By Lamin Kujabi
His Excellency President Adama Barrow, on Wednesday, 11th June, received at State House, eight young Gambians, who will represent the country in the prestigious Mandela Washington Fellowship Programme in the United States of America.
These young professionals will be among 700 young leaders selected from across Africa to participate in this year’s programme. They were selected from a large number of Gambians who applied for this year’s fellowship. The criteria for selection included community service, leadership, and contributions to the country’s progress.
After meeting with the President, Ms Annette Camara, President of the Gambia Women Journalists Association, who doubles as the chairperson of the group, told waiting journalists that it was an honour to meet the President and introduce the 2025 Mandela Fellowship delegates.
She informed that one of the members of the group is already in the US to learn sign language ahead of the Fellowship.
She further explained that the young leaders will be engaged in the three different tracks of civic education, business and leadership.
Miss Camara assured that at the end of the six-week programme, they will be back in the country to give back to their communities what they would have learnt from the Fellowship.
“After the Leadership Institutes, Fellows will participate in a virtual summit. Additionally, up to 100 competitively selected Fellows will virtually engage in professional development with U.S. organisations in the public, private, or non-profit sector. Fellows will participate in alumni programmes after their Fellowships to further build their professional skills and networks,” she further explained.
The Mandela Washington Fellowship was launched in 2014 as a flagship programme of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) and embodies the U. S’s commitment to invest in the future of Africa. YALI was created in 2010 to support young Africans as they spur economic growth and prosperity, strengthen democratic governance, and enhance peace and security across Africa.
Since 2014, nearly 5,100 young leaders from every country in Sub-Saharan Africa have participated in the Fellowship.
