The U.S. Embassy has officially announced the names of the 10 young African Leaders from Mauritius and Seychelles who were selected out of the 200-plus applicants for the 2022 Mandela Washington Fellowship Program. The participants were announced during a ceremony last week.
From Mauritius, the participants are Prisheela Mottee, Saminta Arjoon, Trisha Gukhool, Selvana Mootien, Ishwarsingh Seewoolall, Chamlesh Kissoondharry, Bhavish Ubheeram and Anjeelee Kaur Beegun. From Seychelles, the two participants for the 2022 Mandela Washington Fellowship program are Yannick Vel and Anael Bodwell.
The Mandela Washington Fellowship took place virtually last year because of the pandemic. The program is now resuming in-person, and this year, the U.S. State Department has added another component to the program – the Alumni Enrichment Institutes (AEI), a follow-on opportunity for 2021 Mandela Washington Fellowship Alumni to travel to the United States to collaborate with U.S. counterparts and each other and to continue building the professional and leadership skills they developed during their virtual 2021 Leadership Institutes. Three participants – Marie Annelise Pigeot, Karuna Veerapen Goinden and Marlon Esparon (Seychelles) – were chosen to participate in this new program.
The Mandela Washington Fellowship includes a six-week program at a U.S. college or university, where participants will have the opportunity to share their experience with and learn from U.S. citizens and other Fellows. The program allows participants to explore opportunities beyond their daily work in the fields of Business & Entrepreneurship, Public Management and Civic Engagement, and network with representatives from the U.S. Government, NGOs, and businesses.
“Opportunities are everywhere – and now is the time to grab them! The world today has numerous challenges. Young people like you have the energy, creativity, and idealism to confront these challenges and should be at the forefront to bring global change and innovation to society. The YALI generation, which includes the Mandela Washington Fellows, is rising to meet these challenges and their impact is proven as Fellows rise to leadership positions in business, government, and civil society. At the end of this trip, the Mandela Washington Fellows will return to Mauritius and Seychelles with the skills, network, and motivation to be active agents of change,” Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Andrew Kelly said during his remarks at the ceremony.
The Mandela Washington Fellowship is part of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), the U.S. Government’s signature effort to invest in the next generation of African leaders, which started in 2010.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of U.S. Embassy in Mauritius & Seychelles.
