The U.S. Embassy is proud to announce the selection of thirty-two young Ghanaians for the 2023 Mandela Washington Fellowship (MWF). The group includes 18 women and 14 men selected among nearly 3,000 competitive applications from across Ghana. This year’s Fellows will travel later this month for intensive professional development and leadership training in Washington, D.C. and in various cities across the United States.   

“The Mandela Washington Fellowship supports the next generation of Ghanaian leaders in civil society, public service, business, and public health. Since 2014, nearly 300 young Ghanaians have benefited from this opportunity and returned to Ghana inspired to lead in their respective fields.  We cannot wait to follow their success in the coming years,” said U.S. Ambassador to Ghana Virginia E. Palmer regarding this year’s cohort.  

The Mandela Washington Fellowship is the flagship program under the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), providing nearly 700 young African leaders leadership development and training in the United States each year. Over 5,000 young leaders from every country in Sub-Saharan Africa have participated in the Fellowship since 2014. When they return, this year’s Ghanaian Mandela Washington Fellows will join the nearly 3,000 strong U.S. exchange alumni network in Ghana. This network actively engages with U.S. and Ghanaian leaders to develop community-based solutions to public policy challenges, including in health, education, human rights, women’s empowerment, and other critical areas.  

This year’s group comprises professionals from a diverse range of fields and regions, focused on issues such as climate change, combatting gender-based violence and child labor, HIV/AIDS awareness, treatment of noncommunicable diseases, mental health, supporting the agricultural sector, STEM education, strengthening the business sector, and more. The 2023 group also includes an additional Ghanaian youth leader as part of the African Union’s cohort.   

The 2023 Ghana Mandela Washington Fellows (view their intro video here).