The University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs recently hosted 24 fellows from across Africa for the Mandela Washington Fellowship, a program within the Young African Leaders Initiative, which seeks to build leadership, business, public management and civic engagement for young innovators and leaders.
The fellowship sent fellows from around 19 African countries to the University for six weeks. Alfred Makotsi, a youth advocate for Kakamega County Youth Network in Kenya, said the fellowship program gave him the ability to meet a variety of African leaders.
“This program has been very impactful on all of us,” Makotsi said. “You couldn’t meet 19 nationalities of young leaders who are doing very amazing things back in their home countries.”
According to the Mandela Washington Fellowship, the program has sent around 7,200 fellows ages 25 to 35 from every Sub-Saharan African country since 2014.
Makotsi said the University offered a variety of activities for the fellows, and he was able to learn American values during his time in Minnesota.
“You are given a mix of activities ranging from lectures from professors and industry leaders,” Makotsi said. “You also interact with the community and learn the American culture and how the people here live, what their values are and what they stand for.”
Bruce Moyo, a city council member of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, said the program helped him and other fellows develop potential ideas to improve Africa.
“It assisted us a lot and helped us in terms of reshaping the ideas and resolutions of Africa,” Moyo said.
Moyo said he was able to network with many people who are seeking to shape and create programs back in Africa, and the fellowship helped him build a political strategy.
“A strategy of soft diplomacy and engagement between the United States and African states, and share our experiences as governance and political concerns in Africa,” Moyo said.
In a Round The Clock News article written by Makotsi, he said that he examined the many struggles young people face, especially in the Twin Cities.
“I witnessed youth grappling with drug use, depression and violence, reminding me that the challenges young people face are not bound by borders,” Makotsi said.
Suleiman Oshioke Abdulahi, a graduate student studying economics at Baze University in Nigeria, said the program helped him connect with different communities, including the African American community. Abdulahi said he was able to understand more about the culture in the U.S. from his experience.
“The University gave me an opportunity to interact with the African American community, who are doing great things in Minnesota,” Abdulahi said. “The experience also provided me with the opportunity to learn about the American culture.”
Overall, Abdulahi believes that the fellowship program made him open-minded about future potential opportunities with education. With the fellowship, he felt he was able to connect with young African leaders and Americans who have the same goals.
“The fellowship is a reminder for me that education is still an access to global opportunities,” Abdulahi said. “I got the opportunity to be in the U.S. and interact with other African nations and to interact with Americans who are doing the same thing at a global stage.”
