Sankore Fellowship Program 2020 for Young Africans
In ensuring that African leaders are conscious about creating such legacies that provide long term benefits to young people, the AfroChampions Initiative has created a program called the “Sankore Program”.
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Sankore Fellowship Program
The Sankore Program is the “Caravan Scholars Program”, under the big umbrella of the “Caravan Africa Project”, to provide young people the opportunity to work with African Presidents (Leaders) to conceive ground-breaking ideas and identify viable strategies to bring them to life. Each year, a diverse group of mid-career professionals will begin a journey to hone their leadership abilities through interactions with presidents and key presidential staff and administration officials.
Sankore Program connects ambitious young leaders from various professional backgrounds with respected African presidents, equips them with the skills and abilities to execute projects that the African leaders will uphold and promote as essential components of their legacy. Built on the foundation of the Caravan African model, the presidential projects will focus on areas such as, but not limited to, agro-industrialisation, digital transformation, rural tourism, innovation and leadership, etc. It will serve as an opportunity for young leaders to shadow iconic African presidents and learn from their leadership skills while building their own network.
Sankore Fellowship Program Eligibility
- Each successful scholar shall be between the ages of 25 and 39 at the time of applying.
- Successful scholars must have 5-15 years of working experience.
- Experience in visioning and/or the research/analytical work essential for designing, executing and managing complex projects.
- Fluent in oral and written English. Ability to communicate in French and/or Portuguese shall offer candidates a strong advantage.
- Fellow must be African and currently living in Africa at the time of the application or temporarily based outside Africa for educational, business or professional reasons.
- Be willing to dedicate 12 months of his/her time to this fellowship and its activities and commit to focus solely on fellowship activities during the fellowship duration.
Value and Duration of Award
Fellows will have the opportunity to work with renowned and respected African presidents in a manner coordinated by the AfroChampions Initiative to promote synergies among the Caravan-related projects of the selected leaders.
Selected Fellows will typically spend a year working as assistants to presidents, vice presidents, senior government staff, cabinet secretaries and other top-ranking government officials but with an exclusive focus on harnessing practical opportunities arising from the policy development and national budgeting process to drive the success of field incubators for youth-led microenterprises and grassroots interventions, particularly those sponsored through Caravan.
Fellows also will participate in an education program consisting of roundtable discussions with leaders from the private and public sectors, and trips to study government policy in action both domestically and internationally. Fellowships are awarded on a strictly meritocratic basis. The Sankore Fellowship activities include:
- PRESIDENTIAL INTIATIVE: Scholars will have the opportunity to work with African presidents’ staff to develop projects that will be considered legacy projects for African president to lead after their term of office has ended. Participants will develop project concept notes, budget and implementation strategies for identified projects.
- SHADOWING: Scholars will have the opportunity to follow and observe the selected president’s daily activities and political trips while executing tasks such as taking briefing notes, drafting memos for Staffing and presidential advisors, shuttling between cabinet meetings, attending presidential briefing sessions and field excursions. This gives participants a peep into the cockpit, of the African presidents, as a co-pilot in a real environment which not many can experience throughout their professional life.
- VIDEO CONFERENCING: Participants shall engage in monthly video conferencing with other participants working in the different presidential palaces to learn from each other and identify opportunities for collaboration on presidential projects.
- ANNUAL GATHERING: Annual in-person gatherings for fellows to learn skills building around leadership development, communications, public policy and project management. Scholars will have the opportunity to present project developed at the annual AfroChampions Summit.
- BLOGGING: Participants will have the opportunity to write short reflection blog posts about their experience and leadership lessons learnt from working with the African presidents.
- EDUCATIONAL TRAINING: Scholars will take tailored online courses focused on four core leadership skills: Vision and Communication, Decision Making, Persuasion and Influence, and Strategic Partnerships and project management.
How to Apply for Sankore Fellowship Program
To apply, click here.
For more information, visit the Sankore Fellowship Program.
Application Deadline: 4th May 2020 before 11:59pm GMT.
