Thank you for your interest in becoming a Mandela Washington Fellowship application reader! Please complete this form to be considered as a reader during the 2024 Fellowship application review period.
Please note that as an application reader you will not be eligible for selection to the Mandela Washington Fellowship during the 2024 cycle. This is not the 2024 Mandela Washington Fellowship application. Please do not complete this application if you plan to apply for the Mandela Washington Fellowship. For more information about the 2024 Mandela Washington Fellowship application, please visit https://www.mandelawashingtonfellowship.org/apply/.
The Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders is a program of the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. Government and administered by IREX. It is the flagship program of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI). The Fellowship brings young leaders to the United States for academic coursework and leadership training and creates unique opportunities for Fellows and U.S. citizens to collaborate as they spur economic growth and prosperity, strengthen democratic governance, and enhance peace and security across Africa and the United States.
In summer 2024, the Fellowship will bring up to 700 young leaders to the United States for a comprehensive executive-style program designed to build skills and empower Fellows to lead in their respective sectors and communities.
Readers will be responsible for evaluating program applicants based on set guidelines and a scoring rubric. The reading period will begin in September 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 and will review approximately 40 applications each.
Applicants for the 2024 Mandela Washington Fellowship, Fellowship Alumni from the 2023 cohort, and Alumni Recruitment Champions are not eligible to be readers.
All Fellowship applications are read and scored through an online system. You must have consistent access to the internet to be a reader. Due to the nature of the online system, it may be very difficult to read and score applications from a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet.
While we are grateful for your interest in participating, please note that completing this application does not guarantee you will be asked to be a reader, as it is possible that not all interested individuals will be needed for the 2024 application review cycle.