2015 Mandela Washington Fellowship Application Now Open

WASHINGTON, Oct. 7, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Applications for the 2015 Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders are being accepted now through Wednesday, November 5, 2014.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141006/150532

Launched in 2014, the Mandela Washington Fellowship is the flagship program of President Obama's Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI).  Nearly 50,000 candidates applied for the 500 Fellowships in the inaugural year, and chosen Fellows included innovative young entrepreneurs, NGO leaders, community activists, journalists, and civil servants from urban and rural communities in all 49 sub-Saharan African countries. 

"[The] Young African Leaders Initiative is a long-term investment in all of you and in Africa and the future that we can build together," said President Obama at the inaugural Mandela Washington Fellows Summit in Washington, DC, in July 2014.  YALI was launched in 2010 to support young African leaders as they spur growth and prosperity, strengthen democratic governance, and enhance peace and security across Africa.

In the summer of 2015, the Mandela Washington Fellowship will bring another 500 young leaders to the United States for academic coursework and leadership training.  The U.S. Government and its partners will also create unique opportunities in Africa for Fellows to put new skills to practical use in leading organizations, communities, and countries. 

For more information on the Mandela Washington Fellowship and how to apply, please visit youngafricanleaders.state.gov.  You can also get updates at the Mandela Washington Fellowship's social media sites Facebook.com/WashingtonFellowship and Twitter.com/WashFellowship.

The Mandela Washington Fellowship is a program of the U.S. government and supported in its implementation by IREX.

CONTACT: Jennifer Nevin, +1-202-628-8188, jnevin@irex.org