Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders
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_____________________________________________________________________________________________ Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders PERIOD: APRIL 1, 2015 – JUNE 30, 2015 For Submission to: USAID/Washington Cooperative Agreement Number: AID-OAA-LA-14-00004 Leader Cooperative Agreement Award Number: DFD-A-00-09-00141-00 Grantee: Counterpart International Sub-Awardee: IREX Table of Contents A. Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................... 4 B. Progress and Accomplishments ............................................................................................................ 5 I. Program Updates .............................................................................................................................. 5 1. Structured Networking Opportunities within the MWF Community ............................................... 8 2. Access and Introduction to External Networks that Support Fellows’ Individual Goals ................ 13 3. Hands-on Learning Opportunities ................................................................................................... 17 4. Individualized Leadership Development ......................................................................................... 19 II. Administrative Updates .................................................................................................................. 21 C. Communications ................................................................................................................................. 24 D. Monitoring and Evaluation ................................................................................................................. 25 E. Lessons Learned .................................................................................................................................. 29 F. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................... 30 G. Attachments ........................................................................................................................................ 30 2 | P a g e Acronyms ABSIP Association for Black Securities and Investment Professionals ALA African Leadership Academy AU African Union DOS Department of State ECA Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (State Department) FGD Focus Group Discussion IREX International Research and Exchanges Board LDP Leadership Development Plan M&E Monitoring and Evaluation LeadAfrika Afrika Leadership Development Institute MWF Mandela Washington Fellowship NEPAD The New Partnership for Africa’s Development PAS Public Affairs Section (State Department) POC Point of Contact (USAID) PV&MSC Participatory Video and Most Significant Change RAB Regional Advisory Board STEM Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics STG Speaker Travel Grant UNFPA United Nations Population Fund USADF United States African Development Foundation USAID United States Agency for International Development USG United States Government VSO Voluntary Service Overseas WACSI West Africa Civil Society Institute YALI Young African Leaders Initiative ZAN Zimbabwe AIDS Network 3 | P a g e A. Executive Summary This represents the fifth quarterly report for YALI/USAID, a Cooperative Agreement under the prime Counterpart International, Inc. to engage the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX) as the sub-awardee and implementer. IREX is an international nonprofit organization providing thought leadership and innovative programs to promote positive lasting change globally. IREX enables local individuals and institutions to build key elements of a vibrant society: quality education, independent media, and strong communities. Founded in 1968, IREX has an annual portfolio of over $70 million and a staff of over 400 professionals worldwide. IREX employs field-tested methods and innovative uses of technologies to develop practical and locally-driven solutions with our partners in over 125 countries. As part of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), USAID’s Mandela Washington Fellowship builds the skills of young African leaders to improve the accountability and transparency of government, start and grow businesses, and serve their communities. The program supports the Fellows as they develop the leadership skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary to become active and constructive members of society. It achieves this through Leadership Development Plans (LDPs) that the Fellows complete and post online for comment, professional practicums1 in Africa that provide the Fellows with practical experience, and individualized mentor matches that allow the Fellows to further develop their identities as leaders. The program also helps the Fellows establish broad and enduring networks to support, sustain, and multiply the impact of the Mandela Washington Fellowship programming. It achieves this through the selection of Regional Advisory Boards comprised of Fellows who communicate regularly with their peers and provide USAID and IREX with feedback, Regional Conferences that allow the Fellows to network with one another as well as with external organizations and companies, and Speaker Travel Grants that elevate Fellows’ voices on the world stage by providing them with funding to speak at international, high-profile conferences. To support and enhance these activities, IREX ensures the empowerment and inclusion of women, the disabled, LGBTIQ individuals, and other marginalized youth. It also emphasizes the participation of the Fellows in the creation and development of programming so as to be fully responsive to their needs and interests, and establishes significant partnerships with the private sector to leverage resources, increase impact, and enhance sustainability of planned activities. This quarterly report covers all program achievements and activities from April 1 to June 30, 2015. Since the last quarterly report, IREX held three Regional Conferences in Ghana, South Africa, and Kenya for the 2014 Fellows, of which 375 attended. IREX also made significant progress towards achieving planned targets. IREX continued to match Fellows with professional practicums and professional mentors, finalizing 62 professional practicums and 32 mentorships this quarter. IREX continued to award Fellows with Speaker Travel Grants, and nine awardees spoke at nine events in six countries with this funding, reaching a combined audience of over 4,000 individuals. IREX held eight co-sponsored events in Ghana, South Africa, and Kenya both alongside the Regional Conferences and separately. 1 Based on feedback received from Fellows and internship hosts in Year 1, “internships” have been renamed “professional practicums.” 4 | P a g e B. Progress and Accomplishments I. Program Updates Regional Advisory Boards In Quarter 5, the Regional Advisory Boards (RABs) focused on driving the Regional Conference agendas and identifying speakers who would strengthen discussions around regional integration, servant leadership, and sustainable development. RAB members also proactively addressed Fellow feedback during the Conferences. IREX will host nine RAB representatives (three from each region) in Washington, DC ahead of the 2015 Presidential Summit to participate in a facilitated feedback and hand-over planning session. RAB Members Attending: West Africa Gerald Afadani (Cameroon) Adama Kouyate (Mali) Christiana Okyere (Ghana) Southern Africa Christopher Lespoir (Seychelles) Charlene Bangwe (Zambia) Russell Mulamula (South Africa) East Africa RAB Chairperson, East Africa Charlene Migwe, convening the East Charlene Migwe (Kenya) Africa Regional Conference Godfrey Nyombi (Tanzania) Junior N'kshama (DRC) The attendance of these RAB members will allow IREX to capture valuable feedback on the overall efficacy of the RAB structure, the RAB’s involvement in M&E processes, and Regional Conference planning and outcomes. At the end of the meeting, an outline for an RAB toolkit will be completed. IREX will use the outline to develop a best practices toolkit that will be shared with the 2015 RABs prior to their inaugural meetings in the fall of 2015. To support additional continuity across MWF cohorts, up to three RAB members from the 2014 cohort will continue to serve in non-voting, advisory roles to each RAB. 5 | P a g e Staff Networking and Outreach IREX has used every opportunity when traveling within Africa to network with external institutions to further partnerships, meet with USAID and other USG staff, and check in on Fellows. Zimbabwe IREX’s Senior Partnerships Manager traveled to Zimbabwe from May 25-30, 2015 after the Southern Africa Regional Conference to meet with Fellows along with current and potential program partners. The Senior Partnerships Manager traveled with the Director of LeadAfrika, IREX’s local implementing partner for Southern Africa, and with a LeadAfrika local NGO partner, Rural Unity for Development Organization. In Harare, the Senior Partnerships Manager met with a group of five Fellows to discuss their experiences since returning home. The Fellows were enthusiastic about the impact the program had on their lives, but also felt frustrated with the economic situation in Zimbabwe and the resulting difficulty in implementing new ideas or starting businesses. David Chakombera was very vocal about his passion for YALI and the impact it has had on his life; he said that he