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Category: Mandela Washington Fellowship

Mandela Washington Fellows’ reflections: Young African leaders driving change via education

Posted on August 28, 2023 by Staley School of Leadership

The Mandela Washington Fellowship is a flagship program of the U.S. department of state to support young African leaders. The program includes Entrepreneurship, and Public Administration tracks, the Staley School hosts a Civic Leadership Institute.

The Fellows come from diverse backgrounds and are doing incredible work to impact lives and transform their communities. In this series, former Fellow and now Staley School graduate research assistant, Chibuzor Azubuike, reflects on 2022 Fellows that share common work in education – a critical area of focus for Sub-Saharan Africa.

According to the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), over one-fifth of African children between the ages of 6 and 11 are not in school, while nearly 60% of youth between the ages of 15 and 17 are not enrolled. (Kaledzi 2022) It is this challenge that Sustainable Development Goal 4 addresses, which is quality education.

Educators as Fellows

In this vein, Jonathan Maka from Kinshasa, DRC has been teaching for seven years now, and he is currently working at the Academy of Science and Technology as an English teacher and coach. He spends time coaching and mentoring the youth in his community, especially those who are homeless or those whose families are unable to afford quality education. So far, he has motivated students who have dropped out of school to resume their education He is involved in an NGO named Silent Cry that supports orphans, girls especially, in coaching, and educational interventions focused on skill development including English language, sewing, arts, crafts, sports, and skill development to contribute to their future capacity for finding job opportunities.

Maka has been engaged throughout the Mandela Washington Fellowship experience, he stated, “The Mandela Washington Fellowship has influenced the way I approach my work in providing me with proper leadership skills and also in teaching me that I have to work on statistics and not only having a general view of the challenge that my community is facing.” Continue reading “Mandela Washington Fellows’ reflections: Young African leaders driving change via education “ →

Mandela Fellows Graduation Ceremony open to public

Posted on July 21, 2023July 21, 2023 by Staley School of Leadership

Mandela Washington Fellows Graduation Ceremony

The Staley School of Leadership at Kansas State University invites the public to the Mandela Washington Fellowship Graduation Ceremony. Join us 4-6:30 p.m. Thursday, July 27, at the Leadership Studies building (1300 Mid-Campus Drive N. Manhattan, KS, 66506). Please RSVP here.

Guests will enjoy brief reflections of each Fellow’s work and their experiences during their six weeks at K-State and in Kansas. After the program, cocktails and heavy hors d’oeuvres will be served in the lobby, with time to mingle and connect one last time before they return home.

We encourage the community to attend to gain understanding of the impact of this program on both the Fellows and our surrounding communities, as well as what the relationships and partnerships the Fellows have made will continue to foster positive global impacts.

K-State and the Staley School are hosting 25 Mandela Washington Fellows for a Civic Leadership Institute. The Mandela Washington Fellowship is the flagship program of the U.S. Department of State’s Young African Leaders Initiative. Fellows come from more than 20 different Sub-Saharan African nations and were selected for the program because of their civic leadership work.

See who’s going on Facebook.

Furniture Amnesty Day to take place July 28

Posted on July 18, 2023July 27, 2023 by Staley School of Leadership

July 27 update: This event will end at 3 p.m. instead of 4 p.m. due to extreme heat predictions.

This year’s Furniture Amnesty Day will take place Friday, July 28, starting at 8 a.m. in City Park. Furniture Amnesty Day is a community event that gives people the opportunity to donate or pick up used furniture at no cost.

Anyone can participate. There are no income requirements or forms to fill out to select donated items. Registration for furniture shopping begins at City Park starting at 8 a.m. on the day of the event.

Free shopping will be scheduled in 15-minute timeslots from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Participants can return to the park at their scheduled time and take home up to five furniture items at no cost. Items in a set, such as a table and chairs, will only count as one item. No additional paperwork is needed. Furniture will continue to be gathered and dropped off throughout the day, so there will always be a fresh selection of goods. Please note, shoppers need to be able to haul away the furniture they select. Delivery service is not available.

