Mandela Washington Fellows come to W&M

On July 15, 2017, William & Mary welcomed 25 of Africa’s brightest, emerging civic leaders for 15 days of leadership training, public policy seminars, mentorship and collaboration with local faculty and community members. This is the fourth year that William & Mary and its partners in the Presidential Precinct have been selected as hosts for the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders.

The Presidential Precinct program has hosted the Mandela Washington Fellows since June, offering academic coursework and mentoring in Charlottesville and Orange, Virginia. Comprised of two of America’s leading universities and three presidential sites in Virginia, the Presidential Precinct is one of 40 institute partners, the only consortium and the only host in Virginia to be selected for the fellowship that will bring 1,000 emerging African leaders to the U.S. this year.

The William & Mary portion of this year’s Civic Leadership Institute culminates in the Africa Ideas Summit, July 26 from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at Miller Hall. The fellows will present their proposals and projects for their communities. The event is free and open to the public. Registration is online. It will also be streamed live at facebook.com/presidentialprecinct.

“Being able to host the Mandela Washington Fellows as members of the Presidential Precinct is a great opportunity for William & Mary,” said Teresa Longo, acting vice provost for international affairs and director of the Reves Center for International Studies. “We look forward to learning from these distinguished African leaders, and to nurturing connections with them that we hope will last a lifetime.”

The fellows, who are between the ages of 25 and 35, have established records of accomplishment in promoting innovation and positive change in their organizations, institutions, communities and countries. The 2017 cohort attending the Civic Leadership Institute at the Presidential Precinct represents 18 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, and 48 countries are represented in the fellowship nationwide.

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