Out of thirty-nine young Mauritanian candidates who applied for the 2015 Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, also called YALI, four have been selected to participate. An initiative of President Obama, this program allows young African leaders to pursue professional development and leadership training at major American universities for periods of 6-8 weeks.
The Mauritanian beneficiaries from this year are:
Sidi Mohamed Dhaker is a young expert in banking and finance working with the Mauritanian Central Bank. He will spend six weeks at the Georgia State University to take intensive courses in the field of Public Management.
Oumou Kane runs a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) called AMAM that is now heavily involved in the discourse about national unity and women empowerment. She was accepted to take practical courses in Civic Leadership at the University of California in Berkeley.
Amel Lebatt is a young women leader. She will spend six weeks at Arizona State University focusing on the field of Civic Leadership and Entrepreneurship.
Mohamed Cheikh Beina is a young professor at the University of Nouakchott. Beina has been accepted at the University of Texas- Austin for courses in Business Management and Entrepreneurship.
During this program, the focus of these trainings will be in management and administration of public enterprises, business management and entrepreneurship, civic leadership, and NGO management. After their university classes, some of these YALI fellows will also benefit from internships with U.S. companies, civil society organizations, and large U.S. public agencies which will allow them to practice their newly acquired skills before returning to their countries to put their studies into action.
The U.S. government will also ensure, upon their return to Africa, continued support for their initiatives in an effort to stimulate growth and prosperity while also strengthening democratic governance as well as consolidating peace and security throughout Africa.
Nouakchott, May 14th 2015