Acceptable donations include:

Sofas/couches
Desks
End tables
Recliners
Kitchen tables
Coffee tables
Dressers
Headboards
Entertainment centers

Donations that will not be accepted include:

Dishwashers
Pianos
Grills
Washers/dryers
Televisions/monitors
Mattresses
Refrigerators
Computers
Lamps

Volunteers are available to pick up furniture donations at the curb for anyone in the Manhattan city limits. This year, volunteers will only pick up a maximum of five furniture items per location. Please note, furniture sets such as a table and chairs will still only count as one item. To register for pickup service, please sign up online at cityofmhk.com/furniture or call the city manager’s office at 785-587-2404 during regular business hours. The deadline to register for pickup service is 5 p.m. Wednesday, July 26. Please note, all items for donation pick up need to be at the curb by 7 a.m. Friday, June 28. Volunteers will not enter homes to pick up donated furniture.

Donations can also be dropped off at Miller Field in City Park from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, July 28.

Any furniture left unclaimed at 3 p.m. will be open to the general public without registration. At 3:30 p.m., the event will end. Any remaining pieces will be hauled away by staff and volunteers.

If weather conditions prevent the event from taking place on July 28, it will be canceled.

Volunteers needed
It takes lots of help to make Furniture Amnesty Day happen. HandsOn Kansas State is organizing the volunteer effort again this year. Anyone interested in helping out can sign up online here. Volunteers can choose which three-hour shift works best with their schedule. Drinks and snacks will be provided.

Manhattan’s annual Furniture Amnesty Day is hosted by the city of Manhattan, Staley School of Leadership, HandsOn Kansas State and Konza United Way. For more information, visit cityofMHK.com/furniture.

Community professionals invited to network with global scholars

Posted on June 27, 2023July 21, 2023 by Staley School of Leadership

The Staley School of Leadership at Kansas State University invites community professionals to the Mandela Washington Fellowship Manhattan Community Networking Event. Join the Fellows 4-5:30 p.m. Thursday, June 29, at the Leadership Studies building (1300 Mid-Campus Drive N. Manhattan, KS, 66506). Please RSVP here. Continue reading “Community professionals invited to network with global scholars” →

Attend Opening Reception for Mandela Washington Fellows

Posted on June 14, 2023 by Staley School of Leadership

You are invited to join Kansas State University and the Manhattan community in welcoming the 2023 Mandela Washington Fellows to campus.

The fellows will be on campus from June 21-July 30. We encourage you to join us for any of these events.

All three of these events will take place at the Leadership Studies building on the first floor in the lobby, Town Hall, and classrooms.

To attend any of these events, please fill out our registration form. Responses will be collected through Tuesday, June 20.

Opening Reception
4-6 p.m. Friday, June 23

Join us for a brief opening program in Town Hall followed by a reception. Heavy hors d’oeuvres and drinks will be served.

Having just arrived to the community, Fellows will be seeking connections and energy will be high. We look forward to this event each year to get to know them and learn about each Fellows’ “leadership for what?”. They look forward to this time to get to know our K-State community. Spend time networking with them and learning what passion they bring to their particular area of interest and how they plan to utilize leadership to impact change.

Manhattan Community Networking Event
4-5:30 p.m. Thursday, June 29

All members of the K-State and Manhattan community are welcome to attend this networking event. The purpose is to engage directly with the Fellows to learn about their individual work and passion and how they are implementing change in their community.

Graduation Ceremony
4-6:30 p.m. Thursday, July 27

We will say farewell and reflect on the Fellows’ journey during their time here.

Kansas State University will host 25 Mandela Washington Fellows for a Civic Leadership Institute facilitated by the Staley School of Leadership. The Mandela Washington Fellowship is the flagship program of the U.S. Department of State’s Young African Leaders Initiative. Fellows come from more than 20 different Sub-Saharan African nations and were selected for the program because of their civic leadership work.

The fellows bring diverse experiences. Their work includes these topics:

rural community development
youth development
education
women and girl’s rights
disability advocacy
sustainable agriculture development
environmental sustainability

While they are in Manhattan, fellows will build a professional network. They will meet with community members who share a passion for civic leadership and leading change. This network can and will cultivate relationships focused on sharing best practices, working through leadership challenges, and building cross-cultural professional relationships.

United States flag, Department of State seal, IREX mark

Staley School kicks off Leading Change Institute in Ghana

Posted on June 13, 2023June 13, 2023 by Staley School of Leadership

The Staley School of Leadership launched the Leading Change Institutes (LCI) in 2015 to harness creative, collaborative thinking from globally recognized leaders addressing real issues with tangible strategies for moving forward.

