MWF YALI at Gallaudet

10/05/2019

Reminder: deadline fast approaching: October 9
Apply at mwfellows.info/apply

Be a part of the next generation of African leaders! The Mandela Washington Fellowship will bring up to 700 young leaders to the United States in the summer of 2020 for a comprehensive executive-style program that is designed to build skills and empower Fellows to lead in their respective sectors an...

09/26/2019

One of many leadership and advocacy opportunities MWF Deaf Fellows get to experience.

Our Governor's Office welcomed a group of rising stars from Africa as part of their Mandela Washington Fellowship. The fellows are from Ethiopia, Zambia, Nigeria, Gambia, and Malawi.

We discussed various topics about our office, our commitments and priorities, including the government system, advocacy, Deaf and hard of hearing rights, and the Deaf Ecosystem. With this information and their overall trip at Gallaudet University, we hope the fellows will become advocates and leaders in their home countries!

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Image description: There is a group photo of ten people taken outside of the office building. Standing on the left is Umar Tukur from Gallaudet University. On his right is Jacob Salem, Policy Manager. On his right are three Mandela Washington Fellows. Next to them is Policy and Communications Manager TraciAnn Hoglind. On her right is three other Mandela Washington Fellows. On the far right of the group is Lawrence Musa from Gallaudet University.

09/25/2019

My Gallaudet Experience

I am Temwa Mzota Mkandawire from Malawi. I was honored to have the opportunity to experience the rich academic and social life of Gallaudet University as part of the Mandela Washington Fellowship pre-institute initiative for fellows who are deaf, hard-of-hearing or sign language interpreters. During my nearly two-week stay, I met the amazing Gallaudet staff who were facilitating the pre-institute program at the university. Two top sign language educators took us through an intensive American Sign Language course. This training helped me to improve my American Sign Language proficiency.
Apart from ASL training, Gallaudet also served as an orientation to the American culture for me. We had the opportunity to tour Washington DC and New York where we saw various monuments, we also visited relevant organizations such as the National Association of the Deaf. We received hands-on guidance on shopping, getting around the city using the metro, getting food and many important personal lessons.
I was one of the six fellows in the 2019 cohort who attended pre-institute at Gallaudet, it was lovely experience interacting with the fellows from around Africa. If you are deaf, hard-of-hearing or work with the Deaf community I encourage you to apply for the Mandela Washington Fellowship, it has a lot to offer in terms of advancing your professional development and improving your understanding of the American culture.


GALLAUDET ALUMNI
Temwa Mzota

09/24/2019

Deadline reminder: October 9
Apply at mwfellows.info/apply

09/23/2019

During last week’s , we answered your questions about the application process! Today, we want to answer any questions you might have about applying to the Fellowship as a person with a disability and the accommodations we provide for Fellows with disabilities.

Join the by submitting your questions in the comments!

09/20/2019

alumni

09/12/2019

Application for the 2020 Mandela Washington Fellowship is now open. Apply at mwfellows.info/apply
Deadline: October 9, 2019

09/09/2019

The Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders is a program sponsored by the US Department of State and administered by IREX.
Each year, 700 African Fellows aged 25-35 are selected, through a competitive process, to participate in a 6-week summer Academic and Leadership Institute at various universities across the U.S.
Gallaudet University has partnered with IREX since 2017, hosting a Pre-institute program for Fellows who use sign language as their primary mode of communication. This includes hearing Fellows who are in some capacity involved with the Deaf community in their home countries i.e. interpreters, advocate allies...
More information here: www.yali.state.gov
Applications for 2020 opens Sept 12 (Stay tuned)


Network

The Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) is a signature effort to invest in the next generation of African leaders.