Mandela Washington Fellowship Seeking Readers Program for Young African Leaders 2024

The U.S. Department of State and IREX are seeking academic, professional, and regional experts to read and score applications for the 2024 Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders.  Over the first nine years of the Fellowship, the program received nearly 330,000 applications from 49 sub-Saharan African countries for approximately 6,500 Fellow slots.  Your talents and expertise in helping score our high volume of applications are greatly appreciated.

Readers will be responsible for evaluating program applications based on set guidelines and a scoring rubric.  This is a great volunteer professional development and résumé -building opportunity for professionals or degree-seeking individuals.

The reading period will begin on September 14, 2023, and will comprise up to three separate reading phases, each lasting approximately two weeks, from mid-September through early November.  Selected readers will be assigned to one of the reading phases to review approximately 40 applications.  Each application takes about 10-15 minutes to read and score; the total time commitment is estimated at 10 hours.

About Mandela Washington Fellowships

The Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders is the flagship program of the U.S. Government’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI). Since 2014, nearly 4,400 young leaders from every country in Sub-Saharan Africa have participated in the Fellowship. The Fellows, between the ages of 25 and 35, are accomplished leaders and have established records of promoting innovation and positive impact in their communities and countries. Each year, the Fellows participate in six-week Leadership Institutes, studying Business, Civic Engagement, or Public Management at U.S. colleges or u... read more

MWF Seeking Readers Program

Aim and Benefits of MWF Seeking Readers Program

• Participate in a six-week Leadership Institute at a U.S. college or university to share your experiences with and learn from U.S. citizens and other Fellows.
• Explore industries beyond your daily work and expand your expertise.
• Participate in a Summit with young African leaders.
• Meet with U.S. Government, civic, and business leaders.
• Strengthen your work through new connections, skills, and ideas.
• Join a continental and global Alumni Network to help you seek innovative solutions to common challenges.

Requirements for MWF Seeking Readers Program Qualification

• Ideal readers are academics and/or professionals with expertise in one or more of the Fellowship’s thematic areas (business, civic engagement, or public management), or who have experience working in Africa or on sub-Saharan African issues. 
• U.S. Government employees and Fellowship Alumni are eligible.
• Applicants for the 2024 Fellowship are not eligible to be readers.

Application Deadline

How to Apply

For more details,visit MWF website