As the 2024 Mandela Washington Fellowship program draws to a close this week, participants reflected on all they accomplished in Boise.
“It’s my third time applying to the Mandela Washington Fellowship. It is a great experience for me to share what I learn here with other young people in Africa, to help young leaders in my country who share the same vision for our continent, and to be able to work together for the development of our cities and our country,” said Luce Gangoue, a nonviolent human rights activist from Congo Brazzaville.
The Mandela Washington Fellowship, a flagship program of the U.S Department of State’s Young African Leaders Initiative, sends 700 of Africa’s brightest emerging leaders to spend six weeks at various universities across the U.S. Boise State’s School of Public Service, as one of only 28 institutional partners and the only participating university in the country’s northwestern region, hosted 25 fellows who represent 21 countries in Africa.
The theme for this year’s Boise institute is leadership in public management. During their six-week stay, the fellows visited and learned about many of the public systems and programs that Boise offers, working with partners such as Valley Regional Transit, Life’s Kitchen and the Boise River ReWild Project. They also worked on their individual focus projects, aiming to address important issues they face in their home countries.
The fellowship’s objectives include empowering young people and investing in a new generation of leaders.
“One thing I’d like to share is to understand and believe in the power of young people to be agents of change,” said Jennifer Githu of Kenya, who currently works on anti-corruption programs at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Regional Office for Eastern Africa. “It’s possible to be young and still make a difference, it’s possible to be young and participate in your political processes, it makes a huge difference.”
The School of Public Service looks forward to continued relationships with the Mandela Washington Fellows and the African continent.
Learn more about the fellowship and view a photo gallery on the program website.