In this series, practitioners who will participate in the upcoming Leading Change Institute will highlight practices and perspective of leadership in their communities. Each contributor is also an alumnus of the 2022 Mandela Washington Fellowship at Kansas State University.

These practitioners kicked off a Leading Change Institute on Advancing Perspectives of Leadership Movements and Strengthening Democratic Practices in Sub-Saharan Africa in March (View photos on our Facebook page). 

This LCI will be a series of events repeated regionally throughout Sub-Saharan Africa through 2027.

For decades leadership has been studied in the U.S. through a centrally western lens. This work has led to deep insights about strengthening practices of leadership that reflect democratic ways of knowing, being, and practicing leadership at individual, collective, and systemic levels. Leadership scholars understand less about how practices of leadership emerge globally and specifically in the Sub-Saharan Africa context. Continue reading “Staley School kicks off Leading Change Institute in Ghana “ →

Mandela Washington Fellowship returns to Kansas State University in summer 2023

Posted on February 7, 2023 by Staley School of Leadership

Kansas State University is proud to announce its selection as an Institute Partner for the 2023 Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders. Beginning in mid-June, K-State will host 25 of Africa’s bright, emerging Civic Engagement leaders for a six-week Leadership Institute, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State.

The Mandela Washington Fellowship, the flagship program of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), empowers young African leaders through academic coursework, leadership training, mentoring, networking, professional opportunities, and local community engagement. YALI was created in 2010 and supports young Africans as they spur economic growth and prosperity, strengthen democratic governance, and enhance peace and security across Africa. Since 2014, the U.S. Department of State has supported nearly 5,800 Mandela Washington Fellows from across Sub-Saharan Africa to develop their leadership skills and foster connections and collaboration with U.S. professionals. The cohort of Fellows hosted by K-State will be part of a group of 700 Mandela Washington Fellows hosted at 28 educational institutions across the United States.

After their Leadership Institutes, Fellows will participate in the Mandela Washington Fellowship Summit, where they will take part in networking and panel discussions with each other and with U.S. leaders from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Following the Summit, up to 100 competitively-selected Fellows will participate in four weeks of professional development with U.S. non-governmental organizations, private companies, and government agencies.

Funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and implemented by IREX, Leadership Institutes will offer programs that will challenge, motivate, and empower young leaders from Africa to tackle the challenges of the 21st century.

Some highlights of the Kansas State University program will include

Fellows will connect with local partners through site visits to local businesses, Manhattan City Hall, the State Capitol in Topeka and a service and civic tour in Kansas City.
Fellows will give back to the community through service opportunities at Furniture Amnesty Day, mobile food distributions, and Special Olympics.
You can meet the Fellows at networking events that will be announced in April and May, and through contacting the Staley School of Leadership.

For additional information about the Mandela Washington Fellowship Leadership Institute at K-State, please email Chance Lee, Ph.D., at chance@ksu.edu or visit our website at www.k-state.edu/leadership/engagement/mandelawashingtonfellowship.html.

The Mandela Washington Fellowship is a program of the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. Government and administered by IREX. For more information about the Mandela Washington Fellowship, visit mandelawashingtonfellowship.org and join the conversation at #YALI2023.

United States flag, Department of State seal, IREX mark

K-Staters invited to attend Mandela Washington Fellowship graduation ceremony

Posted on July 8, 2022August 16, 2022 by Staley School of Leadership

The Staley School of Leadership invites the campus community to celebrate the 2022 class of Mandela Washington fellows at Kansas State University at a graduation ceremony at 4 p.m. Friday, July 15. The ceremony will take place at the Leadership Studies building and will include a reception and brief graduation program. We hope you will join us for this special event. Please RSVP by Tuesday, July 12. Continue reading “K-Staters invited to attend Mandela Washington Fellowship graduation ceremony” →

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Category: Mandela Washington Fellowship

Mandela Washington Fellows’ reflections: Young African leaders driving change via education

Mandela Fellows Graduation Ceremony open to public

Furniture Amnesty Day to take place July 28

Community professionals invited to network with global scholars

Attend Opening Reception for Mandela Washington Fellows

Staley School kicks off Leading Change Institute in Ghana

Mandela Washington Fellowship returns to Kansas State University in summer 2023

K-Staters invited to attend Mandela Washington Fellowship graduation ceremony

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