ACCRA, Ghana, June 17, 2016/APO (African Press Organization)/ --

Selected from nearly 2,000 applicants from throughout the country, 41 young leaders will represent Ghana in the United States over the next six weeks. The high-achieving cohort of Mandela Washington Fellows includes entrepreneurs, public servants and civil society members.

We congratulate Ghana’s 2016 Mandela Washington Fellows:

Marigold Adu

Opoku Afriyie-Asante

Ahmed Amuquandoh

Maame Ankoh

Kwasi Anomah-Kordieh

Bathemel Appiah

Jeffrey Arhin

Benedict Arkhurst

Adjo Asare

Lamise Atinga

Nicholine Azirh

Yaganoma Baatuolkuu

Laud Anthony Basing

Nana Boakye-Yiadom

Hilda Boye

Emmanuel Kofi Danso

Frederick Danso

Doris Darkwah

Susana Dartey

Portia Dery

Nana Adjoa Entsuah

Solomon Faakye

Josephine Godwyll

Nana Akosua Hanson

Isaac Korang

Henry Kyeremeh

Diana Mensah

Mutaru Mumuni

Jamal Musah

Abdul Hameed Mustapha

Marco Nyarko

Mary Nyarko

Bernard Oduro Takyi

Stephen Ofori

Frank Osei

Akosua Osei-Appaw

Lincoln Peedah

Ramatu Safiano Baba

Florence Toffa

Elorm Rita Tsali

Mary Watson

The Fellows represent all ten regions of Ghana. Their biographies are available on the U.S. Embassy’s Facebook page at: http://facebook.com/USEmbassyGhana.

The Mandela Washington Fellowship is the flagship program of President Barack Obama’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), which was launched in 2010. A total of 1,000 Mandela Washington Fellows from sub-Saharan African countries will spend the next six weeks in the United States. Forty different American universities will host groups of 25 Fellows for intensive academic coursework and leadership training.

Three of Ghana’s Fellows will join a newly created energy-focused institute at the University of California, Davis. The institute will provide Fellows with core leadership skills, legal and policy reform solutions, and best practices for addressing the energy challenges facing African nations.

On August 1-3, all 1,000 Fellows will assemble in Washington, D.C., for a Presidential Summit convened by President Obama. Upon their return to Ghana in August 2016, the Fellows will continue to build the skills they have developed during their time in the United States through support from the U.S. Embassy, the YALI Regional Leadership Center West Africa, the YALI Network, and customized programming from the U.S. Agency for International Development and affiliated partners. 

The Young African Leaders Initiative is a key part of President Obama’s commitment to invest in the future of Africa. His administration created this initiative out of the recognition that young Africans are playing a critical and increasing role in strengthening democratic institutions, spurring economic growth, and enhancing peace and security in Africa.

ADDITION INFORMATION

For more information on the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, go to https://yali.state.gov/washington-fellowship