17 Malawians selected for Yali fellowship
Seventeen young Malawians left the country yesterday for this year’s Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders Initiative (Yali) in the United States (US).
In a statement released yesterday by the US Embassy in Lilongwe, the 17 are expected to undergo a six-week training in leadership. The statement says the winners were unveiled yesterday by U.S. Ambassador Virginia Palmer.
She congratulated the 17 on their selection and encouraged them to take full advantage of the leadership development programme to be held on university campuses across the US.
“I am delighted to provide these 17 dynamic change-makers with an opportunity to hone their leadership skills on the campuses of a U.S. university. I encourage these outstanding young leaders to take full advantage of every opportunity presented to them while in the US and to return to Malawi to continue building the future they want to see for their communities, their country and their continent,” reads the statement.
Yali is an annual initiative that selects rising young African leaders to come together to hone skills and share experiences. The aim is to invest in the next generation of African leaders. Every year, the fellowship selects young African leaders for academic instruction, practical experience and mentorship in the fields of public management, civic leadership and business and entrepreneurship.
This year’s selection list is a mixture of professionals from diverse fields. They include health, engineering, community development, management, law, entrepreneurship, security and human rights.
The 17 fellows bring the number of young Malawian who have benefited from the programme to 68 since the inception of the initiative in 2014. The products of the programme have created several initiatives that continue to change the lives of many Malawians.
