.
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 non-profit sectors. Following the Summit, up to 100 competitively-selected Fellows will participate in four weeks of professional development with U.S. non-governmental 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.
BSU is offering the Institute for the sixth time since 2016. In anticipation of this summer’s Leadership Institute, many departments, faculty, and administrators from the Minnock Institute for Global Engagement, the College of Graduate Studies, the Bartlett College of Science and Mathematics, the College of Education and Allied Studies, and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, are collaborating to create a Leadership in Public Management Institute that will involve resources from practitioners and specialists in the public sector to enrich the Fellows’ learning experiences.
Some highlights of the Bridgewater State University program include:
- Fellows will connect with expert practitioners, peer collaborators, and site visit leaders at the Massachusetts State House, a correctional facility in Bridgewater, and the Center for Public Leadership and Center for African Studies at Harvard University
- Fellows will give back to the community through service opportunities at Father Bill’s and Main Spring, local food pantries, and the Dress a Girl Community Project, which serves children in Africa
- A potluck dinner with neighbors in the Town of Bridgewater
For additional information about the Mandela Washington Fellowship Leadership Institute at Bridgewater State University, visit BSU’s website.
The Mandela Washington Fellowship 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.